System Engineer - RF & Defence

Gattaca; Romsey; Hybrid; GBP 65,000 - 95,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working

Hybrid work arrangement

Competitive benefits

Job summary

Gattaca in the UK Defence & Security sector is seeking an experienced Systems Engineer to lead the design and delivery of EW, RF, sensor, and PNT solutions. You will act as technical authority across full lifecycle, shaping architectures and guiding multidisciplinary teams.

You will collaborate with customers through reviews and workshops, balance technical, commercial and operational requirements, and contribute to bids, trials, and rapid prototyping.

Qualifications

• Experience delivering defence/aerospace/complex electronic systems.
• Strong systems engineering expertise across full product lifecycle.
• Proven ability to lead technical teams and make high-level design decisions.

Responsibilities

• Act as technical authority for complex defence technology programmes.
• Lead systems engineering activities across the lifecycle from requirements to acceptance.
• Design system architectures for EW, RF, sensor and PNT solutions.
• Provide technical leadership to multidisciplinary teams (hardware, software, firmware, RF, DSP, FPGA).
• Manage technical risks, dependencies and key engineering decisions.
• Engage customers via technical reviews, workshops, and solution development activities.
• Support bids, future capability planning and business growth initiatives.
• Ensure projects meet cost, schedule, performance, and quality targets.
• Contribute to trials, demonstrations, and rapid prototyping as needed.

Skills

Systems engineering

Leadership

Stakeholder management

RF communications

Technical leadership

Education

Engineering degree

Physics/Mathematics related

Computer Science related

Job description

Are you an experienced Systems Engineer looking to work on technology that really makes a difference? We're partnering with a leading organisation in the Defence & Security sector that is growing its team and looking for a talented engineer to help deliver some of the UK's most advanced Electronic Warfare (EW), RF communications, sensor systems, and Positioning, Navigation & Timing (PNT) solutions.

This is an exciting opportunity to take a leading role in the design and delivery of cutting-edge capabilities that support UK Defence and National Security programmes.

What You'll Be Doing

As a key member of the engineering team, you'll help shape complex technical solutions from concept through to delivery. Your responsibilities will include:

• Acting as the technical authority for complex defence technology programmes
• Leading systems engineering activities across the full lifecycle, from requirements definition and architecture through to integration, verification, validation, and acceptance
• Designing system architectures for EW, communications, sensor, and PNT solutions
• Providing technical leadership to multidisciplinary teams spanning hardware, software, firmware, RF, DSP, and FPGA engineering
• Managing technical risks, dependencies, trade-offs, and key engineering decisions
• Working closely with customers through technical reviews, workshops, and solution development activities
• Supporting bid work, future capability planning, and business growth initiatives
• Ensuring projects are delivered to agreed cost, schedule, performance, and quality targets
• Contributing to trials, demonstrations, and rapid prototyping activities when required

What We're Looking For

We're keen to hear from technically credible Systems Engineers who have experience delivering complex defence, aerospace, communications, or electronic systems.

• Experience within Defence, Systems Engineering, Electronic Warfare, RF communications, or Combat Systems
• A degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Physics, Mathematics, or a related discipline
• Strong systems engineering expertise across the full product lifecycle
• Experience leading technical teams and making high‑level system design decisions
• Knowledge of RF communications, sensor systems, or complex electronic systems
• Strong stakeholder management and customer engagement skills
• The ability to balance technical, commercial, and operational requirements to deliver effective solutions

It would be great if you also have experience in any of the following areas:

• Electronic Support (ES), Electronic Attack (EA), ESM, or ECM technologies
• Software Defined Radios (SDR)
• Digital Signal Processing (DSP)
• FPGA-based systems
• RF cyber capabilities
• Military communication systems and radio bearers
• Open standards such as SOSA, OpenVPX, MORA, STICS, or OpenCPI
• Agile, SAFe, Waterfall, or Spiral delivery methodologies
• Defence, Intelligence, or National Security programmes

What's In It For You?

In return, you'll have the opportunity to work alongside some of the UK's leading engineers, scientists, and technical specialists on genuinely mission-critical projects.

You'll benefit from:

• A competitive salary and comprehensive benefits package
• The opportunity to work on cutting-edge technologies supporting UK Defence and National Security
• The chance to influence technical strategy and future capability development
• Leadership opportunities within innovative engineering programmes
• Flexible and hybrid working arrangements
• Excellent professional development and career progression opportunities
• A collaborative and supportive working environment

Interested?

If you're passionate about solving complex engineering challenges and want to play a key role in developing next-generation Defence & Security capabilities, get in touch.