Lead Engineer

General Dynamics UK; Oakdale; Hybrid; GBP 63,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading defense technology company in Oakdale is seeking a Lead Engineer to provide technical leadership for an engineering team. This role includes managing work packages, ensuring alignment with project objectives, and liaising with customers. The ideal candidate will have extensive experience in technical management, proven success in complex projects, and strong communication skills. The position offers a salary range of £63,072 to £85,000 and a hybrid working environment, fostering work-life balance and career development.

Benefits

Compressed nine-day fortnight

Personalized career development plan

Recognized flexible working environment

Qualifications

• Extensive experience as a technical manager on complex integration projects.
• Demonstrated capability in managing delivery across multiple projects.
• Strong skills in stakeholder management and customer engagement.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage the engineering team within strategic bounds.
• Provide technical oversight and coordination across engineering disciplines.
• Own and manage engineering work packages, tracking progress.

Skills

Technical leadership

Stakeholder management

Systems engineering

Risk management

Communication

Education

STEM degree

Job description

Company Description

General Dynamics Mission Systems engineers a diverse portfolio of high technology solutions, products and services that enable customers to successfully execute missions across all domains of operation. With a global team of more than 13,000 top professionals, we partner with the best in industry to expand the bounds of innovation in the defence and scientific arenas. In the UK, we are leading the way in avionics and communication systems. Given the nature of our work and who we are, we value trust, honesty, alignment and transparency.

Job Description

The Lead Enginee r is responsible for the day-to-day technical leadership of the engineering team, ensuring delivery of engineering work packages in alignment with strategic objectives, cost constraints, schedule commitments, and performance requirements. This role acts as a key technical authority within the project, bridging engineering execution with strategic oversight.

The Lead Engineer will work alongside the Programme Manager who will have overall Programmatic schedule and cost management responsibilities for the Project and will be the Technical customer facing for the programme and will be the Scope of the programme is maintained and delivered through all phases of the engineering activities.

• Lead and manage the engineering team, making technical decisions within the bounds of strategy, cost, time, and performance.
• Provide technical oversight and coordination across cross‑functional engineering disciplines.
• Own and manage engineering work packages, including tracking progress, resolving dependencies, and ensuring integration across packages.
• Report and manage engineering risks in accordance with the project’s Risk Management Plan.
• Prepare and deliver data packs for engineering phase reviews.
• Ensure all entry and exit criteria for engineering phases are met with appropriate content and quality.
• Liaise with the customer technical community to ensure alignment and responsiveness to technical queries.
• Collaborate with the project management community to ensure engineering delivery supports overall project goals.
• Address supplier‑related technical issues as they arise, ensuring timely resolution.
• Provide cover and continuity for both the Chief Engineer and Product Lead as required.

Qualifications

To be successful in this role you will demonstrate :

• Extensive experience as a technical manager on complex integration projects, with a proven track record of leading cross‑functional engineering teams.
• Demonstrated capability in managing technical delivery across multiple large‑scale integration programmes.
• Strong stakeholder management skills, including customer and supplier engagement.
• Expertise in systems engineering, including requirements management, system architecture, integration, verification, and validation.
• Proficiency in risk management, problem‑solving, and technical issue resolution.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to work effectively across programmes.
• Deep technical understanding of engineering principles, life‑cycle management, and compliance with company and customer processes.
• Typically STEM degree qualified.

Required Experience

• Extensive experience in technical leadership roles
• Track record of successful delivery in complex engineering projects
• Demonstrated ability to manage and motivate cross‑functional teams

Additional Information

Salary for this position is £63,072 to £85,000, depending on experience plus our excellent flexible benefits package.

We offer hybrid working - for this role ideally we are looking for an average of 2 days per week per month on site.

We pride ourselves in being a great place to work with a shared sense of purpose, offering impressive benefits :

• A compressed nine‑day fortnight and compressed hours - which means every other Friday off.
• A personalized career development plan, alongside regular progress reviews - supporting and valuing your progression within the Company.
• A flexible working environment where your contributions are recognised and rewarded with flexible benefits

We believe in maintaining a diverse workplace - inclusive of beliefs, cultural background, job experiences, thoughts and ideas. If who we are and what we do resonates with you, we welcome you to join our inclusive team!

Our success is fuelled by our colleagues and the wide variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills they bring to the Company.

We are a Disability Confident Employer, as such we offer an interview to disabled people who meet the minimum criteria for the job.

Please email if you would like your application to be considered under the DC Scheme.

All successful / appointed applicants must be able to obtain a level of UK Security clearance that is appropriate for the role and undertake suitable Right to work checks

Every application matters to us. We want you to know that each application we receive is reviewed by a real person—not just an algorithm. Our screening questions are also carefully considered to help us understand your experience and fit for the role.

We appreciate the time you take to apply.