Project Engineering Manager

Leonardo; City of Edinburgh; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Leonardo in Edinburgh is seeking an Engineering Manager to lead the MRFS IPT within the GCAP programme, reporting to the Chief Engineer and Head of Engineering. You will drive cross-disciplinary teams to deliver demonstrator hardware and align with safety and security requirements.

The role requires DV security clearance, broad lifecycle engineering experience, and strong leadership with customers and partners. Travel within the UK and abroad may be required as part of programme delivery.

Qualifications

• DV level security clearance is required.
• Broad experience across engineering lifecycles with planning focus.
• Disciplined reporting and planning approach.
• Influencing and negotiation with internal/external stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Lead the engineering aspects of the GCAP MRFS IPT, ensuring quality, schedule, and budget.
• Maintain engineering governance and lifecycle management for the project.
• Manage multi-disciplinary engineering teams with clearly defined roles.
• Coordinate input from safety and security specialists to the main project.
• Develop strong relationships with customers and partners to deliver capability.
• Communicate across the engineering leadership team, PMs and discipline heads.
• Keep Systems Design Authority informed on progress, risks and mitigations.
• Own engineering milestones and reporting to engineering/project forums.
• Ensure the design meets end-user requirements, is reliable and documented.

Skills

Leadership

Engineering governance

Lifecycle management

Team leadership

Stakeholder management

Communication skills

Reporting

Systems Design Authority

Cross-functional collaboration

Job description

Job Description

We have an opportunity for a skilled engineering manager to join the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) Multifunction RF System (MRFS) IPT, leading the interdisciplinary team that will deliver one of our key Technology Demonstrator programmes (TDP) into GCAP. This is a key leadership role, working with the Chief Engineer and Head of Engineering to identify, develop and deliver the technical solution. You will work closely with Leonardo’s internal engineering team that is tasked with delivering the main GCAP programme.

This is an exciting time within the GCAP programme, this engineering manager will play an important role in bringing together critical technology components into demonstrator hardware that will be tested and incorporated into future GCAP concepts and designs, ultimately contributing to our most advanced RF sensor to date.

As this role has a high profile with our customers and partners, it may require travel within the UK and abroad.

What You'll Bring

• Leading the Engineering aspects of the Project, ensuring adherence to quality, schedule and budget
• Ensuring that engineering governance is in place and regularly maintained
• Ensuring the efficient application of lifecycle management to the project
• Managing multi-disciplined engineering teams, ensuring that roles within the teams are clearly defined
• Working with specialists (such as safety and security) to coordinate their input to the main project
• Creating a positive working relationship with customers and partners, to deliver project capability
• Establishing and maintaining good lines of communication across the engineering team, with the engineering leadership team, Project Manager, and Heads of Discipline
• Working closely with the Systems Design Authority ensuring they are fully informed on technical progress, technical risk and any mitigation strategies
• Regularly reporting into engineering and project forums – including the definition and ownership of engineering milestones, authoring and maintaining the Scope of Work and reporting delivery from the multi/cross-functional Engineering team.
• Ensuring the design solution meets the end user requirement, is reliable, fully documented and works within the designated environment
• Coordinate engineering input to bid activities

You Really Must Have

• Ability to achieve DV level security clearance
• Broad experience across engineering lifecycles, with an emphasis on engineering and associated planning activities for successful delivery outcomes
• A disciplined approach to reporting and planning
• Influencing and negotiation skills with a variety of internal and external stakeholders
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, proven ability to build trust and respect at all levels
• Proven leadership and decision-making skills in a complex, dynamic environment
• Experience of delivering engineering solutions for complex and technically challenging products, preferably in the defence electronics sector
• Awareness of statutory and regulatory compliance requirements within the defence avionics industry

It is desirable, but not essential that you will have experience in several of the following areas:

• Knowledge of a broad range of engineering disciplines
• Experience of consortium projects
• Experience of the application of continuous improvement principles
• Experience with New Product Introduction

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 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.

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