Head of Engineering

SR2; West of England; Hybrid; GBP 100,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work arrangement

Career progression potential

Job summary

SR2 is seeking a Head of Engineering to lead technical strategy for a growing UK engineering business developing advanced hardware and software for demanding applications.

This role blends hands-on technology with leadership, uniting hardware, software and systems to deliver complex products, and offers significant ownership over technical decisions and delivery.

Qualifications

• Strong technical leadership across complex engineering development programmes.
• Deep understanding of hardware, software and systems integration.
• Experience delivering multidisciplinary engineering projects from development through to integration and testing.
• Ability to provide technical direction across different engineering disciplines.
• Strong systems engineering and problem-solving background.
• Experience with defence/ aerospace or similarly complex environments.

Responsibilities

• Provide senior technical leadership and ownership over hardware, software and systems.
• Set engineering direction, governance and development methodologies.
• Shape engineering capability and processes as the business grows from an early stage.

Skills

Technical leadership

Hardware-software-systems integration

Multidisciplinary project delivery

Technical direction across disciplines

Systems engineering problem solving

Defence/complex environments

Startup/ SME growth mindset

Architecting and governance

Job description

We’re looking for a Head of Engineering to take technical leadership of a growing UK engineering business developing advanced hardware and software systems for demanding applications.

This is an opportunity for an experienced engineering leader who enjoys being close to the technology, bringing together hardware, software and systems engineering to deliver complex products.

We’re particularly interested in people who have worked on significant engineering development programmes but would welcome the opportunity to step away from larger corporate structures and have greater ownership over technical decisions, engineering direction and delivery.

Skills & Experience

• Strong technical leadership experience across complex engineering development programmes
• Deep understanding of hardware, software and systems integration
• Experience delivering multidisciplinary engineering projects from development through to integration and testing
• Ability to provide technical direction across different engineering disciplines
• Strong systems engineering and problem-solving background
• Comfortable making technical decisions and managing engineering trade-offs
• Experience working within defence, aerospace or similarly complex engineering environments
• Comfortable operating in a smaller, less structured environment and building engineering capability as the business grows
• Previous experience with MBDA, BAE Systems, Leonardo, Thales or similar engineering organisations
• Experience developing complex defence systems or integrated electronic products
• Technical leadership across embedded software, electronics and systems engineering
• Experience establishing engineering processes, development methodologies and technical governance
• Previous experience in a startup, SME or early-stage engineering business
• Background in systems architecture, integration, verification or qualification

Additional Information

• Permanent, full-time position
• Salary & bonuses competitive, to be discussed over initial chat
• Bristol-based role – Hybrid with flexibility (3 days on site)
• Senior leadership position with significant technical ownership
• Opportunity to shape engineering capability, processes and technical direction from an early stage
• Scope for salary growth as the business develops