Design Assurance Group Leader

Science and Technology Facilities Council

Salary: Band F (S1) £67,409 per annum 

Hours: Full-Time (We understand the importance of work-life balance, and are happy to discuss the possibility of flexible working with applicants)

Contract Type: Open-Ended

Location: Science and Technology Facilities Council, UK Astronomy Technology Centre, Edinburgh.

Together, our scientists, technologists, engineers, technicians, and business support team explore the unknown and turn what they find into work that changes the world around us. Whether it is sending probes into space or finding new ways to treat cancer, everyone here plays a vital role in making a positive difference to society.

Come and discover how much you can achieve when you are surrounded by world-leading experts, encouraged to constantly learn, and empowered to explore your curiosity.

About the Role

To support our growing astronomy programme capabilities, the UK Astronomy Technology Centre in Edinburgh is seeking an inspirational and technically capable Quality Assurance & Product Assurance Group Leader to lead and help shape the future of how we deliver exceptional engineering.

Our organisation develops and delivers highly specialised hardware for European spaceflight missions and some of the world's leading ground-based astronomical telescopes. Our work sits at the intersection of engineering, science and exploration, creating products that operate in some of the most demanding environments imaginable.

As Quality Assurance & Product Assurance Group Leader, you will provide leadership, direction and technical oversight to a specialist team responsible for assuring the quality and integrity of our products throughout their lifecycle. You will also be supported and mentored by an experienced Product Assurance Group Leader from within STFC, providing an excellent opportunity to deepen your knowledge of product assurance within the space and scientific instrumentation sectors while developing your leadership capability.

You will work closely with engineering, project management, manufacturing, procurement, customers and suppliers. Your role will be to ensure that quality and assurance are embedded from the earliest stages of a project, providing both independent oversight and constructive technical challenges.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead, develop and inspire the Quality Assurance and Product Assurance team.

• Set the group's strategy, objectives and priorities in alignment with Organisational and programme goals.

• Provide quality and product assurance leadership across spaceflight and astronomical instrumentation programmes and implement Project Quality and Product Assurance Plans and managing their application as required.

• Champion a culture where quality is designed into products and processes from the outset.

• Provide independent assurance, technical challenge and expert advice to project and engineering teams.

• Ensure effective application of quality and product assurance processes throughout the product lifecycle and manage product and process risks. Developing a good working relationship with key stakeholders will be vital to this. 

• Support engineering reviews, qualification, verification, validation and acceptance activities.

• Oversee non-conformance management, corrective and preventive actions, root-cause analysis and lessons learned.

• Ensure appropriate quality and product assurance requirements are flowed down to suppliers and manufacturing partners.

• Support and participate in audits, investigations and programme reviews.

• Develop strong relationships with customers and external stakeholders on quality and assurance matters.

• Provide clear, objective and evidence-based assurance reporting to senior leadership.

• Identify opportunities to improve our processes, tools and ways of working.

• Develop the capability, confidence and expertise of the Quality and Product Assurance team.

• Become the link with the wider assurance community in STFC. 

Person Specification

(Please note the criteria below will be assessed at Shortlisting or Interview stage as indicated)

• Experience leading others including staff development and recruitment (S&I).

• Excellent written and verbal communication and presentational skills, with attention to detail (S&I).

• Knowledge of relevant technical standards commonly applicable to space projects such as ECSS, ESCC, NASA, MIL or standards commonly used in European Astronomy, or equivalent transferrable experience (I).

• Experience working within a formal Quality Management System meeting the requirements of ECSS, or other similarly highly regulated industry; and experience of developing and maintaining a formal Quality Management System (S&I).

• Experience of leading, reviewing and approving technical work and/or project or product conformance documentation; and participation in project gate reviews, engineering change control, managing non-conformance, product data management, safety and reliability, documenting and maintaining evidence of compliance (S&I).

• Understands some of the main engineering aspects (e.g. mechanical, optical, electronics, software), and the key physical and engineering challenges of building complex equipment for large scale astronomy or space flight; or in an analogous industry (I).

You don't need to be an expert in every aspect of product assurance from day one. What matters is that you have strong engineering judgement, a genuine passion for quality, intellectual curiosity and the ability to learn and lead. With the support of an experienced Product Assurance Group Leader, you will have the opportunity to build your expertise while making an immediate contribution as a leader.

Employee Benefits:

We are offering an open-ended contract with a whole host of benefits including:

• 30 days holiday (in addition to 10.5 bank holidays and privilege days)

• Flexible working hours

• An excellent average salary pension scheme

• Employee shopping/travel discounts

• Learning and development opportunities

Link to more benefits: https://stfccareers.co.uk/rewards-and-benefits/

We ask some of the biggest questions in the universe, to answer some of the biggest challenges in the world. Together, our scientists, technologists, engineers, and business-support team explore the unknown across every field you could think of. And they turn what they find into work that changes the world around us. 

What could you achieve with the world-leading facilities and experts of one of Europe's largest research organisations by your side? Join us and discover what is possible!

Please note, if you will require sponsorship to work in the UK, as part of your sponsorship application, you and any dependants travelling with you, will be required to pay costs directly to The Home Office for the application before you start your role with us. UKRI is normally able to reimburse some, or all of these fees after you have become an employee and this can be discussed with the Hiring Manager. For more information, please visit https://www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa/how-much-it-costs 

UKRI is an organisation that brings together the seven disciplinary research councils, Research England and Innovate UK. Together, we build an independent organisation with a strong voice and vision ensuring the UK maintains its world-leading position in research and innovation.

Supporting some of the world’s most exciting and challenging research projects, we develop and operate some of the most remarkable scientific facilities in the world. We are pushing the frontiers of human knowledge through fundamental research and delivering benefits for UK society and the economy through world-class research, skills and business-led innovation.

More information can be found at www.ukri.org.

Choosing to come to work at UKRI means that you will have access to a whole host of benefits from a defined benefit pension scheme, excellent holiday entitlement, access to employee shopping/travel discounts and salary sacrifice cycle to work scheme.  For more details, visit benefits of working for UKRI.

How we support EDI in the workforce

At UKRI, we believe that everyone has a right to be treated with dignity and respect, and to be provided with equal opportunities to thrive and succeed in an environment that enables them to do so. We also value diversity of thought and experience within inclusive groups, organisations and the wider community. For further information, please visit ‘How we support EDI in the workforce’.

Disability Confident Employer

As users of the disability confident scheme, any candidate who opts into the scheme and best meets the essential criteria, will be shortlisted for interview. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.

How to apply

Online applications only preferred for this role. Please submit a CV and covering letter which clearly outlines how you fulfil the criteria specified along with your motivation for UKRI and the role. Ensure that the job reference number is included in the filename description of each document uploaded. Note that failure to address the above criteria or submit an application without a covering letter may result in the application not being considered.

UKRI seeks to ensure it creates and maintains a system of openness, fairness and inclusion – a collaborative, trusted environment, which is attractive to and accessible to everyone who is interested in developing their career with us.

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be rejected and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action.

As part of the pre-employment checks there is a requirement to undergo Baseline Personnel Security Screening. BPSS is a pre-condition of employment and failure to achieve it may mean that the employment offer is rescinded. UKRI reserves the right to run, or re-run, security clearance as required during the course of employment.