Think you have what it takes to develop a McLaren? A new job listing from the British supercar manufacturer makes one thing clear: being fast is only a small part of the equation.
McLaren Automotive is hiring a Senior Test Driver for its development team in Woking, and the requirements read more like the résumé of a professional racing driver than an ordinary job application. The successful candidate will spend much of their time driving unreleased prototypes at test tracks around the world, working alongside engineers to refine everything from suspension and aerodynamics to electronic stability systems.
And no, simply being the fastest person on track isn’t enough.
McLaren Wants Racing Experience—and Plenty of It
The position reports directly to Chief Test Driver Kenny Bräck and involves putting development vehicles through demanding testing programs before they reach customers.
McLaren specifically asks for substantial motorsport experience, highlighting GT3, DTM, WRC2, or higher-level racing categories. While most of the testing is conducted on asphalt, experience driving on ice and gravel is considered a valuable bonus.
The job listing also calls for a strong mechanical understanding, with a mechanical engineering degree listed as beneficial.
Interestingly, the LinkedIn listing reportedly shows that around 30 percent of applicants currently classify themselves as “Entry-level”—a somewhat optimistic interpretation of the requirements.
The Secret Isn’t Going Fast. It’s Going Consistently.
One of the most revealing aspects of the job description is McLaren’s emphasis on repeatability.
A development driver can’t simply chase the fastest possible lap. Instead, they need to reproduce the same lap, using essentially the same racing line and driving inputs, again and again.
That consistency gives engineers reliable data. If lap times, tyre temperatures, degradation, or vehicle behavior change, engineers can determine whether the car is responsible rather than wondering whether the driver simply changed their technique.
In other words, the driver isn’t there to hide the car’s weaknesses with clever driving. They’re there to expose them.
Anticipating the Car Before It Moves
McLaren also specifies the ability to use feedforward control.
Rather than simply reacting after a car begins to slide or become unstable, the driver anticipates how the vehicle will respond and adjusts steering, throttle, and other inputs before the loss of grip occurs.
Feedback control still has a place, but the listing indicates that it should primarily be used to recover from instability.
That’s a significant distinction between driving quickly and driving as a development professional. The objective isn’t merely to set a fast lap—it’s to understand what the vehicle is doing and reproduce its behavior with extraordinary precision.
More Than 75 Percent of the Job Is Away From Woking
Although the position is officially based at McLaren’s Technology Centre in Woking, the successful candidate will spend more than 75 percent of their working time away from the site.
That means plenty of international travel to proving grounds and race circuits.
The required track knowledge includes famous venues such as:
- Nürburgring Nordschleife
- Spa-Francorchamps
- Silverstone
- Nardò Ring
- Castelloli
- Alcarràs
- Hockenheim
- Paul Ricard
- Tracks used for Pure McLaren events
For anyone who loves race tracks, that might sound like the ultimate business trip. For a professional test driver, however, those circuits are essentially laboratories.
Tuning Everything From Suspension to Stability Control
The role goes far beyond simply driving prototypes.
McLaren expects the driver to help engineers evaluate and tune fundamental aspects of vehicle dynamics, including shock absorbers, spring rates, anti-roll bars, active aerodynamics, ABS and electronic stability control systems.
The driver also contributes to broader vehicle evaluation, including noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) testing and overall quality assessments.
That means the ideal candidate needs to understand not only how a car feels but also why it feels that way.
The job can additionally involve vehicle shakedowns, press-car preparation, validation of FOKs (First Off-Kits), obtaining A and B driving permits, and driving at customer-facing Pure McLaren events.
And Yes, There Are Some Perks
For all the international travel and prototype testing, McLaren offers a fairly substantial benefits package.
Employees receive 25 days of annual leave, with the option to buy or sell up to five additional days, alongside an enhanced company pension, discretionary annual bonus, private medical insurance and generous parental leave.
The company also offers financial and mortgage advice, plus the possibility of taking a one-year sabbatical after two years of service.
So, if you’ve ever imagined getting paid to throw an unreleased McLaren around the Nürburgring, there’s technically a job opening for that.
Just don’t expect McLaren to be impressed by how quickly you can drive.
They want to know whether you can drive the exact same lap, the exact same way, while telling their engineers precisely what the car is doing.