Principal / Lead Systems Engineer

Lead/Principal Systems Engineer - Precision Guidance

Are you a skilled Systems Engineer passionate about contributing to the UK's Defence Industry and driving impactful change? We are seeking a Lead/Principal Systems Engineer to join our growing Precision Guidance team. In this role, you will tackle real engineering challenges, designing and developing solutions that are central to our innovative products. This is a hybrid position, offering flexible working arrangements from our sites in Basildon, Bristol, or Southampton.

Your Impact

As a Principal Systems Engineer, you will be instrumental in executing and improving our Systems Engineering capability across the Business Areas. You will provide proactive guidance to senior stakeholders on Systems Thinking and Methods, ensuring alignment with successful project execution. We work on exciting, challenging, and complex technologies across a diverse product portfolio, with programmes at various stages of the development lifecycle.

The core focus of this role is the execution of systems engineering activities, ensuring:

• Our systems engineering team thoroughly assesses problems.
• Techniques and artefacts are effectively reused across projects.
• Complexity is managed through robust system architecture.
• Emergent behaviours are predicted and mitigated at system and integrated system levels.
• Projects develop and enact appropriate verification and validation strategies.

You will demonstrate leadership by instilling a systems-thinking approach, built on experience forming and leading high-performing teams. The ability to influence stakeholders, thrive in dynamic environments, exhibit resilience, and make timely decisions under pressure are key. You will set a clear technical vision for the project team.

Day-to-day responsibilities include:

• Influencing the development of Engineering artefacts, their technical direction, and stakeholder satisfaction.
• Working within a demanding and complex business area, immersed in full-scale development programmes across the Precision Guidance engineering lifecycle.
• Acting as the focal point for project systems engineering governance.
• Providing expertise and coaching to ensure engineers fully understand problems and stakeholder needs, covering early and later lifecycle stages.
• Ensuring appropriate use of concepting, modelling, and simulation techniques to inform architectures and solution options.
• Influencing whole-life design considerations, including Safety, Security, Manufacture, Test, Supportability, and Through Life Support.
• Representing Leonardo within relevant Systems Engineering bodies, such as INCOSE.
• Promoting an agile mindset in systems engineering, fostering a culture of experimentation.
• Collaborating with peers across the UK to drive continuous learning and improvement.

What You'll Bring

We are looking for proven experience as a Lead or Principal Engineer with the following attributes:

• Experience applying governance and guidance on Systems Engineering Lifecycle Management (LCM) processes.
• Experience working within Integrated Project Teams to deliver engineering artefacts successfully.
• Experience managing and collaborating with internal and external stakeholders.
• Proven leadership and decision-making skills in a high-complexity, dynamic environment.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with a demonstrated ability to build trust and respect.
• Motivation, tenacity, and determination, with a drive to deliver results.

The following experience/skills are highly desirable:

• Deriving Stakeholder Needs to Solution Domain Functions and Constraints, including evidencing trade-off decisions.
• Experience with Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) and Model Based Design (MBD) tools and methodologies.
• Domain experience in Electro-Optics, Infrared Imaging, Image Processing, Telecommunications, RF, or Electronic Warfare.
• Experience creating and defining architectures, including methods and techniques for optimization and managing trade-offs.

We encourage applications even if you don't meet every single criterion; a positive attitude and a willingness to learn are highly valued.

Security Clearance

This role is subject to pre-employment screening in line with the UK Government’s Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS). Additional National Security Vetting (NSV) may apply, potentially including eligibility for Security Check (SC) or Developed Vetting (DV). For more information, please visit: https://careers.uk.leonardo.com/gb/en/security-and-vetting

Salary Range

Principal Engineer: £54,000 - £71,000 per annum

Lead Engineer: £67,000 - £81,000 per annum

Note: Successful candidates will be appointed to a specific assessed grade, with the salary range reflecting that grade. Salary ranges are benchmarked against the external market and are subject to internal equity controls.

Why Join Us

At Leonardo, our people are central to our success. We offer a comprehensive, company-funded benefits package designed to support your wellbeing, career development, and work-life balance.

• Time to Recharge: Generous leave with up to 12 additional flexi-days per year.
• Secure Your Future: Award-winning pension scheme with up to 15% employer contribution.
• Your Wellbeing Matters: Free access to mental health support, financial advice, and employee-led inclusion networks.
• Rewarding Performance: Eligible for our bonus scheme (management level and below).
• Never Stop Learning: Free access to over 4,000 online courses via Coursera and LinkedIn Learning.
• Refer a Friend: Receive a financial reward through our referral programme.
• Tailored Perks: Up to £500 annually for flexible benefits including private healthcare, dental, tech discounts, and gym memberships.
• Flexible Working: Flexible hours with hybrid working options.

Leonardo is a global leader in Aerospace, Defence, and Security. We are committed to building an inclusive, accessible, and welcoming workplace where diversity drives innovation. If you have any accessibility requirements for the recruitment process, please let us know.

Be part of something bigger - apply now!

Primary Location: GB - Basildon

Contract Type: Permanent

Hybrid Working: Hybrid