Project Engineering Lead

Leonardo UK Ltd; Luton; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexi-days

Pension scheme

Wellbeing support

Bonus scheme

Online courses

Referral bonus

Flexible benefits

Hybrid working

Job summary

Leonardo UK Ltd is seeking a Project Engineering Lead to provide engineering leadership across multiple programmes within the Integrated Mission Solutions sector. The role combines contract delivery and business-winning activities, with hybrid working from the Luton office and UK travel as needed.

You will lead cross-site engineering teams, manage budgets and schedules, mentor staff, and maintain strong customer and partner relationships to deliver capabilities that meet end-user needs and align

Qualifications

• Engineering management across lifecycle.
• Clear direction and leadership to engineering teams.
• Ability to develop concise engineering plans.
• Strong communication with stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Lead engineering bid activities with technical excellence and budget control.
• Manage cross-site, multi-disciplinary teams and define roles.
• Mentor and develop engineering team members and performance reviews.
• Build relationships with customers and industry partners for delivery of project capabilities.
• Coordinate with IPT Leads, Project Managers, and Systems Design Authority to track progress and risks.
• Ensure designs meet end-user requirements and align with roadmaps.
• Oversee change control and supplier activities for deliverables.

Skills

Engineering management

Leadership

Stakeholder communication

Schedule & budget

Team mentoring

Education

Engineering degree

Job description

Job Description:

Join Leonardo at a pivotal time of growth, where your engineering leadership will play a key role in shaping and delivering future capabilities.

Leonardo is seeking motivated and experienced Project Engineering Leads (PELs) to join our Electronic Warfare Line of Business within the Integrated Mission Solutions (IMS) sector. This is a permanent opportunity to support the continued growth of the Mission Support Products Integrated Project Team (IPT).

As a Project Engineering Lead, you will report to the Project Engineering Manager (PEM) and work closely with the Chief Engineer to provide engineering leadership and management across a range of programmes. You will be responsible for identifying, developing, delivering, and supporting technical solutions that meet the needs of our customers and end users.

The role combines both contract delivery and business-winning activities, providing engineering direction, leadership, and management across multiple customers and stakeholders.

Based at our Luton office, this position offers hybrid working, with a nominal requirement of 2-3 days per week on site. There will also be opportunities to travel within the UK, collaborating with Leonardo teams, customers, end users, and industry partners, with occasional overseas travel as required.

What you’ll do as a Project Engineering Lead:

As a Project Engineering Lead, you will be responsible for the day-to-day engineering management of projects, ensuring delivery against technical, schedule, and budget commitments.

• Leading the engineering and engineering bid activities of projects, ensuring technical excellence, effective schedule management, and budget control.
• Managing cross-site, multi-disciplinary engineering teams, ensuring roles and responsibilities are clearly defined and understood.
• Developing and supporting engineering team members through mentoring, coaching, objective setting, and performance appraisals.
• Building strong and effective relationships with customers and industry partners to successfully deliver project capabilities.
• Establishing and maintaining effective communication across the Engineering IPT, Project Managers, IPT Leads, and Functional Heads.
• Working closely with the Systems Design Authority to ensure visibility of technical progress, risks, issues, and mitigation plans.
• Ensuring design solutions meet end-user requirements, are reliable, fully documented, and operate effectively within the intended environment.
• Ensuring solutions align with the wider business area roadmap and strategic direction.
• Managing project configuration and change control activities to maximise design reuse and maintain product integrity.
• Supporting supplier management activities and contributing to make-or-buy decisions for project deliverables.

What we need from you:

You really must have:

• Engineering Management experience across multiple phases of the engineering lifecycle.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to provide clear direction and leadership to engineering teams.
• The ability to develop clear, concise, and achievable engineering plans
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Experience in schedule management and budget control.
• The ability to communicate effectively with a broad range of stakeholders across multiple locations.
• Strong leadership capability combined with excellent team-working skills.
• Commercial awareness and an understanding of business drivers
• The ability to manage complex situations, exercise sound judgement, and balance competing priorities.
• A willingness to travel within the UK and occasionally overseas

It would be nice if you had:

• Experience within the military or defence domain.
• Knowledge of Agile methodologies and delivery practices.
• Experience using DevOps-based tools and environments.
• Experience in problem definition, requirements elicitation, and software product definition.
• Knowledge of the development and certification of airborne equipment.
• Experience supporting New Product Introduction (NPI) activities.
• Experience managing or outsourcing complex engineering work packages.
• An engineering or scientific degree qualification, or equivalent experience.

This is not an exhaustive list, and we would still like to hear from you even if you do not meet every requirement. At Leonardo, we recognise that potential, attitude, and a willingness to learn are just as important as experience. If you are passionate about engineering leadership and want to contribute to cutting-edge mission solutions, we encourage you to apply.

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.

Leonardo UK operates a grade-based salary framework with broad bands. The salary range shown reflects the approved grade band for this role, or a narrower hiring range published within that band, and is benchmarked against the external market. Exceptions above the standard range are managed through governance controls to protect internal equity.

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Primary Location: GB - Luton - Cap. Green 300

Contract Type: Permanent

Hybrid Working: Hybrid