Production Engineering Lead

Why Austal

Austal isAustralia's global shipbuilder, Defence prime contractor and maritime technology partner of choice, designing, constructing, and supporting defence and commercial vessels for the world's leading operators. The company operates in Australia, the USA, Philippines, and Vietnam.

Austal Australia is delivering multiple naval shipbuilding and sustainment programs for the Royal Australian Navy, Australian Border Force, and the Department of Defence, employing approximately 1,000 people in facilities in located Western Australia, Queensland, and the Northern Territory.

About the Opportunity

The Commonwealth of Australia has announced Austal as their Strategic Shipbuilding Partner in Western Australia that will support the Continuous Naval Shipbuilding and Sustainment Enterprise and the delivery of multiple new defence force shipbuilding projects, such as Landing Craft-Medium and Landing Craft-Heavy for the Australian Army.

As the Strategic Shipbuilder, Austal will drive significant growth across our industry and workforce, as we deliver both existing and new programs under a long-term partnership. It will also enable the design and construction of vessels at our Henderson shipyard and marks a major step forward in establishing enduring shipbuilding capability within the Henderson Defence Precinct and across Western Australia.

To achieve this, we are building a highly skilled team, to engage with local industry and supply chains, and work on complex, large-scale projects that reflect Austal's proven capabilities and trusted performance.

The Production Engineering Lead provides shipbuilding expertise to the SSA Engineering organisation in support of the execution of the Design Authority engineering intent, for each SSA Program.

What's Involved

• Provide expert shipbuilding and production engineering support to SSA Engineering in alignment with Design Authority intent across all SSA Programs.
• Oversee and ensure all manufacturing activities are executed in accordance with approved procedures, processes, and scope of work.
• Facilitate formal acceptance of completed manufacturing tasks on behalf of the SSA and the next customer in the value chain.
• Collaborate closely with Supply Chain, Program Engineering Design, Austal, Production, Quality, and Accuracy Control teams to deliver production scope.
• Ensure compliance through oversight of Objective Quality Evidence (OQE) and standardized checklists.
• Lead and supervise Production Engineers within the SSA organisation, providing technical guidance and performance oversight.
• Maintain accountability for the delivery of production scope as defined in SSA Tasking Statements.
• Promote continuous improvement and adherence to engineering standards throughout the production lifecycle.
• Act as a key liaison between engineering, production, and quality teams to resolve issues and drive alignment.

You'll Need

• Relevant engineering qualification with direct shipbuilding experience
• Minimum 3+ years' experience in a front-line management and supervisory role
• Minimum 5+ years Shipbuilding design experience
• Understanding of ship construction disciplines and processes
• Estimating and financial management experience

Why Austal

• Competitive compensation and benefits package.
• Professional development and training opportunities.
• A supportive and dynamic work environment.
• Opportunities for career advancement within our growing organisation.

Our global team is guided by a universal set of values that describe the focus of our efforts. Our goal is for all our decisions and actions to reflect these core values. We believe that putting our values into practice creates the greatest benefits for our shareholders, customers, employees, suppliers, and communities in which we serve.

Excellence - Customer Focus - Integrity - Team Work

At Austal we are committed to providing a safe and inclusive work environment for all. We believe that achieving greater diversity will enhance our operations and as such we actively encourage Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islanders, people of all backgrounds, ages, sexual orientation, and those with Disability to apply.