Project Engineering Lead - Test Solutions

Leonardo UK Ltd; Basildon; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working

Pension scheme

Mental health support

Online courses access (Coursera/Linked

Referral programme

Private healthcare

Job summary

Leonardo UK Ltd in Basildon is seeking a Project Engineering Lead to guide the Test Engineering team across Land CEMA, Mission Systems and Sensors. You will lead multi-disciplinary engineers, manage scope, cost and schedule, and collaborate with stakeholders to deliver robust technical solutions.

The role emphasizes leadership, clear communication, and strong engineering lifecycle knowledge to drive project success in a complex aerospace environment.

Qualifications

• Ability to create clear concise engineering plans.
• Strong problem-solving and analytical skills.
• Experience controlling schedules and budgets.
• Excellent written and verbal communication.
• Commercial awareness and cross-site collaboration.
• Leadership with teamwork across multiple sites.
• Knowledge of the engineering lifecycle and business processes.

Responsibilities

• Lead the engineering aspects of test projects, ensuring quality, schedule and budget.
• Manage day-to-day tasks of a multi-disciplinary team and define roles.
• Build productive relationships with customers and partners to deliver capability.
• Communicate progress, risks and mitigations with design authorities and leads.
• Ensure designs meet milestones and align with product roadmaps.
• Oversee change control and supplier management for Make/Buy decisions.
• Capture candidate concepts, including trade-off results and user engagement.

Skills

Engineering leadership

Project management

Stakeholder comms

Budget control

Problem solving

Education

Engineering or scientific degree

Job description

Job Description

Your Impact Leonardo in Basildon is a world-leading high-tech company and one of the key players in Aerospace, Defence and Security. The products developed at Basildon have widespread uses in industrial and civil applications as well as fulfilling many military requirements. 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.

The opportunity

Leonardo has an exciting opportunity for a Project Engineering Lead to join the Test Engineering team, supporting three business areas: Land CEMA, Mission Systems and Sensors. With a growing portfolio of development projects, this opportunity has become available. You will join the test engineering team on a permanent basis to cover an exciting and growing product focussed team. This role will lead the tasking of a multi-disciplinary engineering team to deliver the projects. The Project Engineering Lead will provide the engineering leadership and management in collaboration with the Technical Lead, to identify, develop, deliver and support the technical solutions.

Typical day to day tasks

• Leading the Engineering aspects of test engineering Projects, ensuring technical quality, schedule and budget
• Management of the day-to-day project tasks of a multi-disciplined engineering team, ensuring that roles within the teams are clearly defined
• Create a positive working relationship with customers and partners, to deliver project capability
• Establish and maintain good lines of communication internally across the Engineering IPT’s, with the IPT leads, Project Managers, functional heads
• Work closely with the Test Engineering Technical Lead, to inform the Design Authorities and Systems Design Authorities (Chief Engineers) on technical progress, technical risk and any mitigation strategies
• Ensuring the design solutions meet project and test engineering milestones on time and in scope
• Ensure the design solution is compatible with the business area product road map
• Control project configuration and change management to ensure design reuse is maximised
• Support the management of Suppliers and project Make or Buy decisions
• Candidate concept solutions are captured, including the results of any trade off studies and end user engagement

What we need from you

• Ability to produce clear concise engineering plans
• Good problem-solving ability
• Good schedule and budget control
• Good written and verbal communication skills
• Commercial awareness
• Ability to communicate effectively with a wide range of stakeholders, across multiple sites
• Strong leadership competency but also can demonstrate team-working skills
• Knowledge of engineering lifecycle and business process

Nice‑to‑have

• Requirements elicitation and experience of projects involving software development
• New Product Introduction
• Experience of electro‑optic or RF products
• Engineering or scientific degree qualification (or equivalent)

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.

Salary and Location

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.

Primary Location: GB - Basildon

Contract Type: Permanent

Hybrid Working: Hybrid International, multicultural, innovative, technological: this is Leonardo.

About Leonardo

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.

The company's passionate and talented team is strongly influenced by STEM expertise, with a diverse range of experience that enables colleagues to share knowledge and know‑how across the generations. Leonardo always wants to expand its talent pool, here you can find the right opportunity for you!