Principal Systems Engineer II

BAE Systems; Cowes; Hybrid; GBP 64,000 - 76,000; Part time

Job summary

A leading defence company is seeking a Principal Systems Engineer to develop innovative radar systems in a hybrid work environment. You will work on complex challenges and lead systems engineering efforts across various disciplines. Ideal candidates have a degree in an engineering field and relevant experience in systems design and testing. Join a dynamic team focused on addressing emerging threats and shaping the future of radar technology.

Benefits

Competitive pension scheme

Employee share plans

Flexible health and lifestyle benefits

Qualifications

• Experience in systems design, integration and testing.
• Understanding of Systems and Product lifecycles from concept to delivery.
• Familiarity with multiple engineering disciplines (Software, Mechanical, Electrical).

Responsibilities

• Develop solutions for complex Radar Systems.
• Conduct system design analysis for product design.
• Lead requirements decomposition and manage them in a toolset.

Skills

Systems design

Integration & test

Inter-personal skills

Technical presentation

Education

Degree in engineering or science discipline

Tools

IBM DOORS Next

Job description

Job Title: Principal Systems Engineer

Location: Isle of Wight – Cowes, Portsmouth Broad Oak or Chelmsford – Great Baddow. We offer a range of hybrid and flexible working arrangements – please speak to your recruiter about the options for this particular role

Salary: Up to £75,900 commensurate with skills and experience. Part time & accruing hours available. Part time & accruing hours available’ Please let us know if you would like to discuss these options.

Put yourself into a dynamic Principal Systems Engineering role at the forefront of real world demands in the defence industry. Alongside ensuring operational excellence for our existing products, there will be the opportunity to develop next generation radar products to counter emerging threats and contribute to our strategy for new technology. Your new day-to-day will be exciting and diverse by applying the principles of Systems Engineering across the entire engineering development lifecycle as you join in developing radar systems used by those who serve and protect us.

What you’ll be doing:

• Developing novel solutions to evolving technical challenges and emerging issues for complex Radar Systems that our customers and end-user communities are facing
• Applying a breadth of knowledge, skills and experience of Systems Engineering principles, techniques and governance to steer and develop technical solutions and resolve engineering issues
• Conducting system design analysis to manage trade-offs of system parameters to characterise and specify robust product design
• Leading the decomposition of requirements to system and sub-system level and manage these in an approved toolset such as IBM DOORS Next
• Be a technical focus point with a holistic understanding of the system solution, leading analysis activities and system design decisions and providing guidance to own team
• Collaborating with specialists across different engineering disciplines including electronics, electrical, mechanical, software and radar subject matter experts to direct and realise overarching system design solutions
• Directing and undertaking system integration, test planning and execution
• Defining and articulating system acceptance strategies and acceptance evidence demonstrating system performance across a wide range of operational scenarios to internal and external stakeholders

Your skills and experiences:

• Experience of systems design, integration & test
• An understanding of Systems and Product lifecycles from concept through to delivery
• An understanding of a range of Engineering disciplines (Software, Mechanical, Electrical)
• An understanding of Radar Systems is desirable, although not essential if other complementary skills demonstrate a capacity to understand new technologies quickly and effectively
• Good inter-personal skills with the ability to communicate to all levels within the organisation and externally
• Experience of presenting both technical and non-technical information in a formal setting
• Degree (or equivalent) qualified in an engineering or science discipline

Benefits:

As well as a competitive pension scheme, BAE Systems also offers employee share plans, an extensive range of flexible discounted health, wellbeing and lifestyle benefits, including a green car scheme, private health plans and shopping discounts – you may also be eligible for an annual incentive.

The Radar Systems Engineering team:

You will be working as a Principal Systems Engineer within our close-knit multi-function radar team of inter-disciplinary engineers, evolving our radar portfolio of existing and brand-new radar products to address emerging and future threats.

Join us and help shape the future of Radar technology!

Why BAE Systems?

This is a place where you’ll be able to make a real difference. You’ll be part of an inclusive culture that values diversity of thought, rewards integrity, and merit, and where you’ll be empowered to fulfil your potential. We welcome people from all backgrounds and want to make sure that our recruitment processes are as inclusive as possible. If you have a disability or health condition (for example dyslexia, autism, an anxiety disorder etc.) that may affect your performance in certain assessment types, please speak to your recruiter about potential reasonable adjustments.

Please be aware that many roles at BAE Systems are subject to both security and export control restrictions. These restrictions mean that factors such as your nationality, any nationalities you may have previously held, and your place of birth can restrict the roles you are eligible to perform within the organisation. All applicants must as a minimum achieve Baseline Personnel Security Standard. Many roles also require higher levels of National Security Vetting where applicants must typically have 5 to 10 years of continuous residency in the UK depending on the vetting level required for the role, to allow for meaningful security vetting checks.

Closing Date: 26th January 2026

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.