Commissioning Team Leader

SYOS Aerospace; Fareham; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

SYOS Aerospace for our UK maritime team seeks a Commissioning Team Leader to lead the technical commissioning, integration, testing and readiness of vessels, USVs and associated systems from production through acceptance and handover.

Reporting to the Maritime Operations Manager, you’ll coordinate engineering, production and operations resources, plan commissioning activities, and drive safe, professional delivery.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Robotics, Engineering or related field.
• Proven experience in autonomous systems or robotics projects.
• Experience with DC motor controllers, RF equipment, PLCs and LAN integration and networking.
• Excellent troubleshooting experience and problem solving skills.
• Understanding of data comms (analogue/digital I/O, RS232/422/485 CANbus).
• Excellent communication skills with other engineering disciplines.

Responsibilities

• Lead and coordinate the Commissioning Team, providing clear technical direction and support.
• Plan and manage commissioning activities, ensuring the right people, vessels, USVs, equipment and facilities are available.
• Develop and maintain commissioning plans, test schedules and readiness trackers; lead system integration across hardware, software, communications, propulsion, navigation and sensors.
• Oversee power-up testing, calibration, communications setup and system verification; ensure vessels meet requirements before release.
• Lead technical fault finding and troubleshooting, coordinating corrective actions to completion.
• Work with Engineering and Production to resolve defects, NCRs and technical issues.
• Maintain commissioning records, test reports and sign-off documentation.
• Monitor readiness and communicate risks, defects and actions.
• Support factory acceptance testing, harbour/shores tests, sea trials and handover.
• Collaborate with Maritime Operations Team Leader and Chief USV Pilot for asset transition to operations.
• Provide commissioning feedback to Engineering and Production for improvements.
• Identify and implement improvements to processes, tests and documentation.
• Capture lessons learned and develop scalable commissioning capability.
• Represent the company professionally with customers, suppliers and stakeholders.

Skills

Autonomous systems experience

DC motor controllers, RF equipment,PLC

LAN integration

Troubleshooting

Data comms, RS232/422/485 CANbus

Communication skills

Education

Bachelor's degree in Robotics or Engineering

Tools

Linux

Drone software configuration

Job description

At SYOS, we’re building the next generation of autonomous vehicles across air, land and sea. Our UK maritime team is growing, and we’re looking for a Commissioning Team Leader to lead the technical commissioning, integration, testing and readiness of vessels, USVs and associated systems from production through acceptance and handover.

Reporting to the Maritime Operations Manager, the Commissioning Team Leader will provide day‑to‑day technical direction to commissioning personnel and coordinate the engineering, production and operational resources required to deliver commissioning activities safely, efficiently and professionally.

The role will involve regular travel within the UK and internationally (up to 3 weeks at a time) to support demonstrations, trials, training activities, exhibitions, customer events, commissioning and operational deployments.

What You’ll Do

• Lead and coordinate the Commissioning Team, providing clear technical direction and support.
• Plan and manage commissioning activities, ensuring the right people, vessels, USVs, equipment and facilities are available.
• Develop and maintain commissioning plans, test schedules and readiness trackers. Lead system integration and testing across hardware, software, communications, propulsion, navigation and sensor systems.
• Oversee power‑up testing, calibration, communications setup and system verification. Ensure vessels and USVs meet defined functional, technical and performance requirements before operational release.
• Lead technical fault finding and troubleshooting, coordinating effective corrective actions through to completion.
• Work closely with Engineering and Production to resolve defects, NCRs and technical issues.
• Maintain accurate commissioning records, test reports, configuration information and technical sign‑off documentation.
• Monitor technical readiness and clearly communicate risks, defects, limitations and outstanding actions.
• Support factory acceptance testing, harbour/shore testing, sea trials, customer acceptance and formal handover.
• Work closely with the Maritime Operations Team Leader and Chief USV Pilot to support the transition of technically accepted assets into operational service.
• Provide technical support during deployments, field servicing, demonstrations and customer activities where required.
• Promote a strong safety culture and ensure all commissioning activities comply with company procedures, risk assessments and HSE requirements.
• Provide commissioning feedback to Engineering and Production to support design improvements, reliability and maintainability.
• Identify and implement improvements to commissioning processes, test methods, documentation and standards.
• Capture lessons learned and help develop a consistent, scalable commissioning capability across the organisation.
• Represent the company professionally when working with customers, suppliers and other external stakeholders.

What You’ll Bring

• Bachelor's degree in Robotics, Engineering or a related field.
• Proven experience in autonomous systems or robotics projects.
• Experience with DC motor controllers, RF equipment, PLCs and LAN integration and networking.
• Excellent troubleshooting experience and problem solving skills.
• Understanding of data comms such as analogue/digital I/O signals as well as RS232/422/485 CANbus.
• Excellent communication skills and ability to work effectively with other engineering disciplines.

Experience with Linux and configuring drone parameters with available drone software is a plus.

As we continue to grow, we are recruiting across multiple functions and levels within SYOS. We encourage you to apply for the role that best matches your experience. However, during our review process we may identify other opportunities that could be a good fit for your skills and experience, and we may discuss these with you.

Why SYOS?

Join a growing team building real autonomous systems for air, land and sea.

You’ll have the opportunity to lead the electrical and avionics production of advanced autonomous maritime platforms while helping establish the processes, standards and culture that will support SYOS's continued growth in the UK.

Lead the team. Integrate the technology. Build the future.

Security Requirement

To be eligible for this role, you must be able to meet the Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS). This includes confirming your identity, legal right to work in the UK, recent employment history, and criminal record (unspent convictions only).

We are not accepting unsolicited CVs from recruitment agencies. Any CVs sent without prior agreement, including those shared directly with hiring managers, will be considered gifted and no fees will be payable.