Manufacturing Systems Engineer

What to Expect

Reporting to the Controls Manager and working under the technical direction of the Principal Engineer – Process & Systems, the Senior Engineer – Controls is responsible for the delivery and integration of manufacturing electrical processes, diagnostic systems, software applications, software deployment, and vehicle commissioning solutions across vehicle programmes.

The role owns assigned technical work packages from requirements capture and process definition through software development, system integration, validation, production introduction, issue resolution, and the provision of objective readiness evidence.

A key element of the role is the authoring, validation, release, and maintenance of diagnostic and test content using ETAS GRADE-X, together with the development of robust software solutions across multiple platforms and programming languages.

Working with the Principal Engineer and stakeholders across Engineering, Manufacturing, IT, Aftersales, programme teams, and suppliers, the role provides senior technical leadership and supports delivery through VP, PP, SOP, and series production.

What You'll Do

Translate Manufacturing Controls objectives into clear process definitions, system requirements, software requirements, interface specifications, validation activities, implementation plans, and production-readiness evidence.

Own and deliver assigned technical work packages covering diagnostic toolchains, End-of-Line validation, software download, coding, commissioning, traceability, fault diagnosis, and manufacturing controls applications.

Author, configure, debug, validate, release, and maintain diagnostic applications, test procedures, guided workflows, ECU programming routines, configuration processes, and automated fault-finding sequences using ETAS GRADE-X and OTX-based authoring environments.

Develop, integrate, test, deploy, and support software solutions across multiple platforms, including desktop, web, service, database, embedded, and industrial automation environments where appropriate.

Apply software engineering principles across the full development lifecycle, including requirements analysis, architecture, coding, peer review, version control, automated testing, release management, deployment, documentation, and production support.

Create reusable software components, diagnostic libraries, interfaces, scripts, utilities, and automation tools that improve engineering efficiency, process consistency, system reliability, and maintainability.

Integrate Manufacturing Controls applications with vehicle diagnostic interfaces, production equipment, databases, APIs, MES platforms, enterprise systems, and reporting or traceability solutions.

Verify that assigned solutions satisfy defined quality, cybersecurity, configuration-control, throughput, reliability, maintainability, and production-readiness requirements, escalating gaps or risks to the Principal Engineer.

Lead structured investigations into electrical, software, diagnostic, controls, and integration faults; gather and analyse evidence, define containment, establish root cause, implement corrective actions, and verify their effectiveness.

Provide technical guidance, coaching, and peer review to engineers, suppliers, and cross-functional stakeholders, ensuring solutions comply with agreed engineering standards and governance.

Coordinate cross-functional and supplier deliverables, provide clear delivery updates, and escalate constraints promptly to protect programme timing, quality, cost, cybersecurity, and production continuity.

What You'll Bring

Technical Knowledge

• Vehicle electrical and electronic architectures.
• CAN, CAN FD, LIN, Automotive Ethernet, UDS, and DoIP.
• End-of-Line systems, software download, coding, configuration, commissioning, and manufacturing diagnostics.
• ETAS GRADE-X authoring, including diagnostic applications, test sequences, workflows, ECU communication, ECU programming, configuration, calibration, automated fault-finding procedures, debugging, validation, and controlled content release.
• OTX and ODX/PDX-based diagnostic content, including the import, interpretation, integration, and maintenance of diagnostic data.
• Software development across multiple platforms, including Windows, web, server, database, embedded, and industrial environments.
• Programming capability using multiple languages and frameworks, with experience in relevant technologies such as C#, .NET, Java, Python, PowerShell, JavaScript or TypeScript, SQL, REST APIs, and scripting or automation tools.
• Software architecture, object-oriented programming, modular design, source control, code review, automated testing, continuous integration, deployment, and release governance.
• Cybersecurity, authentication, access control, secure software deployment, configuration management, and auditability.
• Software Defined Vehicle architectures, OTA capability, vehicle software lifecycle management, and digital traceability.

Experience

Significant experience in automotive electrical systems, diagnostics, manufacturing controls, process engineering, systems integration, vehicle software deployment, or a closely related engineering discipline.

Proven experience authoring and maintaining diagnostic or test content using ETAS GRADE-X, OTX, ODX/PDX, or a comparable diagnostic authoring platform.

Demonstrable software programming capability across multiple platforms, programming languages, frameworks, and development environments.

Experience delivering production-quality software applications, utilities, integrations, or automation solutions through requirements capture, design, development, validation, controlled release, implementation, handover, and operational support.

Experience integrating software with diagnostic hardware, vehicle networks, databases, APIs, production equipment, manufacturing systems, or enterprise platforms.

Proven delivery of complex technical work packages and the ability to resolve significant electrical, software, diagnostic, controls, and integration issues using structured problem-solving methods.

Experience working within cross-functional teams and supporting engineering programmes through prototype, pre-production, launch, and series-production phases.

Experience providing technical leadership, mentoring engineers, reviewing technical outputs, and coordinating supplier deliverables.

Experience within high-performance, premium, or low-volume automotive manufacturing is desirable, together with exposure to supplier and production-facing environments.

Personal Attributes

• Delivery-focused, analytical, organised, and highly detail-oriented, with the technical judgement and accountability required to own complex work packages.
• Proactive and pragmatic, with strong software engineering, systems thinking, problem-solving, technical leadership, and stakeholder communication skills.
• Able to translate complex technical topics into clear requirements, implementation plans, risks, decisions, and status updates for technical and non-technical audiences.
• Calm under pressure and confident in challenging technical assumptions, process deviations, or inadequate evidence while maintaining constructive working relationships.
• Committed to software quality, cybersecurity, process discipline, configuration control, continuous improvement, knowledge sharing, and operational excellence.

Success Measures

Success will be measured by

• On-time delivery and validated readiness of assigned VP, PP, SOP, and series-production work packages.
• Reliable authoring, validation, release, and operational performance of ETAS GRADE-X diagnostic content, test sequences, programming routines, and manufacturing workflows.
• Successful delivery of robust, maintainable, secure, and supportable software solutions across multiple platforms.
• Effective integration and support of diagnostic, software-download, commissioning, traceability, and manufacturing process capability.
• Achievement of agreed quality, throughput, availability, compliance, software reliability, and fault-reduction objectives within the assigned scope.
• Reduction in recurring electrical, software, diagnostic, controls, and integration faults through effective root-cause analysis and verified corrective action.
• Timely maintenance and closure of requirements, software documentation, validation evidence, risks, issues, actions, source-control records, releases, and supplier dependencies.
• Demonstrable improvement in team capability through technical guidance, reusable software assets, standardised authoring practices, and effective knowledge transfer.

What We'll Do for You

• We offer a wide – ranging benefits package, which includes:
• Structured career development framework
• 25 days’ holiday, plus bank holiday. Annual buy & sell up to five days
• Enhanced company pension scheme
• Discretionary annual bonus award
• Private medical insurance and health cash plan
• Life assurance benefit
• Ability to apply for a sabbatical of up to one year after only two years’ service
• Benefits you can adapt to your lifestyle, such as discounted shopping
• Generous parental leave policies
• A range of wellbeing initiatives, such as employee assistance programme and free financial & mortgage advice
• Who Are We?
• No restraints. No limitations. We don’t simply push boundaries. We completely rethink them. McLaren Automotive exists to create breath-taking performance road cars.
• It takes a community to do what we do. A diverse group of people with many areas of expertise, united by their passion to deliver visionary products and set new benchmarks.
• McLaren Automotive commits to equal opportunity for all. Diversity, Equality and Inclusion is at the heart of our impact, it drives our innovation and enables us to truly create something special. Join us on our journey.