Chief Project Engineer

Leonardo UK Ltd; Wickford; Hybrid; GBP 78,000 - 95,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Time to Recharge

Pension scheme

Mental health support

Learning & development

Hybrid working

Refer a friend

Job summary

Leonardo UK Ltd in Basildon is seeking a Project Chief Engineer to lead technical direction across electro-optic systems and precision guidance products. You will guide project teams, ensure design integrity, and manage technical risk throughout the lifecycle.

The role demands significant experience in complex product development, strong leadership, and a proactive approach to governance, safety and security compliance within a defence-focused environment.

Qualifications

• Experience developing complex products.
• Proven ability with requirements, test and acceptance strategies.
• Experience in Design Standards and Configuration Management.
• Ability to produce innovative technical solutions within agreed budgets.
• Excellent communication with SMEs and End Users of various nationalities.

Responsibilities

• Own the technical solution for all phases of product development, coordinating with external and internal stakeholders.
• Lead product integrity activities and ensure traceable evidence for design decisions.
• Guide teams to meet performance, safety and contractual requirements within timescales.
• Chair design reviews and ensure compliance with lifecycle management practices.
• Mentor the technical team to achieve cost-effective design and robust delivery.

Skills

Complex product development

Requirements management

Design certification

Lead and mentor

Stakeholder engagement

Job description

Job Description:

Salary Range - £78,000 - £95,000

Leonardo UK operates a grade-based salary framework with broad bands. The salary range shown reflects the approved grade band for this role, or a narrower hiring range published within that band, and is benchmarked against the external market. Exceptions above the standard range are managed through governance controls to protect internal equity.

Your Impact

A Project Chief Engineer (Systems Design Authority) is required to join the Sensors business sector in Leonardo, covering electro-optic systems and precision guidance products.

Within the Sensors business sector, the projects are diverse and exciting, well suited to a dynamic and driven individual, with a passion for innovation and a keen interest in the defence industry. There is a portfolio of work that covers core products that have been in service for a number of years, but also product and technology developments, which support the future growth of our business.

With customer intimacy and close collaboration with other organisations across the industry, we work to achieve a market leading position in products primarily relating to the electro-optic domain. The opportunity to be involved as a Project Chief Engineer represents a chance to be at the heart of a range of technologies and exciting projects across the full engineering lifecycle.

In this role, you will support the project teams within the Sensors sector, giving them technical guidance and assurance oversight. Using your experience and authority to provide technical leadership, you will help teams to find the appropriate approach to managing technical risk to help ensure our developments offer maximum value to our customers.

As Chief Engineer, you will ensure the governance and quality for the delivery of the equipment and lead the technical direction of all aspects of the solution delivery including adherence to safety and security regulations. Responsibilities include:

• Be delegated by the business as the Design Authority & Company Technical Signatory for the required products.
• Represent, supported by Subject Matter Experts, the company when engaging with the customer and End User to define the technical solution
• Ensure independent product assurance through Design Reviews and ensuring company procedures are adhered to
• Be responsible for delivered product design, compliance, safety and integrity.
• Work as part of a multi-disciplined project team in close partnership with key stakeholders.
• Encourage a mind-set of continuous improvement for the team and products to ensure we grow and learn.

What you will do

• Own the technical solution for all phases of the solution development by representing Leonardo with external stakeholders and representing the Line of Business with internal stakeholders to ensure all elements of Product development are considered as part of the integrated solution
• As part of the product integrity delivery team keep up to date on related processes and requirements
• Work closely with development teams and supply chain to ensure that the overall solution meets the End Users need by understanding their Concept of Use and Operation
• Ensure the products are compliant with any performance, legislative and contractual requirements, with a strategy for completing a set of traceable evidence
• Support the team in guiding them to assemble appropriate evidence and stakeholder engagement to the approval of Design Integrity certification process.
• Ensure robust quality, performance, cost and time trade-offs are undertaken and then to establish the technical solution coherent with the agreed budgets and timescales
• Chair design reviews on Products, Systems and Services to ensure they are technically sound and compliant with the Company’s approach to lifecycle management
• Provide technical direction, control, evaluation and recommendations with respect to risks and opportunities
• Ensure a high-level strategy for requirements matched to traceable evidence is set in place and executed consistently across the products and projects
• Lead and Mentor the technical team to enable a cost-effective design programme and product solution results
• Manage and communicate issues and opportunities to the engineering management, and design integrity group
• Define strategic capability improvements and cost versus performance initiatives, working with colleagues to generate development roadmaps

What you will bring

You will have proven experience in a similar senior role and a solid working knowledge Electronic and Optical systems.

Essential Experience:

• A strong background in development of complex products
• Experience of working with Requirements, Test Qualification and Acceptance strategies.
• Experience of managing the Design Standard and associated Configuration Management.
• Experience in gaining Design Certification and Customer Acceptance.
• Have the ability to produce and develop innovative technical and system solutions, compliant with requirements within agreed programme budgets and timescales.
• Possess excellent communication and interpersonal skills, to be able to interact with SMEs and End Users of various nationalities regarding a wide range of technical and operational topics.
• Be a self-motivated leader and team player capable of working with minimum direction.

Desirable Experience:

As a particular focus area for this role, the candidate should have experience and competence in the field of semi-active laser guidance. This may include:

• Experience with laser guidance concepts of operation, including designation schemes such as STANAG 3733
• Familiarity with laser physics and propagation
• Detailed knowledge of photodiode detectors and analogue electronics operating across an ultra-low noise and wide dynamic range regime
• Detailed knowledge of embedded signal processing

This is not an exhaustive list, and we are keen to hear from you even if you might not have experience in all the above. The most important skill is a good attitude and willingness to learn.

Security Clearance

This role is subject to pre-employment screening in line with the UK Government’s Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS). An additional range of Personnel Security Controls referred to as National Security Vetting (NSV) may apply, this could include meeting the eligibility requirements for The Security Check (SC) or Developed Vetting (DV).

For more information and guidance please visit: https://careers.uk.leonardo.com/gb/en/security-and-vetting

Why join us

At Leonardo, our people are at the heart of everything we do. We offer a comprehensive, company-funded benefits package that supports your wellbeing, career development, and work–life balance. Whether you're looking to grow professionally, care for your health, or plan for the future, we’re here to help you thrive.

• Time to Recharge: Enjoy generous leave with the opportunity to accrue up to 12 additional flexi-days each year.
• Secure your Future: Benefit from our award-winning pension scheme with up to 15% employer contribution.
• Your Wellbeing Matters: Free access to mental health support, financial advice, and employee-led networks championing inclusion and diversity (Enable, Pride, Equalise, Armed Forces, Carers, Wellbeing and Ethnicity).
• Rewarding Performance: All employees at management level and below are eligible for our bonus scheme.
• Never Stop Learning: Free access to 4,000+ online courses via Coursera and LinkedIn Learning.
• Refer a friend: Receive a financial reward through our referral programme.
• Tailored Perks: Spend up to £500 annually on flexible benefits including private healthcare, dental, family cover, tech & lifestyle discounts, gym memberships and more.
• Flexible working: Flexible hours with hybrid working options. For part time opportunities, please talk to us about what might be possible for this role.

For a full list of our company benefits please visit our website.

Leonardo is a global leader in Aerospace, Defence, and Security. Headquartered in Italy, we employ over 53,000 people worldwide including 8,500 across 9 sites in the UK. Our employees are not just part of a team—they are key contributors to shaping innovation, advancing technology, and enhancing global safety.

At Leonardo we are committed to building an inclusive, accessible, and welcoming workplace. We believe that a diverse workforce sparks creativity, drives innovation, and leads to better outcomes for our people and our customers. If you have any accessibility requirements to support you during the recruitment process, just let us know.

Primary Location: GB - Basildon

Contract Type: Permanent

Hybrid Working: Onsite