Chief Systems Engineer

Salary: £95,000 - 95,000 per year

Requirements:

• We are looking for a systems thinker with proven leadership and decision-making skills in a high-complexity, dynamic environment at a senior level.
• We ideally want someone already in a Chief Systems Engineer role, or a Lead Engineer looking for the next opportunity.
• We need experience applying governance and guidance on Systems Engineering LCM processes.
• We need experience working in Integrated Project Teams delivering engineering artefacts successfully.
• We need experience eliciting stakeholder expectations and creating and defining architectures.
• We need experience managing and collaborating with internal and external stakeholders.
• We need excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build trust and respect at different levels.
• We need experience of integration, including understanding the resulting issues, cost and schedule implications, and potential mitigations.
• We need motivation, tenacity, determination, and a desire to deliver outputs and results.
• We strongly value experience with Model Based Systems Engineering tools and methodologies.
• We strongly value experience working on large-scale Systems Integration programmes, including managing cost, schedule, and quality implications.
• We welcome domain experience in Telecommunications, RF, Electronic Warfare, Electro-Optics, Air/Land/Sea sub-system Platform Integration, Data Distribution Services, Sensor Fusion, or AI/Machine Learning.
• We strongly value practitioner-level ability using Model Driven Engineering tools such as Cameo Systems Modeler, Matlab, Simulink, DOORS (classic), or Polarion.
• We are open to candidates who do not have every listed skill, provided they have the right attitude and willingness to learn.
• This role is subject to pre-employment screening under BPSS, and may require NSV clearance including SC or DV eligibility.

Responsibilities:

• We act as the focal point for Systems Engineering governance and ensure our Systems Engineering capability trends positively.
• We provide a clear point of contact on Systems Engineering capability for senior engineering leadership.
• We provide direction, guidance, and expertise to help our systems engineering team assess the problem completely.
• We help our teams reuse techniques and artefacts across the portfolio of projects.
• We help our teams manage complexity through strong system architecture.
• We help our teams predict and mitigate emergent behaviours at system and integrated systems level.
• We ensure our projects create and enact the correct verification and validation strategy.
• We influence the development of engineering artefacts, their technical direction, and stakeholder satisfaction.
• We work across complex programmes spanning the engineering lifecycle within Airborne Comms and Naval Information, Communication System teams.
• We support Lifecycle Management activities and act as a focal point for systems engineering governance.
• We coach engineers on Systems Engineering practices across early and later lifecycle stages.
• We ensure the appropriate use of concepting, modelling, and simulation to inform architectures and solution options.
• We influence whole-life design considerations relating to Safety, Security, Manufacture, Test, Supportability, and Through Life Support.
• We support quarterly threat and mitigation reviews across the Business Area.
• We represent us within Systems Engineering bodies and groups of interest such as INCOSE.
• We identify trends, capture lessons learned, and share them to improve future work.
• We promote an agile mindset, experimentation, and a fail-fast culture.
• We collaborate with peers across the UK to promote continual learning and improvement, acting as a change agent for systems engineering.

Technologies:

• AI
• Support
• Machine Learning
• Matlab
• Security
• Sensor Fusion

More:

We are Leonardo, a global leader in Aerospace, Defence, and Security, headquartered in Italy with over 53,000 people worldwide and 8,500 across 9 UK sites. This is a permanent hybrid role based at our purpose-built site in Southampton, with flexible home and on-site working available and an on-site presence essential because of the highly collaborative nature of the role. We offer a comprehensive, company-funded benefits package that supports wellbeing, career development, and work-life balance, including generous leave with up to 12 additional flexi-days, an award-winning pension with up to 15% employer contribution, mental health support, financial advice, employee networks, bonus eligibility for management level and below, access to thousands of online courses, referral rewards, flexible benefits, and hybrid working. We are committed to building an inclusive, accessible, and welcoming workplace where diverse perspectives help drive innovation and better outcomes.

last updated 31 week of 2026