Functional Team Lead - Analysis JSF Landing Gear

Fantastic challenges. Amazing opportunities.

GKN Aerospace is reimagining air travel: going further, faster and greener! Fuelled by great people whose expertise and creativity sets the standards in our industry, we’re inspired by the opportunities to innovate and break boundaries. We’re proud to play a part in protecting the world’s democracies. And we’re committed to putting sustainability at the centre of everything we do, opening up and protecting our planet. With over 16,000 employees across 32 manufacturing sites in 12 countries we serve over 90% of the world’s aircraft and engine manufacturers and achieved sales of £3.6bn in 2025. There are no limits to where you can take your career.

Job Summary

At GKN Aerospace, we are reimagining air travel through innovation, collaboration and engineering excellence. As a Functional Team Lead Engineering, you will play a key role in leading talented engineering teams and delivering complex aerospace solutions that help shape the future of flight.

This is an opportunity for an experienced engineering leader who combines strong technical expertise with a passion for developing people, driving continuous improvement and delivering results in a dynamic international environment.

Job Responsibilities

What You'll Do

As a Functional Team Lead, you will be accountable for the successful delivery of engineering activities within your assigned programme or project. You will ensure that technical solutions are delivered on schedule, within budget and in full compliance with customer, regulatory and airworthiness requirements.

Working closely with Programme Management, Operations, Manufacturing and other engineering disciplines, you will provide technical leadership while developing a high-performing engineering team. You will also play an important role in driving technical excellence, managing risk and supporting continuous improvement initiatives.

Key responsibilities include:

• Leading and motivating engineering teams to achieve programme objectives related to quality, schedule and cost.
• Providing technical oversight and ensuring engineering solutions meet customer, regulatory and certification requirements.
• Planning, coordinating and monitoring engineering activities and work package delivery.
• Reviewing and approving technical deliverables, reports and documentation within delegated authority.
• Identifying, assessing and mitigating technical risks across assigned programmes.
• Supporting bid and proposal activities through technical and functional reviews.
• Driving compliance with engineering processes, methods, standards and best practices.
• Supporting certification activities through reviews of test plans, specifications and compliance strategies.
• Collaborating with customers and stakeholders during technical reviews and programme gate reviews.
• Promoting a culture of continuous improvement, knowledge sharing and operational excellence.
• Coaching, mentoring and developing engineers to strengthen capability within the team.

Job Qualifications

What You'll Bring

You are an experienced engineering professional with a strong technical foundation and proven leadership skills. You enjoy working in a complex, highly regulated environment and know how to balance technical excellence with programme delivery.

To be successful in this role, you will bring:

• A Bachelor's or Master's degree in Aerospace Engineering or a related technical discipline.
• At least 10 years of relevant engineering experience, ideally within the aerospace industry.
• Strong technical expertise within an engineering discipline and the ability to provide technical direction.
• Experience leading multidisciplinary engineering teams and managing complex technical work packages.
• A solid understanding of engineering development, verification and certification processes.
• Strong project planning, organisational and stakeholder management skills.
• Excellent problem-solving and decision-making capabilities.
• The ability to communicate effectively with both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Experience building relationships across functions, customers and suppliers.
• A passion for developing and coaching engineering talent.

The following experience would be considered an advantage:

• Formal Project Management training or certification.
• Experience implementing organisational or process improvements.
• Budget and resource management experience.
• Experience working in international and multicultural environments.
• Participation in professional aerospace or engineering organisations.

What Makes You Successful

Success in this role requires more than technical expertise. We are looking for someone who can inspire others, create clarity and bring teams together around a common purpose.

You lead by example and create an environment where people feel empowered to contribute and grow. You communicate openly and effectively, make sound decisions under pressure and maintain a strong focus on safety, quality and delivery. You combine strategic thinking with a practical mindset and have the drive to turn plans into results.

We’ll offer you fantastic challenges and amazing opportunities. This is your chance to be part of an organisation that has proven itself to be at the cutting edge of our industry; and is committed to pushing the boundaries even further. And with some of the best training on offer in the industry, who knows how far you can go?

A Great Place to work needs a Great Way of Working

Everyone is welcome to apply to GKN. We believe that we can only achieve our ambitions through a coming together of diverse minds who enjoy collaborating in an inspirational environment. Through our commitment to diversity, inclusion and belonging and by living our five powerful principles we’ve created a culture where everyone feels welcome to contribute. It’s a culture that won us ‘The Best Workplace Culture Award’. By embracing and celebrating what makes us unique we encourage everyone to bring their full self to work.

We’re also committed to providing an accessible recruitment process, so if you require reasonable adjustments at any stage during our recruitment process please get in touch and let us know.

We are the place where human dreams, plus human endeavour, shape the future of aerospace innovation and technology.

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