Chief Engineer, Autonomous Systems

Kaizen Resourcing; West of England; On-site; GBP 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Kaizen Resourcing is assisting a fast-growing technology business in recruiting a Head of Engineering to lead the function responsible for developing advanced autonomous UAV systems for defence and aerospace. You will oversee technical leadership, delivery, and people management across systems, software, electronics, mechanical, autonomy/GNC, modelling, integration and test.

You will define the engineering organisation, set direction, govern design reviews, recruit and coach engineers, and drive

Qualifications

• Degree or equivalent experience in Systems, Aerospace, Electronic, Mechanical or Software Engineering, Robotics, Physics or a related discipline
• Significant experience in complex multidisciplinary product development
• Proven experience leading cross-functional engineering teams or an engineering function
• Technical credibility with senior engineers and specialists
• Experience developing autonomous systems, UAVs, UxVs, robotics or other intelligent electromechanical products
• Experience in defence, aerospace, robotics, autonomous systems or another safety/mission-critical environment
• Experience delivering products that combine hardware, software, sensors, communications and control
• Strong systems engineering: requirements, architecture, interfaces, integration and verification
• Experience taking products through physical integration, test and evaluation, not purely desk-based development
• Strong delivery: planning, prioritisation, resource allocation, technical risk and programme execution
• Experience in a start-up, scale-up or rapidly growing technology organisation
• Experience building teams and improving engineering ways of working
• Strong communication, leadership and stakeholder management

Responsibilities

• Lead the multi-disciplinary engineering function and take overall responsibility for engineering delivery
• Align technical activity with product, programme and business priorities
• Define and grow the engineering organisation: structure, technical leadership, recruitment and capability
• Provide technical leadership across the product lifecycle, concept and architecture through development, integration, verification, flight test and productionisation
• Set technical direction, plans and priorities with your technical leads
• Manage dependencies and interfaces between disciplines
• Establish proportionate engineering governance, design reviews and decision-making for a fast-moving scale-up
• Maintain oversight of architectures, requirements, interfaces, verification strategies and key technical decisions
• Balance performance, schedule, cost, technical risk, manufacturability and future scalability
• Identify significant engineering risks and drive mitigation and technical closure
• Work closely with Product, Programme, Operations, Manufacturing and Supply Chain
• Take products from prototype and development into repeatable, supportable, manufacturable systems
• Build a culture of technical excellence, ownership, pace and pragmatic problem-solving
• Recruit, coach and develop engineers and engineering leaders
• Represent the business with customers, partners and suppliers
• Contribute to product and technology strategy and engineering investment priorities

Skills

Systems engineering

Leadership

Cross-functional

Autonomous systems

Defence/aerospace

People management

Education

Degree in Systems/Engineering

Tools

MBSE

Flight test

Job description

Kaizen Resourcing is assisting a fast-growing technology business in recruiting a Head of Engineering to lead the function responsible for developing advanced autonomous UAV systems for defence and aerospace. You will oversee technical leadership, delivery, and people management across systems, software, electronics, mechanical, autonomy/GNC, modelling, integration and test.

You will define the engineering organisation, set direction, govern design reviews, recruit and coach engineers, and drive