GCAP Systems Security Engineer

Leonardo SpA; City of Edinburgh; On-site; GBP 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Time to Recharge (flexi-days)

Employer pension

Mental health support

Learning & development

Refer a friend bonus

Job summary

Leonardo SpA seeks a Principal Engineer to provide technical leadership for systems security engineering across the GCAP programme. You will own security work packages, guide requirements and architectures, and mentor teams to deliver compliant, defensible designs.

You will collaborate across engineering teams, customers and suppliers to ensure secure product development from design through disposal, with emphasis on evidence, reviews and lifecycle assurance.

Qualifications

• Strong systems engineering background with hardware-software integration experience.
• Experience using requirements and model-based systems engineering tools.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving abilities with quick learning.
• Effective communication to explain security concepts to technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Lead security engineering work packages with defined scope, milestones and deliverables.
• Define security architectures, baselines and risk-mitigation aligned to program objectives.
• Specify security controls behaviour for radar and EOIR subsystems.
• Develop and maintain documentation for requirements, design, and verification.

Skills

Security engineering

Model-based systems engineering

Analytical problem solving

Stakeholder influence

Tools

DOORS

Cameo

Job description

Job Description:

In this Principal Engineer role, you will provide technical leadership for systems security engineering activities, helping to secure Leonardo products against an increasingly diverse and complex range of threats. You will take ownership of defined security engineering work packages, planning and coordinating activities across medium-term delivery horizons while considering their impact on the wider programme.

Working within a multidisciplinary team, you will guide the development of security requirements, architectures and assurance evidence, resolve complex technical challenges and provide authoritative advice to engineering teams, customers and other stakeholders. You will also review technical outputs, support engineering decisions and develop the capability of other engineers through mentoring, coaching and knowledge sharing.

We are looking for an experienced Principal Engineer to work within the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) team. GCAP will deliver Tempest, the sixth-generation combat aircraft that will replace the Royal Air Force's Typhoon fleet from 2035.

What You'll do

• Lead defined systems security engineering work packages, establishing their scope, activities, dependencies, milestones, and deliverables.
• Work with systems engineering teams to determine the technologies and processes required to meet customer requirements.
• Provide technical leadership in the development of security architectures, security baselines, and proportionate risk-mitigation strategies, ensuring alignment with system requirements and programme objectives.
• Specify the required behaviour of security controls to be implemented in radar and electro-optical infrared (EOIR) systems and subsystems.
• Develop and maintain documentation covering functional requirements, design, implementation, integration verification and qualification documentation.
• Support engineering lifecycle reviews and design assurance processes.
• Provide compliance assessments and evidence against key security functions, controls and designs.
• Plan and coordinate your own work and, where appropriate, the work of others, monitoring progress against agreed schedule, cost and quality objectives.
• Provide technical support to the Product Cyber Reliance management specialist.
• Develop and update product security good practice across a range of disciplines to ensure our products are secure from initial design through to disposal.

What You'll bring

• Strong systems engineering background with experience in physical product development (e.g. embedded systems, electronics, hardware-software integration).
• Experience with requirements and model-based systems engineering tools (e.g. DOORS, Cameo).
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to learn and apply new concepts quickly.
• Effective communication skills, with the ability to explain security concepts risks and decisions clearly to technical and non-technical stakeholders, and to influence outcomes across engineering teams, customers and suppliers.
• Ability to decompose and allocate system level security requirements to sub-systems and collaborate with multidisciplinary engineering teams to identify, select, and implement secure hardware and software solutions.

What else would help

• Understanding of Secure by Design principles and their application in product lifecycle development.
• Familiarity with security and information assurance frameworks (ISO27001/27004/27005 and NIST Risk Management Framework).
• The ability to keep abreast of current trends and events relating to security.

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.