The Opportunity

Leonardo is a global high-tech company and one of the key players in Aerospace, Defence and Security. Headquartered in Italy, Leonardo has over 45,000 employees and has a significant industrial presence in four markets (Italy, the United Kingdom, the United States and Poland) as well as a network of strategic partnerships across the world.

A vacancy has arisen within Leonardo UK for a Project Engineering Manager on the Global Combat Air System Programme (GCAP). Announced by the Prime Minister in December 2022, GCAP will deliver Tempest, the next generation fighter aircraft that will replace the Royal Air Force Typhoon fleet in the 2035 timescales.

Leonardo UK is pushing the technical boundaries associated with advanced tactical sensing, data fusion, communications, machine learning and defensive aids systems and through life services (TLS), which collectively will enable Tempest to survive and operate in highly contested threat environments. Leonardo is developing these technologies for demonstration in synthetic environments and on a Flight Test Aircraft. Furthermore, we are working closely with the Ministry of Defence and air platform engineering teams to integrate these capabilities within the Tempest combat aircraft.

This exciting role spans the GCAP Portfolio, covering both advanced technology demonstrations and operational product development. This opportunity will see the successful candidate working closely with Leonardo Programme Managers and Engineering teams across Leonardo UK to establish a multi-discipline team(s) to deliver integrated test solutions (Model/Software/Hardware-in-the-Loop environments) for Design & Development, Manufacturing, Production and TLS.

GCAP is an international endeavour and the successful candidate will also have the opportunity to travel overseas to work with colleagues in Italy and Japan.

This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to play a fundamental role in a defence programme of critical national importance, and to shape the future of Combat Air capability in the UK.

The primary work location is negotiable.

What you will do

Establish a multi-discipline team of permanent staff and outsourced resource, as required, to translate requirements into a test environment strategy, implementation plans and realise solutions. Day-to-day management of the new team under your responsibility, ensuring that roles and tasks are clearly defined, understood and delivered. Promote the principles of test earlier into the development lifecycle to left-shift opportunities to support capability and long-term aim for full digital certification. Management of the Test Solutions Engineering technical quality, schedule and budget. Understand and interpret user needs / requirements in order to influence and define the system requirements, architecture, and design, liaising with Leonardo UK GCAP Integration Evaluation & Acceptance (ITEA) and TLS specialist teams. Establish and maintain good lines of communication across the Engineering IPT and upwards to the Head of Engineering Projects and across to the PEM for critical enablers. Liaise with the IPT lead to deliver against the GCAP master schedule. Management of cost adherence to the Programme budgets. Work Package cost management for project control and reporting. Liaise closely with the ITEA System Design Authority to ensure technical integrity of programmes. Technical point of contact and liaison point for customer and/or partner organisations. Technical interface and management of Programme contractors & sub-contractors. Setting of goals, appraisal of core staff and agreeing project specific training needs. Configure and maintain performance measures and matrices for the test solutions area. Identify performance improvements / key enablers and propose candidate solutions and implementation methods. Travel within the UK, and potentially worldwide, to meet with our customers and industry partners.

You really must have

Degree qualified in a relevant Science / Technology / Engineering / Maths discipline or similar experience. Good knowledge of Test solutions in a high tech environment, utilising common systems (where appropriate) to develop an end to end solution. Experience of engineering team management in a challenging environment. Good problem solving ability. Good schedule and budget control. Good written and verbal communication skills. Commercial awareness. Ability to develop close relationships with key internal and external stakeholders to understand, interpret, and influence current and future user needs and requirements. Strong leadership competency but also can demonstrate team-working skills. Enthusiasm to take on new challenges. A passion for knowledge sharing and developing others. Ability and desire to gain SC (or above) clearance.

It would be nice if you had:

Proven technical expertise and management on Defence programmes and full knowledge and experience of other related disciplines. Understanding of financial management and impacts on programmes. Experience in a “customer facing” role. Experience of interaction with senior external personnel on significant engineering matters often requiring coordination between organisations. Knowledge of MBSE frameworks, tools, languages and their application in the methodical decomposition of a system. Knowledge of Synthetic Environments and the development of virtual representations.

What you will get

In this role with Leonardo, you will get:

To be part of the future: You’ll be a key part of the once-in-a-lifetime GCAP international construct, to deliver a world-leading solution. Advanced Technology: You will have the ability to contribute to the development of market-leading product development, providing advanced capability and protection to UK and International platforms. Agile Systems Engineering: Apply and develop your knowledge of systems engineering in a fast-paced and dynamic agile development team. Defence Electronics Expertise: Leonardo has subject-matter experts with extensive and detailed knowledge of the RF, EOIR and Communications domains, technology, performance, and operational capabilities. Continuous Learning: Whether sensor technologies, engineering lifecycle processes, leadership, or personal development, you’ll be supported in your ongoing professional development though training and mentoring. Teamwork: You will work alongside like-minded professional engineers in a highly collaborative environment. Connections: You will be joining an expansive team of around 7,000 people at six major sites across the UK, and will work with like-minded professionals across the globe. Heritage: We are proud of our rich heritage in Defence electronics. Today we’re providing the latest advances in sensor technology and enabling our customers to keep pace with an ever-evolving threat environment.