Production Assistant

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

The Operator role is responsible for carrying out the required standard activities of their assigned tasks, in full compliance to the Work Instruction and/or Standard Operating Procedure, and without compromise to their own, and colleagues, safety.

Where required to achieve certified status, the team member will be taught how to undertake their tasks safely, and to a high quality level, through a rigorous Job Instruction process, and will be expected to attain the relevant certification, as measured by the competence matrix and specified in the sites BMS/QMS.

The team member will be fully supported by their Team Leader (TL), who will enable their training, coaching and quickly respond to them if they find any off-standard / quality issues.

They will be expected to actively identify safety concerns (Hazard identification), make problems immediately known to their TL (Pull the Andon), and raise improvement ideas to solve problems (Kaizen).

They will be part of a team that will collectively work on creating a Great Place To Work through a culture of continuous improvement, safe working and open dialogue.

Job Responsibilities

• Contribute to their team in creating a Great Place to Work by role-modelling safety-first, a Kaizen mind-set, and supporting their colleagues
• Hold themselves, and fellow team members accountable to embody the GKNA culture principles
• Undertake all of their tasks in compliance with the standard work and their training, and make any problems; safety, quality, or other, immediately known to their TL
• Exemplify a safety-first mindset and follow all GKN Aerospace Health, Safety and Environmental policies and standards
• Understand their teams People, Safety, Quality, Delivery, Cash and Cost Key Performance Indicators and their contribution to them
• Become certified at the Lean Foundation level and implement at least 1 Kaizen per month
• Support the team and TL in problem solving, contributing ideas based upon own experience of their tasks
• Be an active member of the team, promoting collective engagement with each other
• Comply with all legal and regulatory requirements:
• The companys Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action policies
• Compliance and Ethics Policy on Contracting with the United States Government in all areas of responsibility involving direct and indirect contracting with the United States Government
• Export Control regulations

Job Qualifications

Required Qualifications:

• High School Diploma or GED
• 1+ years of experience working in a manufacturing/industrial environment.
• Safety mind-set

Preferred Qualifications:

• A track record of Kaizen implementation
• Experience working within a Lean Operating Model / Production System
• Aerospace experience
• A passion for the Aerospace industry
• Experience operating an overhead crane
• Forklift Certified
• Waste Water experience preferred.

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.