MCCS Engineering Lead

Thales Avionics, Inc. (AGS); Crawley; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Performance bonus

Private healthcare

Pension

Life cover

Wellbeing app

Discount shopping

Gym discounts

Volunteer days

Job summary

Thales is seeking a senior engineering leader to drive the MCCS programme, providing governance and oversight across bids and projects. You will anticipate risks, maximise opportunities, and coach teams to deliver engineering excellence in a multi-disciplinary environment.

Reporting to the Head of Systems Engineering, you will coordinate across competence centres, project teams and external partners to ensure solutions meet customer requirements and maintain competitive advantage.

Qualifications

• Significant engineering leadership experience.
• Strong governance and risk management skills.
• Proven ability to coordinate multi-disciplinary teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead Technical/Engineering across the MCCS programme to meet requirements.
• Provide governance ensuring engineering delivery aligns with bids and programmes.
• Coach and mentor senior staff and foster collaboration across stakeholders.
• Interface with suppliers, Thales employees and customers to ensure competitive advantage.

Skills

Leadership

Engineering governance

Stakeholder management

Naval communications

Risk mitigation

Cross-functional coordination

Education

Engineering degree

Job description

Location: Crawley, United Kingdom

Thales is a global technology leader with more than 83,000 employees on five continents. With over 7,500 people in the UK, operating across defence, space, aerospace, and digital security, we help build a future we can all trust. Thales supports the security and stability of our nation by providing extraordinary technology to our customers, as well as delivering social value to the UK with our products and services.

Our work is organised into two portfolios that guide strategic growth in Secure Communication and Protection. The Land Communications team focuses on tactical radio and electronic countermeasures for UK and global markets. Our Security and Naval Communications team draws on over 100 years of partnership with the Royal Navy, delivering an evolving portfolio of integrated voice and data systems that support resilient, mission‑ready communication.

The primary purpose of the role is to provide the MCCS programme with senior engineering leadership, governance and oversight including anticipating and mitigating risks and maximising opportunities related to the engineering delivery challenges of the bids and programmes within the business.

Reporting to the Head of Systems Engineering and the MCCS Programme Director, and working with the different stakeholders, competence centres, project, technical and engineering teams, the role holder is expected to lead the Technical / Engineering across the MCCS programme to ensure that all activities meet both business and customer requirements. The role is designed to derive maximum impact and value from the individuals' programme technical & engineering delivery experience, coaching and inspiring others and mitigating risk to the business in engineering excellence.

Location: Crawley, Reading & Fareham

Key responsibilities and experience include:

• - Industry experienced (Ex-BAE/LM Chief Engineer)
• - Demonstrated ability to coordinate technical teams
• - Understanding of product development cycles and integration of specialist teams
• - Experienced in the technical application and architecture of Naval comms
• In line with key responsibilities and experience above:
• Business engineering risks are well understood and mitigated and the overall trend shows reduction through stages of the programmes (and the contracted sub-systems that comprise the programmes).
• Key stakeholder interfacing and communications with the business
• Engineering reviews of Business bids, project and product solutions.
• Successful Engineering coaching and advance problem recognition, avoidance, mitigation, resolution and escalation within the business domain and associated business segments, as appropriate
• Appropriate governance is in place for the business related to meet the role objectives
• Strong links with the key stakeholders, also externally as required and that competitive advantage is maintained

Experience and Skills

• Significant domain related engineering experience including delivering significant engineering programmes.
• Excellent people manager and able to communicate at all levels of the organization
• A good problem solver showing initiative and improvisation.
• Able to work in a complex Engineering environment with strong governance experience
• Able to work across multiple business/cultural boundaries
• Able to coach and mentor senior employees
• Thorough understanding of engineering environments and the impact on the business
• Knowledge of employee engagement drivers and engineering culture
• Able to question / challenge established processes and offer innovative alternatives.
• Demonstrates attention to detail, particularly in investigating problems, and a pride in producing accurate work
• Must be able to work in a multi-disciplined team environment with Suppliers, Thales employees and Customer present.

Education and Qualifications

• Appropriate Engineering Qualification (Degree level/Masters)

Behaviours and Values

• Clearly demonstrate the Thales Leadership Model behaviours in the everyday environment e.g. shaping solutions out of complexity
• Acts within the Thales key values and demonstrates a professional, committed approach to all tasks undertaken.
• Displays passion, energy, drive, agility and resilience in achieving work-related goals under difficult circumstances.
• Enjoys or thrives on developing and performing through teamwork.
• Self-Motivated/Flexible with a constructive 'can do' attitude
• Excellent technical observational and communications skills.

Benefits:

• Performance-related bonus
• Half day every Friday, usually finishing around 13:00
• 28 days annual leave (plus bank holidays) with opportunity to buy up to 40 hours/year (pro rata)
• 24 hours volunteering paid for
• Private healthcare
• Pension scheme
• Life cover
• 24/7 Employee Assistance Program and access to mental wellbeing app
• Employee discount shopping schemes on major brands and retailers
• Gym membership discounts

Security Clearance Requirement:

Due to the nature of the work that we do at Thales, many of our roles are s