Principal Project Engineer

globalhr; Leighton Buzzard; Hybrid; GBP 85,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25 days annual leave

Bonus Scheme

Pension scheme

Critical illness cover

Income Protection

Private Medical Insurance

Employee Assistance Programme

Cycle to work scheme

Job summary

Collins Aerospace, an RTX company, seeks a Principal Project Engineer in Leighton Buzzard to lead a global, multi-disciplinary team delivering aircraft interior products. You will be accountable to stakeholders for project delivery across all work packages, with focus on KPI-driven performance and collaboration with a Senior Program Engineering Manager.

Role requires at least 5 years in a technical/Engineering environment, leading cross-functional teams, strong communication, and familiarity

Qualifications

• Self-starter with strong customer-focus and problem-solving mindset.
• Able to lead a cross-functional, global team to deliver complex product development through a gated NPI process.
• Excellent communicator with stakeholders across local and global teams, executives, customers.

Responsibilities

• Define and maintain structured scope aligned to project objectives; manage scope changes and schedules.
• Support development plans achieving high FPY at key gates.
• Validate sequencing of tasks, dependencies, and critical path accuracy.
• Identify, assess, and mitigate project risks; drive risk reduction and burndown trends.
• Contain and resolve issues; develop and execute recovery plans on time.
• Develop customer relationships with transparency and trust; act as technical interface for stakeholders.
• Author, check and approve technical documentation within delegation of authority.
• Monitor, report and act on KPIs and leading indicators for predictable outcomes.

Skills

Cross-functional leadership

Global team leadership

Communication

Project management

Tools

Teamcentre

Primavera

MS365

CATIA V5

Job description

Date Posted:

2026-08-27

Country:

United Kingdom

Location:

Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire

Position Role Type:

Hybrid

Title: Principal Project Engineer

Location: Leighton Buzzard, United Kingdom

Joining Collins Aerospace isn’t just about finding a job; it’s about embarking on a journey to redefine the future of aerospace technology.

Collins Aerospace, an RTX company, is a leader in technologically advanced and intelligent solutions for the global aerospace and defence industry. Collins Aerospace has the capabilities, comprehensive portfolio, and expertise to solve customers’ toughest challenges and to meet the demands of a rapidly evolving global market.

We are looking for a Principal Project Engineer to join our team in Leighton Buzzard to be responsible for leading a global team of multi-disciplined engineers to develop aircraft interior products and be totally accountable to internal and external stakeholders for the delivery of all projects assigned to your PMT.

Note – This role is based in Leighton Buzzard, UK however travel may be required to support the business or the customer. Currently, our standard workweek allows us the flexibility to work remotely Monday and Friday. However, as leaders who value accountability, our project engineers work on-site as required to support their team, the project or the customer.

What you will do

You will lead a global team of multi-disciplined engineers to develop aircraft interior products and be totally accountable to internal and external stakeholders for the delivery on your assigned work packages. This role focuses on driving measurable performance using defined KPIs and ensuring consistency across all project phases.

The successful candidate will directly report to the Senior Program Engineering Manager but day-to-day will operate within a Program Management Team supporting the Program Chief Engineer.

• Define and maintain clear, structured scope aligned to project objectives - Control scope changes and prevent uncontrolled deviation, develop and maintain robust, logically linked project schedules
• Support development plans achieving high First Pass Yield (FPY) at key gates
• Validate sequencing of tasks dependencies, and critical path accuracy
• Pro-actively identify, assess, and mitigate project risks, drive risk reduction, retirement, and burndown trends
• Protect the program by containing and resolving issues in a timely and structured manner, develop and execute recovery plans in a timely and structured manner.
• Become technical interfaces for all internal and external stakeholders. Develop customer relationships based on transparency and trust.
• Author, check and approve technical documentation in accordance their delegation of authority.
• Monitor, report and act upon key performance & leading indicators to help achieve predicable outcomes.

Experience & Qualifications we prefer

• The successful candidate will be a self-starter with strong customer-focus and a mind-set to take on challenges and create solutions.
• Ideally have at least 5 years’ experience in a technical role, Engineering / Manufacturing experience is essential.
• Must be able to demonstrate that they are able to lead a cross-functional, global team to deliver complex product development through a gated NPI process.
• Able demonstrate they are an excellent communicator with the ability achieve the right outcome through dialogue with a range of stakeholders (local and global colleagues, executives, customers, technical and non-technical).
• Experience within and an understanding of the aircraft interiors industry (i.e. certification, product development, customer expectations) is highly desirable.
• Literate and adaptable with a variety of project management and engineering software tools (Teamcentre, Primavera, MS365, CATIA V5 etc)
• Ability to demonstrate and apply fundamental project management methodologies is essential.

What we offer

• 25 days annual leave + bank holidays
• Competitive Salary
• Bonus Scheme
• Fantastic pension scheme
• Critical illness cover.
• Income Protection
• Private Medical Insurance, Employee Assistance Programme, the ability to buy holidays, a cycle to work scheme & other great employee discounts

At Collins Aerospace, our Interiors team is focused on innovation, safety and cost efficiency. But we don’t just get people from point A to point B. We’re committed to making air travel more comfortable, connected and secure. As a leader in aviation interior products and services, we’re helping airlines and original equipment manufacturers create a positive experience for their customers. With offices and manufacturing facilities in more than 12 states across the U.S. and more than 10 countries around the globe, we’re changing the game of aircraft interiors. Are you ready to join our team?

RTX adheres to the principles of equal employment. All qualified applications will be given careful consideration without regard to ethnicity, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation or identity, national origin, age, disability, protected veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law.

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