Manufacturing Engineering Programme Leader

Manufacturing Engineering Programme Leader

Date: 9 Oct 2026

Location:Papendrecht, NL

Company: GKN Aerospace Careers

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

We are looking for an ME Programme Lead to join the Manufacturing Engineering department of Fokker Landing Gear in Papendrecht.
As an ME Programme Lead, you are a member of the wider Manufacturing Engineering team focusing on delivering products meeting our customer’s requirements and quality standards. Your main goal will be to ensure the delivery of MRB deliverables (MPS, FAI, L1 Requests for Assistance, L2 non-conformance disposition, non-conformance advanced information, etc.) relating to respective customer products within your scope. In this process, you are leading approvals and engineers assigned to the MRB tasks.

Fokker Landing Gear

Fokker Landing Gear, part of GKN Fokker, is a recognized specialist in landing gear and related systems. We focus on the design and development, production and assembly of complete landing gears, as well as the repair and reassembly of systems already in use. In doing so, we work on the most famous aircraft and helicopters; think of the Apache combat helicopter, the F-35 Lightning II (JSF), the Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 and the multipurpose NH90 maritime combat helicopter.

What you'll do

•    Deliver of the ME Programme Lead Deliverables (L1, L2, MPS, FAI, NCAI) relating to respective customer products that are within the scope of the candidate,
•    Ensure that the applicable Requirements (including technical quality) against agreed delivery schedules are met,
•    Ensure that the quality of ME Programme Deliverables and procedures are adhered to and, if needed, seek support from technical authorities for advice,
•    Support the Leader/Head of Manufacturing Engineering in the Execution of technical Risk Management by identifying Technical Risks and determining associated Mitigation Actions,
•    Directly prioritize the End-to-end Engineering of Manufacturing Engineering and Design Engineering scope of all ME Programme activities, including ME & DE assigned staff (e.g. approvers and engineers), after agreeing with their respective functional leads in case of conflicts,
•    Interface with customer technical teams where needed for reporting and support, and with customer design teams for BTP content of MRB activities,
•    Attend respective Product (IPT) team and operations meetings and agree on priorities,
•    Define what is to be done, set ME Programme priorities and targets supported by KPIs – priorities flow from IPT meetings,
•    Cooperate and seek support by Landing Gear technical experts,
•    Closely work with functional leaders who support, lead & resolve resource conflicts (point of escalation),
•    Communicate effectively with the (Programme) Team and with Stakeholders outside the Team,
•    Act as Link to other departments, such as Operations and Procurement to provide General Support and to achieve business’ objectives.

What you'll bring

•    BSc or higher in Aerospace Engineering or equivalent working and thinking level gained by experience,
•    10+ years’ experience in aerospace manufacturing engineering and in managing (complex) engineering situations under high delivery pressure,
•    Experience in working cross-functionally (Design Engineering, Quality, Operations/Production, Sales/Customer relationship management, Supplier Management and Development),
•    Proven record in managing complex projects & ability to rationalise, assess and evaluation immature information / ambiguity,
•    Good level of engineering functional knowledge (Technical Excellence Framework level 3 or higher),
•    Experience in the manufacturing of landing gear systems or high precision-high hardness metal processing in order to technically support the whole IPT in achieving the overall business objectives,
•    Project management expertise or experience as a technical project lead,
•    Problem solving skills in both technical and program management level,
•    Business savviness, honed interpersonal skills, stakeholder management (with technical community and associated interfaces),
•    Ability to judge when an escalation is appropriate,
•    Delivery focused, driven, persuasive and committed,
•    Ability to clearly present data, reports and presentations for facilitating decision making across different business levels,
•    Experience in working with multicultural, multidisciplinary teams,
•    Fluency in English,
•    Residence in the vicinity of Papendrecht or willing to relocate,
•    Willingness to work on-site on a full-time basis.

What we'll offer

A challenging position in an innovative and international environment with a rich history in aircraft manufacturing. Our organization breathes passion for engineering and all our teams are justifiably proud of what they develop and build.

As an ME Programme Lead, you will receive a fantastic range of benefits, including:
•    A gross salary up to 6.350,- per month, based on the CAO Metalektro (salary scale L1) and depending on your experience and qualifications. 
•    42 paid holidays for full-time employment.
•    Working conditions according to the CAO Metalektro, including an excellent pension scheme and  travel allowance.
•    A working environment, in which we work together to achieve the best result  for our customers.
•    Every opportunity to build on your career and personal development.

Extra Info

Apply online by sending us your CV. Due to data privacy reasons we do not handle any applications sent by email. For additional questions you can contact Glenn Duggert, Talent Acquisition, via View email address on careers.gknaerospace.com.

Part of the selection procedure is carrying out the necessary checks and screenings in order to meet the requirements set by GKN Fokker's customers, partners and suppliers within the program. The checks and screenings will be assessed on the basis of frameworks set by our Export Compliance & Security department. Every employee within GKN Fokker must ultimately be authorized to give substance to his or her position. Assessment of checks and screenings can lead to the fact that no content can be given to the position and therefore no employment or deployment can follow. The onboarding at Fokker usually takes 3-4 weeks.

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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