Our client has an opportunity for a Product Assurance Engineer to join them on a contract basis for 12 months with potential for extension.

Role: Product Assurance Engineer
Location: Stevenage/Bristol
Hours: Monday to Friday, hybrid option
Clearance: Full SC required to start – UKI’s only due to project
Hourly Rate: £40-£45ph via Umbrella, inside IR35

What you’ll be doing:
1. Leadership in Bid Work & Quality Planning (QP)

• Lead quality assurance input into bid and proposal work, ensuring product assurance requirements are considered from the outset.
• Develop and maintain Quality Plans (QP) aligned with AQAP 2105, tailoring them to the needs of each R&D project.
• Work closely with engineering, programme management, and commercial teams to define achievable quality objectives and constraints during bidding.
• Ensure that quality, compliance, and risk management strategies are embedded in the bid phase to mitigate potential project risks early.

2. Risk-Based Product Assurance & Decision-Making

• Champion a risk-based approach to product assurance, supporting R&D teams in making informed decisions about acceptable risks.
• Facilitate risk identification workshops, employing methodologies such as FMEA, DFMEA.
• Guide engineering teams in making trade-off decisions between innovation, compliance, and acceptable risk levels.
• Ensure that risk management activities are properly documented and aligned with contractual and regulatory expectations.

3. Design & Development Assurance

• Ensure compliance with AQAP 2105, leading quality and assurance activities throughout the R&D lifecycle.
• Conduct Design Assurance Reviews, ensuring requirements verification and validation against defence standards.
• Drive independent quality assessments to challenge and validate design assumptions, safety margins, and performance criteria.
• Support the definition and execution of verification and validation (V&V) plans, ensuring product reliability and functional integrity.

4. Cross-Functional Engagement & Governance

• Act as the primary quality interface between R&D, programme management, safety, regulatory compliance, and customers.
• Provide independent assurance to senior stakeholders, ensuring that product development aligns with quality and risk expectations.
• Ensure robust configuration and change management processes to maintain product integrity and traceability throughout development.
• Prepare and present product assurance reports, risk registers, and compliance evidence to internal stakeholders.

5. Supplier & Customer Assurance

• Engage with suppliers and subcontractors to ensure their deliverables align with the Quality Plan (QP) and risk expectations.
• Support customer audits, contract reviews, and regulatory assessments, ensuring product assurance compliance.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives, enhancing risk management, assurance processes, and collaboration across teams.

Requirements:

Technical & Domain Expertise
Defence Standards & Compliance – Strong understanding of AQAP 2105, DEF STANs, AS9100D, and other defence/quality assurance regulations.
Product Assurance & Quality Planning (QP) – Experience developing and implementing Quality Plans (QP), ensuring alignment with contract requirements.
Risk Management & Analysis – Expertise in risk assessment methodologies (e.g., FMEA, DFMEA) to drive informed decision-making.
Verification & Validation (V&V) – Knowledge of test planning, qualification activities, and validation processes for defence-related R&D projects.
Configuration & Change Management – Understanding of requirements traceability, configuration control, and impact assessment in complex R&D environments.

Leadership & Decision-Making
Bid & Proposal Engagement – Ability to define quality assurance strategies during bid work, influencing teams to balance innovation, compliance, and risk.
Risk-Based Decision Making – Ability to guide engineering teams in making trade-offs between acceptable risks, technical feasibility, and compliance.
Stakeholder Management – Strong skills in influencing senior leadership, engineers, programme managers, and regulatory bodies.
Supplier & Customer Assurance – Ability to assess supplier quality, review technical documentation, and represent product assurance in customer engagements.

Communication & Reporting
Technical Writing & Documentation – Ability to write, review, and present risk assessments, quality plans, and compliance reports.
Presentation & Governance – Experience preparing and delivering assurance reports to executives, customers, and regulatory auditors.
Cross-Functional Collaboration – Ability to work across engineering, safety, legal, procurement, and programme management teams to ensure alignment.

Problem-Solving & Continuous Improvement
Root Cause Analysis (RCA) & CAPA – Strong analytical skills to drive problem investigations and corrective/preventive actions (CAPA).
Process Improvement – Ability to implement lessons learned and best practices in product assurance, ensuring ongoing improvement.
Adaptability & Critical Thinking – Comfortable navigating uncertainty in R&D, making evidence-based recommendations to reduce risk.

If you are interested in applying for this position and you meet the requirements, please apply now!

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