Project Engineering Lead

Leonardo UK Ltd; City of Edinburgh; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Time to Recharge

Pension up to 15%

Mental health support

Bonus scheme

Free online courses

Referral programme

Flexible benefits spending up to £500

Hybrid working

Job summary

Leonardo UK Ltd in Edinburgh is seeking a Project Engineering Lead to head a skilled team and drive the ECRS Mk2 Typhoon Radar Processor development. You will guide architecture decisions, collaborating across Systems, Software, and Hardware to deliver robust, high-performance solutions for airborne radar systems.

The role emphasizes leadership, requirements management, and a strong background in digital design with FPGA/ASIC experience.

Qualifications

• Degree in Electrical & Electronic Engineering or a related discipline.
• Proven experience in technical leadership or engineering management, including planning, work package ownership, and team development.
• Strong background in digital system design and architecture, ideally with FPGA or ASIC implementation experience.
• Demonstrated ability to derive and manage requirements across system levels, ensuring traceability from concept through to implementation.
• Understanding of high-performance embedded or real-time processing systems, including timing, throughput, and resource constraints.
• Experience with structured verification and validation approaches.
• Familiarity with Agile or iterative delivery environments (desirable).

Responsibilities

• Lead and inspire a high-performing team of engineers, providing technical direction and delivery leadership across complex work packages.
• Take ownership of architectural design decisions for processor subsystems, ensuring alignment with system-level requirements and long-term capability evolution.
• Work collaboratively across Systems, Software, and Hardware domains to translate high-level requirements into coherent, implementable designs.
• Drive the adoption of modern engineering approaches, tools, and design methodologies to improve productivity, quality, and reuse.
• Provide oversight of design artefacts and ensure solutions meet performance, timing, and certification requirements for airborne systems.
• Lead integration planning and support system bring-up, ensuring end-to-end coherence of the processor within the wider radar system.
• Manage delivery commitments, balancing technical risk, schedule, and cost, while maintaining engineering excellence.

Skills

Technical leadership

Team leadership

FPGA/ASIC design

Requirements management

Real-time embedded systems

Structured verification

Agile delivery (desirable)

Education

Electrical & Electronic Engineering (BSc/BEng/MEng/MSc/PhD)

Job description

Job Description:

Your impact

Are you looking for an exciting and challenging opportunity to lead a skilled team in a time of significant growth in an AESA Radar sector, based in our Edinburgh offices?

At Leonardo, we solve real-world engineering challenges, delivering mission-critical systems that underpin some of the world’s most advanced defence and security capabilities. We are seeking an Project Engineering Lead (PEL) to play a central role in the development of the European Common Radar System (ECRS) Mk2 Typhoon Radar Processor - the core computing platform driving next-generation radar performance.

This role is focused on technical leadership, system-level design, and architectural definition, guiding a design and implementation team in delivering robust, high-performance solutions. You will shape how capability is realised within the processor architecture, with implementation primarily realised through FPGA-based designs. This is a rare opportunity to influence a flagship programme and deliver evolutionary capability in a rapidly changing threat environment.

As the PEL for the ECRS MK2 Processor you will :

• Lead and inspire a high-performing team of engineers, providing technical direction, coaching, and delivery leadership across complex work packages.
• Take ownership of architectural design decisions for processor subsystems, ensuring alignment with system-level requirements and long-term capability evolution.
• Work collaboratively across Systems, Software, and Hardware domains to translate high-level requirements into coherent, implementable designs.
• Drive the adoption of modern engineering approaches, tools, and design methodologies to improve productivity, quality, and reuse.
• Provide oversight of design artefacts and ensure solutions meet performance, timing, and certification requirements for airborne systems.
• Lead integration planning and support system bring-up, ensuring end-to-end coherence of the processor within the wider radar system.
• Manage delivery commitments, balancing technical risk, schedule, and cost, while maintaining engineering excellence.

What you’ll bring

• Degree (BSc, BEng, MEng, MSc, PhD) in Electrical & Electronic Engineering or a related discipline.
• Proven experience in technical leadership or engineering management, including planning, work package ownership, and team development.
• Strong background in digital system design and architecture, ideally with FPGA or ASIC implementation experience.
• Demonstrated ability to derive and manage requirements across system levels, ensuring traceability from concept through to implementation.
• Understanding of high-performance embedded or real-time processing systems, including timing, throughput, and resource constraints.
• Experience with structured verification and validation approaches.
• Familiarity with Agile or iterative delivery environments (desirable).
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to engage across disciplines and influence design direction.

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

Why join us

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.

Primary Location:

GB - Edinburgh

Contract Type:

Permanent

Hybrid Working:

Hybrid