Summer Placement Systems Engineer

Leonardo UK Ltd; Easter Howgate; On-site; GBP 25,000; Part time

Job summary

A leading technology company is offering a Summer Placement for Systems Engineers in Scotland. The 13-week programme provides hands-on experience on real projects while developing technical skills. Participants must be pursuing a relevant undergraduate degree and will engage in meaningful engineering tasks. The role is remunerated at £25,000 per annum. Candidates will receive coaching and support throughout their placement.

Benefits

25 days annual leave plus bank holidays

Award-winning pension scheme

Mental health support

Access to online courses via Coursera and LinkedIn Learning

Qualifications

• Currently studying a relevant degree discipline like Physics, Mathematics, Engineering, or other STEM subjects.
• Must not be in their final year of university.
• Experience in coding/programming and relevant project work is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Be involved in design and development aspects from product design to in-service support.
• Collaborate to produce required operational behaviors.
• Engage in R&D and develop new concepts.

Skills

Self-motivated

Strong communication skills

Relationship building

Adaptability

Problem-solving

Education

Relevant degree in Physics, Mathematics, Engineering or STEM

Job description

Job Description

Are you ready to make an impact and gain hands‑on experience working on real‑world projects from day one? At Leonardo, we’re looking for summer placement students who want to be part of something bigger—shaping innovation, advancing technology, and enhancing global safety.

Our placements are designed to help you apply your studies in a practical setting, develop your technical skills, and gain valuable insight into how our business operates.

Our Summer Placement Programme

We have created a programme across our UK sites that not only increases your technical skills, but gives you the opportunity to work on meaningful real‑life projects, alongside experienced engineers and graduates across our business.

You will receive coaching and support to achieve your personal goals and work in multidisciplinary teams to gain as much experience across the product lifecycle from your time in industry as possible. Our aim is to see you through your undergrad years and successful placements will result in an offer to return for further placements or for an offer on our Graduate Development programme.

This 13‑week programme is remunerated £25,000 per annum and runs from 1st June 2026 to 28th August 2026.

As a Summer Placement Systems Engineer

Be involved in all aspects of design and development; from initial product design through to in‑service support.

Determine how the system needs to operate and collaborate to produce the required overall operational behaviours.

Dive into the deepest level of detail – taking the system piece‑by‑piece and defining its design to the finest point.

Actively engage in R&D, developing new concepts and conducting fundamental research into our future technologies.

Work on real engineering problems within either the Radar or the Advanced Targeting business area.

Have the opportunity to be involved in supporting a wide range of tasks across multiple projects/products, such as:

• The radar for the Typhoon fighter jet
• The radar for the SAAB Gripen fighter
• Our family of Surveillance AESA (Active Electronically Scanned Array) radars
• An IRCM (Infra‑Red Counter Measures) system
• Our laser target designator or laser ranging systems

Core activities within Systems Engineering include:

• Requirements capture, design documentation, verification and validation.
• Algorithm design and test.
• Performance modelling; building physics‑based models to test our designs through computer simulation.
• Data analysis; end‑to‑end systems analysis using synthetic and ‘real world’ data.
• Applied research; from product improvements to blue‑sky thinking.

You will work with an experienced engineer who will provide day‑to‑day guidance and on‑the‑job training. You will be introduced to systems engineering processes, methods, technology and tools, with particular emphasis placed on learning practical skills that may not be easily gained or experienced in the academic environment of a university.

What you’ll bring

• Be a self‑motivated individual, willing to take on new challenges and drive continuous personal development
• Strong communication skills across a variety of mediums i.e. written, verbal, digital, etc.
• The ability to develop effective working relationships with peers and stakeholders
• Adaptable to the ever‑changing demands that will be encountered within the role
• Offer novel ideas and methods for solving technical problems, drawing on personal experiences and knowledge learned during academic studies

Competencies we are looking for

All of our Summer Placement roles require you to be currently studying a relevant degreediscipline such asPhysics, Mathematics, Engineering, or other STEM subject degrees. This should be a minimum of a Bachelors level degree.

All successful candidates must be returning to university after their Summer Placement, i.e. not in their final year.

In addition to this, we would be interested in hearing from you if you have experience in:

• Coding/programming.
• Relevant project work and/or placements in industry.
• Applying your science and technology knowledge to solve a real‑world problem

This is not an exhaustive list, and we are keen to hear from you even if you might not have experience in all the above. The most important skill is a good attitude and willingness to learn.

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, key contributors in shaping innovation, advancing technology, and enhancing global safety.

We offer a comprehensive benefits package that supports your wellbeing, learning and development, and work–life balance.

Benefits

• Time to recharge: Our employees are entitled to 25 days of annual leave plus bank holidays. A Summer Placement student you will receive this allowance pro rata.
• Secure your future: 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).
• Never stop learning: Free access to 4,000+ online courses via Coursera and LinkedIn Learning.

For a full list of our company benefits please visit https://careers.uk.leonardo.com/gb/en/company-benefits

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, communities, and customers. If you have any accessibility requirements to support you during the recruitment process, just let us know.

Be part of something bigger - apply now!

Primary Location: GB - Edinburgh

Contract Type: Fixed term

Hybrid Working: Onsite