Senior System Engineer

Tech Contracts Online; Leeds; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

TCO is seeking a Senior Systems Engineer to lead the Autonomous Systems team, covering UAV platforms, autonomous field robotics, sensing payloads, electronics and mechatronics integration, testing and deployment readiness.

This is a hands-on technical leadership role with immediate line-management responsibility for a multidisciplinary team of around six engineers, reporting to the Head of Engineering and working with Product Engineering, Robotics Software, Operations and Field Operations.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in robotics or autonomous systems engineering.
• Experience leading multidisciplinary engineering teams.
• Hands-on UAV/robotic systems development and deployment.
• Strong systems engineering judgement and risk assessment.
• Credibility across UAV, autonomy, embedded electronics and sensing.

Responsibilities

• Provide full line management for the Autonomous Systems team.
• Lead engineering delivery across UAV platforms and autonomy.
• Guide requirements interpretation and system architecture decisions.
• Coordinate across software, firmware, electronics and field teams.
• Oversee testing, validation and deployment readiness.

Skills

Team leadership

People management

Systems engineering

Requirements interpretation

Architecture trade-offs

Cross-functional coordination

Fast-moving environment

Multidisciplinary collaboration

Safety and compliance mindset

Education

Robotics/Aerospace/Mechatronics engineering degree

Equivalent industry experience

Tools

PX4

ArduPilot

MAVLink

ROS/ROS2

Linux-based robotics

QGroundControl / Mission Planner

Python / C++

MATLAB/Simulink

Docker / CI/CD

Git

Job description

TCO is looking for a Senior Systems Engineer to lead an Autonomous Systems team, covering UAV platforms, autonomous field robotics, sensing payloads, electronics and mechatronics integration, testing and deployment readiness.

This is a hands-on technical leadership role with immediate line-management responsibility for a multidisciplinary team of around six engineers, with expected team growth. The role reports to the Head of Engineering and works closely with Product Engineering, Robotics Software, Operations and Field Operations to deliver systems that are practical, safe and field-ready.

The successful candidate will combine technical credibility across UAV systems, autonomy, mechatronics, embedded systems, sensing and field testing with strong people leadership. They do not need to be the deepest specialist in every area, but they must be able to make good system-level judgements, bring multiple disciplines together and keep delivery moving in a fast-changing engineering environment.

• Team leadership, delivery and people management: Provide full line management for the Autonomous Systems team, including direct reporting lines, delegation and project/workload setting, mentoring, career development, performance management, HR and employee relations matters, motivation and team engagement. Establish clear priorities, ownership and delivery rhythms so the team can work effectively across multiple active projects and field trials.
• Technical direction and systems delivery: Lead engineering delivery across UAV platforms, autonomous robotics, onboard compute, autopilot systems, mechatronics, sensing, payload integration, embedded systems, communications, safety systems and field deployment equipment. Translate product, customer and operational needs into practical engineering plans, milestones and system trade-offs.
• Systems engineering leadership: Guide requirements interpretation, architecture decisions, interface definition, configuration, technical risks and failure modes across complex integrated systems. Ensure designs are buildable, testable, deployable, maintainable and suitable for harsh field environments including remote sites, high-voltage infrastructure, electromagnetic interference, transport and operator usability.
• Cross-functional coordination: Work closely with Product Engineering, Robotics Software, Perception, Electronics, Chemistry, Production, Logistics, Operations and Field Operations to align plans, unblock dependencies and ensure engineering decisions reflect real customer, safety, production, field and deployment constraints.
• Testing, validation and deployment readiness: Oversee bench testing, integration testing, flight trials, field trials and customer demonstrations where required. Ensure tests have clear objectives, acceptance criteria, safety controls, evidence capture and post-test learning, including appropriate consideration of failsafes, comms-loss behaviour, operator override and operational controls.
• Engineering process and technical governance: Improve engineering discipline without adding unnecessary bureaucracy, including appropriate documentation for architecture, interfaces, configurations, decisions, risks, test evidence and deployment readiness. Strengthen planning, issue tracking, design reviews, handover, lessons learned and review gates as the team scales.
• Roadmap, resourcing and team growth: Work with the Head of Engineering to align Autonomous Systems priorities with the wider engineering roadmap, identify capability gaps, hiring needs and team structure changes, and build a scalable autonomous systems function that supports the robotic coating and inspection roadmap.

Requirements

Required Skills & Experience

• 5+ years of experience in robotics, UAV systems, autonomous systems, aerospace, mechatronics, field robotics or a closely related engineering discipline.
• Experience leading or line-managing multidisciplinary engineering teams, including prioritisation, delegation, coaching, development and performance responsibility.
• Hands-on experience developing, integrating, testing or deploying UAV, robotic, mechatronic, embedded or autonomous systems in real-world environments.
• Strong systems engineering judgement, including requirements interpretation, architecture trade-offs, interface definition, risk assessment, failure modes and validation planning.
• Technical credibility across UAV systems, autonomy, mechatronics, electronics integration, embedded systems, sensing, communications and field testing.
• Proven ability to coordinate delivery across software, firmware, electronics, mechanical, operations, production, logistics or field teams to deliver integrated systems.
• Comfortable operating in a fast-moving engineering environment with incomplete information, shifting priorities and high delivery pressure.
• Degree in Robotics, Aerospace, Mechanical, Mechatronics, Electrical/Electronic Engineering, Control Systems, Computer Science or a related technical field, or equivalent industry experience.

Preferred Skills & Experience

• Experience managing a team of 5 or more engineers and helping build or scale engineering team structures.
• Experience operating UAVs or robotic systems near infrastructure, utilities, industrial sites, construction, inspection, defence, aerospace or other safety-critical environments.
• Practical exposure to UAV autopilot or robotics ecosystems such as PX4, ArduPilot, MAVLink, QGroundControl, Mission Planner, ROS/ROS2 or Linux-based robotics integration.
• Experience with heavy-lift UAVs, custom UAV builds, tethered UAVs, payload deployment systems or field robotic deployment platforms.
• Familiarity with tools and workflows such as C++, Python, MATLAB/Simulink, Docker, Git, CI/CD, embedded software workflows or simulation environments.
• Experience with navigation, sensing or communications technologies such as sensor fusion, state estimation, visual navigation, localisation, mapping, RTK/GNSS, lidar, stereo vision, optical flow, line tracking, RF, LTE/5G, Wi-Fi, mesh networks or telemetry systems.
• Experience with safety cases, FMEA, test evidence, compliance, CAA/FAA regulations, SORA, GVC, A2 CofC or operational authorisations.
• Experience in startups, R&D environments, high-accountability product development teams or field-deployed technology businesses.