Senior Hardware Architect

Thales; Henstridge; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working

Pension Scheme

28 days annual leave

Job summary

Thales UK is seeking a Senior Hardware Architect for the Underwater Systems division. The role focuses on hardware architecture for ASW conformal array projects, ensuring alignment with system architecture and SHP strategy.

The position requires collaboration across disciplines, a minimum of five years in systems engineering, and UK security clearance considerations. Flexible terms include some home working and part-time patterns where possible.

Qualifications

• Five+ years in a Systems Engineering role in Maritime, Aerospace or Defence.
• Equivalent experience in mechanical or electronics design.
• Knowledge of systems engineering toolsets and lifecycles.

Responsibilities

• Perform subset of system engineering activities to develop a sub-system within ASW conformal array projects.
• Be technically responsible for hardware architecture and its alignment with solution architecture.
• Coordinate with Lead Hardware Architect to ensure top-down refinement aligns with SHP strategy and constraints.
• Analyze customer needs and translate to requirements and interfaces.
• Prepare design and justification files and support verification activities.

Skills

Team collaboration

Interpersonal skills

Communication

Proactive mindset

Problem solving

Product Line Engineering

Technical leadership

Systems engineering toolsets

Education

L6 Qualification (engineering)

L7 Qualification (Masters)

Job description

Location: Templecombe, United Kingdom

Thales people provide armed forces customers with operational advantage at every decisive moment throughout the mission. Defence and armed forces customers rely on us to deliver the full range of defence mission systems solutions at land, sea, and air. Our platforms extend across the battlespace including Above and Sonar, Electronic Combat, and Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance systems.

Together we offer fantastic opportunities for committed employees to learn and develop their career with us. At Thales UK, we research, develop, and supply technology and services that impact the lives of millions of people each day to make life better, and keep us safer. We innovate across the major industries of Aerospace, Defence, Security and Space. Your health and well-being matters to us and that's why we offer you the flexibility to do what's important to you; whether that's part time hours, job sharing, home working, or the ability to flex your start and finish times. Where possible, we support a working pattern that suits your lifestyle and helps you reach your ambitions.

Senior Hardware Architect

Location: Templecombe or Crawley or Cheadle (Minimum 3 days onsite)

About the team

Thales Underwater Systems (UWS) who design, develop and support Sonar Systems applications for anti-submarine warfare and mine hunting, have a fantastic opportunity for Senior Hardware Architects to join a close-knit, friendly and hardworking team.

About the role:

• To perform a subset of the system engineering activities required to develop a component or sub-system within the Anti-Submarine warfare (ASW) Conformal Array Projects.
• To be technically responsible for the hardware architecture and its consistency with the solution/system architecture.
• To coordinate with the Lead Hardware Architect in order to make sure that the top-down refinement of the solution is consistent with the Sonar Hardware Products (SHP) strategy and constraints including COTS selection and components reuse.

Key Responsibilities and Tasks:

• Analyses the customer's and other stakeholders' needs whatever the used means (e.g. advanced studies, simulations, mock-ups, models, prototypes,)
• Describes the requirements, functions and interfaces on the component or sub-system.
• Formalises the specification and the architectural design to develop the component or sub-system.
• Prepares and performs the component or sub-system, verification and validation tests
• Ensures that hardware architecture stability is maintained across lifecycle phases from Bid to Delivery.
• Directs and coordinates hardware architecture studies.
• Approves the technical, technological, and methodological choices taken in respect of the selected hardware architecture.
• Guarantees adherence to in-scope standards, reuse policy and product development plans.
• Identifies modelling, simulation and prototyping opportunities.
• Co-ordinates product definition, and assessment of trade-offs between aspects of cost, customer requirements and technological possibilities.
• Prepares the Design & Justification Files.
• Provides knowledge on state-of-the-art hardware architecting, taking account of future developments.
• Monitors technological developments.
• If mechanically or electrically biased in experience, lead the design elements specific for that discipline.

About You

Skills:

Essential:

• An ability to work collaboratively within a team environment and demonstrate:
  • Good interpersonal skills,
  • Good communication and presentation skills,
  • Proactive "can-do" mentality,
  • Logical problem-solving approaches.
• Ability to understand and implement Product Line Engineering strategies
• Ability to technically lead design and development activities, interfacing with other technical disciplines as required.
• The holder of the role must be able to demonstrate knowledge of the following:
  • Systems Engineering Toolsets, Practices and Lifecycles

Desirable:

• Hardware design and development.

Experience:

Essential:

• A minimum of five years' experience in a Systems Engineering role in an appropriate engineering field, e.g. Maritime, Aerospace, Defence.
• Equivalent experience in a relevant technical field, either mechanical or electronics design will also be considered.

Desirable:

• Experience working on underwater acoustics and/or sonar.
• The design of equipment for the sub-sea environment.
• Experience with Design for Cost / Design for Manufacture, manufacturing specifications and transition to production environment.

Qualifications:

Essential:

• L6 Qualification (degree or equivalent in mechanical/electronics/electrical engineering or scientific discipline).

Desirable:

• Chartered Engineer
• L7 Qualification (Masters or equivalent in mechanical/electronics/electrical engineering or scientific discipline).

Security Clearance statement

Due to the nature of the work that we do at Thales, many of our roles are subject to security restrictions. This role requires you to be a UK National and achieve Security Clearance (SC) without any caveats. It would be advantageous if currently held, however, if not currently held, it is a requirement that the successful applicant undergo, achieve, and maintain SC Clearance prior to commencing employment. If approved by the MOD, a dual national from a Non-ITAR country may be considered. Please visit the UKSV website for further guidance United Kingdom Security Vetting - GOV.UK ( )

To be eligible for full SC, you generally need to have resided in the UK for the last 5 years. In some circumstances, a minimum of 3 years' residence in the UK over the last 5 years may be accepted, with additional overseas checks.

What We Can Offer

We're committed to giving you opportunities to be your best. We believe in embracing the passion and potential of our people, and to achieve this we offer market leading training, development and experiences, along with the opportunity to be mentored and coached by some of the smartest minds in the industry. We hire from within as our first priority, so you'll have a myriad of opportunities within our diverse, global organisation.

Flexibility

Your health and well-being matter to us and that's why we offer you the flexibility to do what's important to you; whether that's part time hours, job sharing, home working, or the ability to flex your start and finish times. Where possible, we support a working pattern that suits your lifestyle and helps you reach your ambitions.

Benefits at Thales

Alongside a competitive base salary, we offer a benefits package, which includes;

• Half day every Friday, usually finishing around 13:00pm
• Hybrid working
• Pension Scheme
• 28 days annual leave (Plus Bank Holidays)
• Life Cover
• Progression and Development Opportunities
• 24/7 Employee Assistance Program and access to mental wellbeing app
• Employee discount shopping schemes on major brands and retailers
• Development focused targets and relocation support can be provided if required along with a variety of learning, development and career enhancement opportunities.

Thales is an equal opportunities employer and diversity and inclusion are integral to the success of Thales.

In line with Thales' Baseline Security requirements, candidates will be asked to provide evidence of identity, eligibility to work in the UK and employment and/or education history for up to three years. Some vacancies may require full Security Clearance which can require further evidence to be provided. For further details of the evidence required to apply for Baseline and Security Clearance please refer to the Defence Business Services National Security Vetting (DBS NSV) Agency.

At Thales we provide CAREERS and not only jobs. With Thales employing 80,000 employees in 68 countries our mobility policy enables thousands of employees each year to develop their careers at home and abroad, in their existing areas of expertise or by branching out into new fields. Together we believe that embracing flexibility is a smarter way of working.

Thales UK is committed to providing an inclusive and barrier-free recruitment process. We will provide reasonable adjustments and support to ensure neuro-diverse applicants or those with a disability or long-term condition can be their best during the recruitment process. To request an adjustment, if you need this job advert in an alternative format or if you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact Resourcing Ops for mid to senior roles, or the Early Careers Team for graduate and apprentice roles.