Head of Tooling and Automation

Job Description:

Location: Prestwick, Ayrshire
Hours: 37 hours per week (half day Friday)
Type: Full-time

Salary: £70,000 - £80,000
Travel Required: Occasional
Work Location: Site-based (100%)
 

Security Checks: BPSS, Disclosure Scotland, pre-employment medical (including drug and alcohol testing)

Applicants must have the right to work in the UK (no visa sponsorship available); appointments are subject to pre‑employment checks, and we welcome applications from all backgrounds.

Join one of Ayrshire’s largest engineering employers

Prestwick Aerosystems continues Ayrshire’s long-standing aircraft manufacturing tradition. From our Prestwick site, we manufacture wing structures and complex aerostructures used on Airbus commercial aircraft programmes worldwide.

As Tooling Manager (Head of Tooling), you will lead and manage all aspects of tooling for the business, ensuring robust, cost‑effective and technically sound tooling solutions that support production, new programmes and long‑term business strategy. Working closely with engineering, manufacturing, suppliers and customers, you will play a key role in delivering safe, efficient and high‑quality tooling solutions within a regulated aerospace environment.

How you will contribute to the team

You will:

• Own the site tooling and automation strategy, aligning capability, assets and investment with business plans, customer requirements and long-term industrial objectives, acting as the senior subject matter expert to shape solutions and influence stakeholders.
• Lead and develop the Tooling & Automation teams, fostering a high-performance culture of accountability, safety and continuous improvement, with clear focus on capability, capacity and succession planning.
• Own budgets, investment planning and make vs buy strategies, ensuring strong financial control, effective prioritisation, and delivery of robust business cases that optimise cost, quality, lead time and risk, while building a resilient supplier ecosystem.
• Define and deliver PPM and asset management strategies across tooling, automation and transportation media, maximising reliability, performance and lifecycle value while ensuring safe, stable and efficient operations and material flow.
• Lead tooling and automation for new product introduction and ongoing operations, covering definition, industrialisation and production readiness, while driving continuous improvement of existing systems, partnering with R&T to industrialise emerging technologies into scalable, value-driven solutions delivered to cost, quality and schedule.

Requirements for the role

You will have:

• A strong engineering or quality background with demonstrable experience managing tooling activities within a manufacturing or regulated engineering environment.
• Proven project management capability, including managing tooling projects through defined cost, quality and delivery milestones.
• Practical working knowledge of lean principles and continuous improvement tools applied within an operational setting.
• Experience managing tooling suppliers and technical interfaces, including evaluation, approval and oversight of external tool manufacture.

What we will offer you

• 37-hour working week with half day Friday
• Defined contribution pension
• Annual bonus linked to company performance
• Generous annual leave entitlement
• Life assurance and wellbeing support
• Professional development and training opportunities
• Free onsite parking

What happens next

If you’re ready to play a key role in supporting our engineering and manufacturing operations at Prestwick, apply today.

Right to Work in the UK
 

All applicants must have the legal right to work in the UK at the time of application. Prestwick Aerosystems is unable to offer visa sponsorship for this role. Any offer of employment will be subject to satisfactory Right to Work checks, Disclosure Scotland and a pre‑employment medical.

Prestwick Aerosystems is an equal opportunity employer. We welcome applications from all backgrounds and are committed to building a diverse and inclusive workplace.

This job requires an awareness of any potential compliance risks and a commitment to act with integrity, as the foundation for the Company’s success, reputation and sustainable growth.

Company:

Prestwick Aerosystems Limited

Employment Type:

Permanent

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Experience Level:

Professional

Job Family:

Leadership

Your application data will be processed by Prestwick Aerosystems and other companies under the control of Airbus for all necessary hiring, vetting, and security checks. This processing is required to assess your suitability for employment. For full details on how and why Airbus uses your data, please see our Privacy Notice.

Prestwick Aerosystems is committed to achieving workforce diversity and creating an inclusive working environment. We welcome all applications irrespective of social and cultural background, age, gender, disability, sexual orientation or religious belief.

As a part of Airbus, Prestwick Aerosystems is committed to equal opportunities for all. As such, we will never ask for any type of monetary exchange in the frame of a recruitment process. Any impersonation of Prestwick Aerosystems or Airbus to do so should be reported to emsom@airbus.com.

At Prestwick Aerosystems, we support you to work, connect and collaborate more easily and flexibly. Wherever possible, we foster flexible working arrangements to stimulate innovative thinking.