About the role

AI summarised

The Technology & Development Manager at Thales leads cross-functional activities to bring products from design to stable mass production. This role owns NPI, manages material/BOM changes, and drives Auto-Prod readiness, ensuring operational robustness, quality assurance, and compliance with manufacturing standards. The manager leads a small team of engineers and coordinates with internal and external stakeholders to achieve production release and successful ramp.

Aerospace & DefenseFull-timeGeneral

Key Responsibilities

Lead and develop a small team of engineers (Manufacturing Engineers, Industrialization Engineers, or Process Engineers).
Provide coaching, technical guidance, performance feedback, and career development support.
Allocate resources to NPI projects, ECO validation, Auto‑Prod readiness, and cost‑reduction activities.
Build strong engineering capability in process validation, documentation, and problem solving.
Own end-to-end NPI industrialization: gate reviews, factory readiness and ramp-to-stable production.
Drive cross-functional alignment on build schedules, material readiness, test strategy, and quality gates.
Monitor NPI KPIs (yield, scrap, OEE, cycle time) and implement improvement plans to meet launch targets.
Govern the Engineering Change Order (ECO) process for materials, specifications, and process changes.
Conduct impact analyses covering quality, reliability, cost, capacity, delivery, and compliance.
Ensure accurate PLM/ERP updates for BOMs, routings, work instructions, and effective-dated changes.
Drive communication of change readiness and cut-in planning across internal and external stakeholders.
Own the Auto‑Prod process for controlled release of new build (devices) into production.

Requirements

Strong industrialization/NPI background with process validation expertise.
Proficiency in PFMEA, Control Plan, APQP/PPAP, DOE, SPC, and statistical analysis.
Experience in product certification and regulatory compliance.
Knowledge of alternate material qualification and cost-reduction engineering.
Familiarity with PLM (Agile/Windchill/Teamcenter) and ERP (Oracle).
Strong data analytics skills using Minitab, JMP, Power BI, or Excel.
Proven experience leading small engineering teams.
Strong communication, stakeholder management, and cross-functional influence.
Effective problem-solving (8D, DMAIC, 5-Why) and decision-making under pressure.
Ability to manage multiple programs concurrently.
Collaborative leadership—able to influence without authority.
Continuous improvement mindset.
Bachelor Degree in Electrical, Microelectronic or Mechanical Engineering.
5 years of experience in NPI/industrialization/manufacturing engineering.
Experience managing engineers or leading project teams.
Certifications such as Six Sigma Green/Black Belt, PMP, or CQE preferred.