Production Lead - Aircraft

Production Lead - E-7 Wedgetail Modification Programme

Location: Birmingham Airport (BHX)
Contract: Contract opportunity to End August 2027 (Umbrella inside IR35)
Hours of Work: Monday-Thursday Days and Lates 10 hours, potential OT on Friday
Rate of Pay: Neg

To be successful in your application you will need to hold UK working rights at the time of application, sponsorship is not available.

Lead aircraft production and modification operations on a major defence aviation programme

Line Up Aviation is seeking an experienced Production Lead to support our client working on the E-7 Wedgetail aircraft modification programme in Birmingham.
This is an opportunity for an experienced aviation professional to take a leading role in coordinating aircraft maintenance, production and modification activities, ensuring work is delivered safely, efficiently and to the required quality standards.
Working alongside supplier maintenance teams, our client's management and cross-functional support functions, you will play a key role in maintaining production progress, resolving operational issues and ensuring the daily build plan is delivered to schedule.

The Role
As Production Lead, you will oversee and coordinate multidisciplinary maintenance teams, including technicians and certifiers, supporting aircraft production, maintenance, repair and modification activities.
You will work closely with the modification supplier and stakeholders to manage priorities, address production challenges and maintain effective communication across the programme.
Key Responsibilities

• Lead and coordinate supplier maintenance teams to deliver aircraft production, maintenance and modification activities safely and efficiently.
• Work closely with the modification supplier counterpart through daily operational meetings.
• Drive the delivery of the daily aircraft build plan, maintaining schedule adherence, quality and productivity.
• Lead daily action-tracker meetings, identifying and resolving issues that could affect production progress.
• Coordinate with engineering, quality, logistics and other support functions to resolve aircraft issues and remove operational obstacles.
• Identify recurring manufacturing or maintenance problems and ensure established processes are followed.
• Monitor workflow, workload and production priorities to support on-time delivery and first-time quality.
• Coordinate and communicate the second shift build plan with first-shift management and the industrial engineering scheduler.
• Promote a strong safety culture and ensure maintenance activities comply with relevant regulatory and organisational requirements.

About You
You will be an experienced aircraft maintenance, production or modification professional with a strong understanding of aircraft operations and the ability to lead teams in a demanding, schedule-driven environment.
You will be comfortable working across organisational boundaries, communicating with senior stakeholders and coordinating multiple activities to achieve programme objectives.
You should be able to demonstrate:

• Significant experience in aircraft production, maintenance, modification or build operations within a civil or military aviation environment.
• Experience working on Boeing aircraft, ideally the B737 / 737NG, or a comparable aircraft type. The client specifies a minimum of 12 months' experience on the relevant type or a similar Boeing aircraft.
• Proven team leadership and the ability to coordinate maintenance personnel, team leads and supplier organisations.
• Working knowledge of relevant EASA, FAA, UK CAA or MAA regulations, together with aviation quality assurance and safety management systems.
• The ability to interpret technical documentation, engineering drawings and authorised technical publications.
• Strong problem-solving skills, with the ability to resolve production issues and maintain workflow under pressure.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder-management skills.
• An understanding of aircraft maintenance supply chains and logistics.

Qualifications
An aircraft maintenance licence or equivalent qualification, such as A&P, EASA, EMAR or CAA, would be advantageous. A degree-level qualification in an engineering discipline and familiarity with 737NG base maintenance processes would also be beneficial.

Location and Security
The position is based in Birmingham Airport. The successful candidate will need to meet the programme's high-level security clearance requirements.

Interested?
If you have the aircraft maintenance or production leadership experience to support a complex modification programme, we will welcome a confidential conversation.
Please contact Line Up Aviation to discuss the opportunity and your suitability.