Project Engineering Lead

Leonardo; Basildon; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous leave policy

Pension scheme with employer contribution

Mental health support

Bonus scheme

Access to online courses

Referral programme

Flexible benefits package

Job summary

Leonardo in Basildon seeks a Project Engineering Lead to manage multi-disciplined engineering teams across diverse projects. This role requires strong leadership, communication skills, and a background in engineering lifecycles. You will be responsible for generating engineering plans, managing risks, and coordinating bids. The ideal candidate will possess a degree in an engineering-related subject and experience in leading teams.

The position includes generous benefits, hybrid working options, and opportunities for professional growth.

Qualifications

• Educated to a degree level in an engineering-related subject (essential).
• Previous experience of managing and/or leading multi-disciplined engineering teams (essential).
• Strong understanding and proven track record of engineering lifecycles and processes (essential).
• Experience of collaborating with external partners on development activities (desirable).

Responsibilities

• Manage a multi-disciplined engineering team across multiple projects.
• Generate clear and relevant engineering plans and identify risks.
• Prepare and communicate monthly engineering status reports.
• Coordinate engineering input into bids as part of the business winning process.

Skills

Leadership

Communication

Engineering Lifecycle Understanding

Education

Degree in Engineering-related Subject

Tools

Hardware Electronics Development

Firmware Development

Mechanical Products Development

Job description

Due to continued growth within a number of our business areas, we have a requirement for additional Project Engineering Leads within the Integrated Sensing and Protection (ISP) Line of Business (LoB) within Leonardo Electronics UK.

Within this LoB, the projects are diverse and exciting. There are a large number of projects in various stages of their lifecycle from new core product development, business capture, customer-funded projects and in service support contracts.

Within ISP, we work on a wide variety of technologies, but we are primarily looking to fill roles to lead our projects based around our Precision Guidance products.

Project Engineering Leads are responsible for the total engineering activity undertaken on a project or portfolio of projects and so manage cross-disciplined engineering teams. The Project Engineering Lead is tasked to ensure that the engineering team delivers a solution that is compliant with the customer technical requirements; contractual requirements; and legislative requirements. Working closely with Project Managers and Project Engineering Manager, the Project Engineering Lead must effectively plan and manage the engineering effort within projects from a performance, schedule and cost perspective.

Reporting to a Project Engineering Manager, the Project Engineering Lead contributes to the monthly engineering governance cycle through preparation of engineering status reports. Project Engineering Leads build strong relationships with Engineering Functional Leads to ensure the resourcing plans for their projects are realistic and any issues arising are resolved swiftly. Project Engineering Leads play a key role in business winning activities, coordinating the collection of engineering costs, preparation of engineering plans and holding engineering bid reviews.

The role requires a candidate who is self‑motivated, proactive and enthusiastic, with strong leadership and communication skills. The ability to foster and develop effective working relationships is key to ensure engineers perform to the levels required of the projects. A strong product design, commercial and business awareness is also essential to ensure that the engineering effort can be managed in the correct context for each given project.

Key Responsibility Areas

• Project Engineering Leads are responsible for the management of a multi‑disciplined engineering team across multiple projects. Working closely with project managers and project engineering managers, they are responsible for delivery of the overall engineering output against time, cost and performance budgets.
• Project Engineering Leads are responsible for generating clear and relevant engineering plans, establishing key milestones and identifying risks, opportunities and interdependencies.
• Project Engineering Leads are responsible for reviewing the current engineering positions on projects, and adapting plans as required to mitigate risks to either cost, schedule or performance budgets.
• Project Engineering Leads are responsible for preparation and communication of monthly engineering status reports for each of their assigned projects into their line manager.
• Project Engineering Leads are responsible for the coordination of engineering input into bids as part of the business winning process.
• Project Engineering Leads form part of the multi‑functional management team for their IPT and may be required to represent engineering on that team at weekly and monthly progress and reporting meetings.

What You’ll Bring;

• Educated to a degree level in an engineering‑related subject (essential)
• Previous experience of managing and/or leading multi‑disciplined engineering teams (essential)
• Strong understanding and proven track record of engineering lifecycles and processes (essential)
• Experience of working on the development of hardware electronics, firmware and mechanical based products (desirable)
• Experience of collaborating with external partners on development activities (desirable)
• Experience of working within the defence or aerospace industry (desirable)

Security Clearance

This role is subject to pre‑employment screening in line with the UK Government’s Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS). An additional range of Personnel Security Controls referred to as National Security Vetting (NSV) may apply, this could include meeting the eligibility requirements for The Security Check (SC) or Developed Vetting (DV). For more information and guidance please visit: https://careers.uk.leonardo.com/gb/en/security-and-vetting

At Leonardo, our people are at the heart of everything we do. We offer a comprehensive, company‑funded benefits package that supports your wellbeing, career development, and work–life balance. Whether you’re looking to grow professionally, care for your health, or plan for the future, we’re here to help you thrive.

• Time to Recharge: Enjoy generous leave with the opportunity to accrue up to 12 additional flexi‑days each year.
• Secure your Future: Benefit from our award‑winning pension scheme with up to 15% employer contribution.
• Your Wellbeing Matters: Free access to mental health support, financial advice, and employee‑led networks championing inclusion and diversity (Enable, Pride, Equalise, Armed Forces, Carers, Wellbeing and Ethnicity).
• Rewarding Performance: All employees at management level and below are eligible for our bonus scheme.
• Never Stop Learning: Free access to 4,000+ online courses via Coursera and LinkedIn Learning.
• Refer a friend: Receive a financial reward through our referral programme.
• Tailored Perks: Spend up to £500 annually on flexible benefits including private healthcare, dental, family cover, tech & lifestyle discounts, gym memberships and more.
• Flexible working: Flexible hours with hybrid working options. For part time opportunities, please talk to us about what might be possible for this role.

For a full list of our company benefits please visit our website.

Leonardo is a global leader in Aerospace, Defence, and Security. Headquartered in Italy, we employ over 53,000 people worldwide including 8,500 across 9 sites in the UK. Our employees are not just part of a team—they are key contributors to shaping innovation, advancing technology, and enhancing global safety.

At Leonardo we are committed to building an inclusive, accessible, and welcoming workplace. We believe that a diverse workforce sparks creativity, drives innovation, and leads to better outcomes for our people and our customers. If you have any accessibility requirements to support you during the recruitment process, just let us know.