The Senior Manager Industrial Design will lead the creative direction and passenger experience vision for TAS. This is a senior leadership role for a design leader who can balance aesthetics, ergonomics, manufacturability, certification requirements, and commercial priorities to create a world-class passenger experience, ensuring every product combines passenger comfort, visual appeal, technical feasibility, airline brand requirements, and long-term durability.
Responsibilities
- Define and deliver the organisation’s industrial design strategy aligned with business and programme objectives
- Lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing industrial design team (designers, CAD specialists, UX specialists where applicable)
- Act as the Industrial Design subject matter expert across programmes, ensuring consistency, quality, and innovation
- Actively contribute to long-term innovation roadmaps and R&D initiatives
- Guide design work from research, sketching, concept development, digital visualisation, CAD modelling, prototyping, mock-ups, and customer presentations
- Oversee colour, material, and finish strategy, ensuring selections meet brand, durability, cleaning, fire, weight, and certification requirements.
- Champion human-centred design, usability, and passenger experience
- Contribute to thought leadership through conferences, publications, and industry engagement.
- Partner with airline customers & OEMs teams to interpret briefs, develop compelling design proposals, and support bids, RFPs, and customer engagement activities.
- Collaborate with commercial, engineering, marketing, manufacturing, quality, and certification teams to ensure design intent is translated into technically robust, certifiable, cost effective and production-ready solutions.
- Introduce emerging technologies, materials, and processes (e.g. sustainable materials, digital design tools)
- Monitor aviation interiors, automotive, premium travel, hospitality, materials, technology, and sustainability trends to inform future product direction.
Reward
- Competitive salary
- Annual bonus (linked to company performance)
- 33 days annual leave (Increase after 5 years' service)
- 37.5 hours per week
- Flexi time working
- £5,000 employee referral bonus
- Health cash plan
- Contributory Salary Sacrifice Pension Scheme
- Holiday Purchase Scheme - Salary Sacrifice
- Electric Car Scheme - Salary Sacrifice
- Cycle to Work Scheme
- Life Assurance Scheme at x4 gross salary
- Competitive enhanced Maternity and Paternity pay
- IVF & Assisted Conception Policy
- Women in Business - Corporate Member
- Wellbeing Initiatives
- Employee Recognition scheme
- Service Awards
- Local charity / sponsorship activities
- Dedicated employee parking
- Discounted Gym membership
- Learning and development opportunities
- Career progression
Requirements
Essential
- Degree in Industrial Design, Product Design, Engineering, or related discipline
- Extensive experience in industrial design within aerospace
- Proven leadership experience managing and developing multidisciplinary design teams
- Strong understanding of aerospace design principles, materials, ergonomics, and certification requirements
- Expertise in CAD tools (e.g. CATIA, Siemens NX or similar) and design development processes
- Demonstrated ability to deliver complex design programmes from concept to production
- Strong stakeholder engagement skills, including senior leadership and external customers
- Strategic thinker with a strong commercial mindset
- Highly creative with a passion for innovation and design excellence
- Strong leadership, influencing, and decision-making capability
- Ability to operate effectively in a complex, regulated environment
- Excellent communication and presentation skills
Desirable
- Postgraduate qualification or professional certification (e.g. CEng, CSD)
- Minimum 5-10+ years experience in cabin interiors, preferably aircraft seating
- Knowledge of sustainability and lightweight design approaches
- Experience with key UK aerospace OEMs or Tier 1 suppliers
- Familiarity with digital engineering, PLM systems, and Industry 4.0 practices
We reserve the right to enhance criteria on shortlisting.
Thompson Aero Seating is an Equal Opportunities employer.
The closing date for applications is the 20th July 2026 at 17:00.
For further infomation contact [email protected]
