McLaren Automotive- Any experiences?

[octane83]

Hi all, I'm aware this is possibly in the wrong section (GG instead of Jobs and Employment matters) but I thought it was the best way to reach out. Mods please move if inappropriate.

I work in the automotive industry in the engineering side of things. I'm at that point in my career where I feel I've contributed sufficiently to my present employer and would like to explore new challenges. I've shortlisted a few employers I'd like to explore opportunities with and McLaren is one of them. For what its worth I'm an experienced automotive engineer and looking to join the product development division.

The thing is McLaren is a relative newbie in the passenger car world so info/word on the street is hard to come by, which is not the case with other more long established employers.

So, anyone on here have any experiences of working at McLaren Automotive? If so would you be able to shed some light on general working culture, positives, negatives and your outlook on the future of the company?

Thanks,
Octane83

[trickywoo]

I don't think they have much of a staff turnover problem.

Even if you don't gel there having McLaren on your CV would be pretty sweet.

I'd love to have the skills to be employed there.

[CX53]

I've worked at the F1 team as a self employed contractor. It's a lovely facility (also worked close to the automotive side of things too (composites) and had a good insight in to what it's like working on the supercars too.

I wasn't there long as its quite a way from home for me, but...

Things I liked about working there:

Very clean working environment
Use of the gym
Fairly decent canteen
Quite a cool building, I like the cars parked in the corridor, or the 'boulevard'

Things I didn't like:

Parking during the week a nightmare
Parking is a bit of a trek through the James Bond esque lifts and tunnels if you need to pop out to the car
It's like working in a goldfish bowl with massive windows looking in to most of the working areas, with lots of people being shown around every day
Weren't even allowed the radio on
It's hard to work to a deadline when you have to be so strictly tidy with tools/paperwork etc
Not really allowed to be seen having much of a laugh incase the visitors walking round see you, which makes the day incredibly slow and boring - however people in my particular line of work tend to be a bit boisterous so perhaps it's just not what I was used to, which is why I didn't like it
They tried to extract information out of me about rival teams I'd worked for previously
The pay is pretty crap compared to other places, they rely heavily on the prestige of working there to keep staff. This means they often attract crap staff who aren't any good at what they do.
I got the impression it's all just a massive and expensive marketing tool, looks great but doesn't function very well as a production workshop/factory.. More so the case with the F1 side of things.

On the whole, it wasn't for me. The automotive side of things could well be a bit nicer especially if you're tucked away in a nice office away from the goldfish bowl set up.

Edited by CX53 on Thursday 12th May 17:59

[Nobbles]

I think they were recruiting recently. Try contacting Contechs as they usually supply people.

[ocrx8]

No, no and no.

I've never met ruder people than when I worked there. Blame culture. Ridiculous workload that doesn't end when you leave the office - my work phone was going off at all times. Long, long hours. Unrealistic demands. Funnily enough, staff turnover is very high.

If you value any life outside of work whatsoever, don't go there.

On the flipside, the canteen was great. About the only positive I can think of...

This review nails it. Wish I'd read it before I took the job:

https://www.glassdoor.co.uk/Reviews/Employee-Revie...

Edited by ocrx8 on Thursday 12th May 20:12

[anonymous-user]

I'm going to suggest that "how you find MAL" rather depends on where you have come from!

If you expect a typical, large OEM type culture (think Ford/JLR etc) then, ooh heck, you're going to find it tough, long hrs, stressful, shoestring budget. But approach it like you would a job in motorsport and it seems rather better! (if you're good, you can name your price, get a rewarding, focused job in a small, creative, forward looking team who engineer rather fun products)

The biggest issue, is that if you're coming from the more normal Automotive heartland, Woking is a massive PITA to get to, and hugely expensive to buy a house near..........

[octane83]

Wow thanks a lot for the responses guys, I can almost see a trend developing.

Certainly the place seems to be run as a polar opposite to the Big 2 (Ford/JLR), I gather this means
--long hours
--smaller teams so fewer individuals covering more of the actual work- this seems to stack up against the job descriptions on their website where they want one person to cover functions that major OEMs would have whole teams working on!

However having worked in OEMs for several years I can see some positives of the McLaren approach
--faster decision making
--clear sight of the end goal
--less of a pyramid structure- in some OEMs there is atleast 3 layers of management between the decision makers and the engineers at the coal face

McLaren seem to be making a big deal of their commitment to become a sought after employer, so I'm a little surprised that the word on the street almost totally goes against this. I wonder how long they can carry on in this manner before it REALLY starts to affect the end product.

[Bobley]

Sorry to come to the party a bit late but just regarding your last points about fast decision making - I'd say they were too fast and not always that informed. For example they would make a complete about turn on the powertrain in the middle of program and then not expect the SOP date to change. They would also not accept certain physical limitations and when the push came to shove the f#cks would certainly start getting thrown about. The engineers there are a decent bunch but some of the senior guys are very abrasive and they've burned many bridges over the years hence why they're having to do more themselves.

[mini me]

Just wondering if there is any update on this situation? Anybody who works there now? Had recently left? Has anything changed or I’d it still as bad as it sounds from review sites etc?

Any info gratefully recieved!

[bucksmanuk]

It’s like many other F1 organisations - and I worked at another one -but not on the F1 side and not for long either.
The first form I was asked to sign was the “its OK for me not to abide to the EU 48 hour working week directive”, which I wasn’t told about before I started. The fact I left it 24 hours before signing didn’t impress.

They were starting graduates on just over £11K, (then the minimum wage) when the rest of normal industry was paying £22K. Lots of them seemed to be well-spoken ex public school engineering grads, and one suspects were there with bank of Mum and Dad making up the difference, so they could actually afford to live. The staff turnover was massive, I was told 43% per annum, which is crazy, and I thought it was an exaggeration, but the number of new starters I saw every Monday morning made it believable. They were suffering a massive exodus to Red Bull at the time. These places tend to run on a war footing, so there is 33% more head count than what’s required if it was properly organised. The team I was at was still trying to recover from building a car 8% over weight on the grid, which is laughable/ shocking. So, they had to almost start again on another car.
Although not F1, I was regularly signing off drawings in the morning that had been printed for checking at 21:50 the previous evening.

Most F1 teams have a misplaced arrogance which I found amusing. As stated above, it’s really just a huge marketing exercise, and “keeping up appearances”.

A good mate went for an interview (about 3 weeks ago) with another F1 organisation as a contractor, but on a £400/day rate. They told him, “you do the work that’s expected in the relevant timescale. If that means a 14/16-hour day, then so be it”. He suddenly realised his hourly rate wasn’t going to be £50/hr, but £28/hr, and he was told “you can forget your family life while you are here”. He didn’t go.

I know 3 who have been to McLaren, and its constant massive pressure, incredibly tight deadlines, anal levels of tidiness, but a nice canteen.
Its low wages except for the “chosen few”. You do the job because of the “glory” and you want to sell your soul to F1. There are easier ways of making a living. All it takes is a change in a major sponsor’s marketing strategy, and that’s it, P45 and off down the road you go.

I’ll ask around the office and see if there’s any up to date feedback (<6 months old).

I’ll chuck this one in - an ex work colleague worked for a BIG oil company who were impressed with the coverage/mileage gained by Shell in their F1 effort. They had huge backing from the US HQ to go ahead and do something similar. The UK R&D team was gathered (250+) and asked who wanted to join the F1 effort, please take one step forward, not one person- they all knew what was involved- the program was binned.

[mini me]

Thanks for taking the time to reply. I do appreciate it.

Note I am talking about the McLaren automotive side of the business rather than any of the mororsport based roles. I do understand the attitude of motorsport companies wrt hours/pay/expectation etc.

I know this can also carry over to the automotive side in many companies who do both and the reviews online seem to suggest this is indeed the case with McLaren. But like I say most of those reviews are quite old now and it’s sometimes difficult to tell if they are from the shop floor or the R&D side which would be where I’m looking.

Thanks again for your feedback though.

[Archie Craven]

Hi I am Archie Craven and I am very in Enthusiastic about wanting to become a Mclaren F1 Aerodynamic Data scientist but I'm a long way away from that.

So I was Wondering if anyone here who has had a job there or works there could tell me about there steps to getting there and what are the main things you need to study to have that opportunity.Thank you