Director - Engineering Delivery

Leidos; Newcastle; On-site; AUD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

Leidos Gibbs & Cox Australia is seeking a Director of Engineering Delivery to lead maritime engineering projects across defence and civil maritime sectors. You will mobilise opportunities, shape solutions and deliver with multidisciplinary teams, ensuring technical excellence and customer satisfaction.

This senior role requires Australian citizenship and NV1 security clearance, with opportunities across Australia’s maritime programs and strategic growth.

Qualifications

• Understanding of the Australian Defence and maritime environment with established relationships across Defence, Government and industry.
• Experience in business development, opportunity shaping and proposal development to convert opportunities into engineering work.
• Strong commercial judgement and ability to develop practical, deliverable engineering solutions.
• Ability to produce high-quality, persuasive proposals and technical documents.
• Strong leadership and communication to lead a multidisciplinary team and engage with stakeholders.
• Experience balancing technical, commercial and customer outcomes in engineering delivery.
• Proven ability to lead work across the project lifecycle from requirements to delivery and acceptance.

Responsibilities

• Bring passion for maritime engineering and customer success to build a portfolio of projects within a highly regarded maritime engineering brand.
• Identify, shape and secure engineering opportunities aligned with GCA’s capabilities and strategic direction.
• Build trusted relationships with Defence, Government and industry customers to understand their needs and position GCA for future work.
• Lead development of compelling engineering solutions, proposals and delivery approaches that convert opportunities into executable projects.
• Transition secured work into delivery, establishing and leading the teams, partnerships and delivery arrangements required for successful execution.
• Lead a portfolio of complex engineering projects, providing senior engineering and delivery leadership and accountability for technical, customer and commercial outcomes.
• Build on successful delivery to strengthen engineering capabilities, customer relationships, develop follow‑on opportunities and grow an enduring portfolio of engineering work.

Skills

Leadership

Business development

Proposal development

Commercial judgement

Stakeholder management

Job description

At Leidos Australia, our work goes beyond a job title. We design, build, operate and support the systems, services and capabilities that help protect and advance the Australian way of life.

Backed by a global organisation of more than 40,000 people, our Australian team of around 2,000 has partnered with government, defence and national security customers for more than 30 years. We deliver mission‑critical solutions where reliability, trust and purpose matter.

Leidos is a destination for people who want their work to have purpose, their contribution to be recognised, and their career to grow without needing to fit a single mould. Meaningful work is supported by benefits, flexibility and career pathways that help you grow while balancing life outside work. This includes:

Opportunities to work across programs, domains and emerging technologies

Be at the forefront of Australia's maritime programs

Leverage your reputation and network where it matters

About the Team

You’ll join a team where people work with integrity, inclusion, innovation, agility, collaboration and commitment. In practice, that means sharing ownership, solving complex problems together and staying connected to the customer context, the purpose behind the work and how each role contributes to meaningful outcomes.

We provide world‑leading naval and marine engineering expertise in support of Australia’s maritime enterprise. Through our highly skilled team of naval architects, engineers and maritime specialists, we support major Australian naval programs and emerging maritime technologies across ship design, engineering, systems integration, acquisition and sustainment.

Leveraging nearly a century of naval design excellence and access to Gibbs & Cox's global network of specialists, we help deliver complex maritime projects that strengthen Australia’s sovereign shipbuilding, naval design and maritime capability.

The Opportunity

The Director, Engineering Delivery will lead the development and delivery of maritime engineering projects within Leidos Gibbs & Cox Australia (GCA), focused on the Defence and civil maritime sectors. Drawing on significant maritime engineering, maritime project delivery or Defence maritime experience, the role will lead work from early opportunity shaping and solution development through mobilisation, execution and delivery.

Initially, the role will have a strong focus on developing opportunities and securing new work to build a sustainable engineering portfolio. As the portfolio grows, the focus will increasingly shift to engineering delivery, leading multidisciplinary teams and achieving successful technical, customer and commercial outcomes.

In this role, you will:

• Bring your passion for maritime engineering and supporting customer success to build a portfolio of maritime engineering projects within a highly‑regarded maritime engineering brand
• Identify, shape and secure engineering opportunities aligned with GCA’s capabilities and strategic direction
• Build trusted relationships with Defence, Government and industry customers to understand their needs and position GCA for future work
• Lead the development of compelling engineering solutions, proposals and delivery approaches that convert opportunities into executable projects
• Transition secured work into delivery, establishing and leading the teams, partnerships and delivery arrangements required for successful execution
• Lead a portfolio of complex engineering projects, providing senior engineering and delivery leadership and accountability for technical, customer and commercial outcomes
• Build on successful delivery to strengthen engineering capabilities, customer relationships, develop follow‑on opportunities and grow an enduring portfolio of engineering work

About You

We are looking for someone who brings judgement, curiosity and a collaborative approach to work that matters.

Essential for this role:

• Understanding of the Australian Defence and maritime environment, supported by established relationships across Defence, Government and industry
• Experience in business development, opportunity shaping and proposal development, with demonstrated ability to help convert opportunities into engineering work
• Strong commercial judgement, with the ability to understand customer needs and develop practical, deliverable and commercially viable engineering solutions
• Ability to personally build high quality, complete and persuasive proposals and technical documents
• Strong leadership and communication skills, with the ability to build and lead a high‑performing multidisciplinary team and engage effective‑ly with customers, senior stakeholders and delivery partners
• Strong engineering delivery capability, with experience balancing technical, commercial and customer outcomes
• Demonstrated ability to lead work across the project lifecycle, from requirements and solution development through mobilisation, execution, delivery and acceptance

This role requires the successful applicant to be an Australian citizen and hold, or be eligible to obtain, NV1 security clearance.

Certain roles may be subject International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) requirements which may limit persons who hold dual nationality with certain proscribed countries from accessing material, or in the case of dual Australian‑U.S citizens, may require the candidate to obtain a U.S. Persons Abroad authorisation from the U.S DDTC.

What to Expect When You Apply

Our hiring process is designed to be straightforward, respectful and easy to navigate. If your skills, experience and qualifications look aligned with the role, our Talent Acquisition team will contact you to discuss the next stage. You can expect:

• An initial conversation with our Talent Acquisition team
• An interview with the hiring manager or interview panel
• Any role‑specific assessment, technical discussion or customer step required for the position

We’ll let you know what to expect before each stage, including who you’ll meet and how to prepare. If you need any adjustments or support during the process, please let us know.