Systems Engineering Lead

Formula One Management Limited; Biggin Hill; On-site; GBP 95,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Private Healthcare

Dental Care

GP paddock passes

Staff shuttle service

Healthy snacks

Canteen in Biggin Hill

25 days annual leave + bank holidays

Training opportunities

Job summary

Formula One Management Limited seeks a Systems Engineering Lead to establish and drive engineering practices across its operational technology landscape. You will own requirements governance, telemetry data standards and end‑to‑end system integration, working with software, electronics, infrastructure, networking and broadcast teams.

You will mentor teams, define architectural principles, and oversee design reviews, verification and acceptance to ensure performance objectives are met.

Qualifications

• Strong understanding of systems engineering principles and lifecycle management.
• Experience authoring and reviewing technical requirements, specifications and interface artefacts.
• Experience managing requirements traceability, configuration management and change control processes.
• Strong technical leadership and communication across multidisciplinary teams, suppliers and partners.
• Experience facilitating technical reviews and providing engineering assurance across multiple projects.

Responsibilities

• Lead systems engineering leadership across Formula 1 engineering teams.
• Establish and continuously improve systems engineering processes, standards and ways of working.
• Act as SME for systems engineering and provide technical assurance across projects.
• Develop SE capability through mentoring and knowledge sharing.
• Promote structured SE practices across project lifecycles.
• Own standards and governance for requirements and specifications production.
• Manage traceability of requirements from concept through validation and operation.
• Define telemetry and data standards and dictionaries for engineering systems.
• Lead architecture, interfaces and subsystem integration activities.
• Collaborate with software, electronics, infrastructure, networking, broadcast and operations teams.
• Oversee verification, validation and acceptance activities to meet performance objectives.
• Drive governance, change control and engineering documentation improvements.

Skills

MBSE

SysML

Cameo

Enterprise Architect

Education

Bachelor's degree + 15+ years SE

MSc in Systems Engineering

MEng in Systems Engineering

PhD in Systems Engineering

Tools

MBSE tools

SysML modelling

Job description

Are you ready to make your mark in the world of Formula 1? At Formula 1, we are passionate about delivering the world’s greatest sports and entertainment spectacle leaving a positive legacy wherever we race. Innovation has always been at the heart of what we do ever since our first Grand Prix in 1950. Now, more than 75 years on, the sport remains a pioneer, developing technologies that have made a significant impact on society beyond the track. Everything you see on screen or at an event comes via our passionate and dedicated people. Whether its engineering, broadcast, legal, logistics, security, event management, commercial, media rights, marketing, or communications there is always a talented team working to maximise the potential of the sport.

Role Overview:

We are looking for a Systems Engineering Lead to establish and drive systems engineering practices across Formula 1’s operational technology landscape.

Main Duties and Responsibilities:

• Systems Engineering Leadership
• Establish, maintain and continuously improve systems engineering processes, standards and ways of working across Formula 1 engineering teams.
• Act as the organisation's subject matter expert for systems engineering, providing leadership and technical assurance across projects and programmes.
• Develop systems engineering capability across the organisation through mentoring, coaching and knowledge sharing.
• Promote the adoption of structured systems engineering practices throughout the project lifecycle.
• System Definition and Requirements
• Own the standards and governance for how requirements and specifications are produced.
• Ensure requirements and specifications are consistently high quality and fit for use across engineering teams and delivery partners.
• Establish and maintain requirements traceability throughout the engineering lifecycle, from concept and design through implementation, validation and operational acceptance.
• Act as the final technical authority when business and operational needs must be resolved into engineering requirements, arbitrating where translation is ambiguous or contested.
• Telemetry and Data Standards
• Define the approach for managing telemetry, interface and data dictionaries across Formula 1 engineering systems.
• Ensure telemetry and data definitions align with the requirements and interface baselines maintained elsewhere in the engineering lifecycle.
• Work with engineering teams and suppliers to promote common data standards that support integration, diagnostics, performance monitoring and future system development.
• Systems Engineering and Architecture
• Provide technical leadership and oversight across system architecture, interface management and subsystem integration activities.
• Own the standards and governance for how interface definitions and specifications are produced, maintained and controlled.
• Define architectural principles and integration frameworks to support the delivery of complex engineering systems.
• Collaborate with software, electronics, infrastructure, networking, broadcast and operational teams to promote cohesive end‑to‑end system design.
• Support engineering decision‑making through system analysis, trade studies and technical assessment.
• Provide oversight of integration, verification, validation and acceptance activities to ensure systems meet operational and performance objective.
• Technical Governance and Review
• Own the review and assurance mechanisms (design reviews, technical challenge and sign-off) that provide oversight against the systems engineering framework.
• Define and maintain engineering review processes that verify consistency, traceability and technical assurance are upheld across projects.
• Work closely with the QMO team to ensure alignment with engineering standards, quality processes and design review practices.
• Facilitate technical, architecture and design reviews, providing independent technical challenge where required.
• Drive continual improvement in engineering documentation, configuration management, change control and governance practices.

What Are We Looking For? Personal Qualities

• A strong communicator who can translate complex technical concepts into clear and actionable guidance for engineers, leaders and operational stakeholders.
• Delivery focused and collaborative, able to balance live operational realities with engineering rigour.
• Confident to constructively challenge and influence decisions across internal and external teams.

Qualifications

• Degree or advanced degree (MSc, MEng or PhD) in Systems Engineering, Electronic/Software/Aerospace Engineering, or related technical discipline.
• Training or certification in Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE), SysML or recognised architecture frameworks.

Experience Prior to the role it would be essential that you:

• Strong understanding of systems engineering principles, lifecycle management and systems thinking.
• Experience authoring and reviewing technical requirements, specifications, interface documentation and engineering artefacts.
• Experience managing requirements traceability, configuration management and change control processes.
• Strong technical leadership and communication skills, with the ability to influence multidisciplinary teams, suppliers and technology partners delivering complex operational systems.
• Experience facilitating technical reviews and providing engineering assurance across multiple projects.

Some desirable experience that you may bring to the role:

• Developing telemetry, command structures, data dictionaries or Interface Control Documents (ICDs).
• Working within live operational, safety-critical or mission-critical environments.
• Working within regulated or quality-driven engineering environments.
• Supporting complex distributed systems operating across multiple locations and time‑critical environments.
• Experience establishing SE capability in a newly formed or maturing team/function.

Knowledge & Skills Prior to the role it is essential that you demonstrate:

• Bachelor's degree plus 15+ years' systems engineering experience
• Master's degree plus 12+ years' systems engineering experience
• PhD plus 10+ years' systems engineering experience
• including at least 5 years defining, implementing or maturing systems engineering governance frameworks at an organisational level.
• Verification, validation and system acceptance methodologies.
• Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE), SysML and systems modelling tools such as Cameo Systems Modeler or Enterprise Architect.
• Motorsport, broadcast, telecommunications, aerospace or other high-performance technology domains.

Why join the force behind the sport?

Joining F1 means becoming part of a team that values innovation, collaboration and personal growth. We seek to recruit, develop, and retain the most talented people to play their role in accelerating the future of the sport. As a member of the F1 team, you will be able to access our amazing benefits:

As a member of the F1 team, you will be able to access our amazing benefits:

• Private Healthcare scheme
• Dental Care
• 4 x Grand Prix Paddock passes per season
• Enhanced maternity/paternity leave and other family planning policies
• A free staff shuttle service running to and from surrounding trains stations near to Biggin Hill
• Free healthy snacks in our offices
• Subsidised canteen in Biggin Hill, serving breakfast and lunch
• 25 days annual leave and 8 Bank Holiday days, plus a Christmas period closure
• Opportunities to develop and request training for your role via our in-house Learning and Development team
• Discount on F1 merchandise
• Discount at F1’s experiences including F1 Arcade and F1 Drive
• Perkbox benefit portal and more

Recruitment Fraud Warning:We only communicate with candidates through official @f1.com email addresses. We will never contact you via personal email accounts, messaging apps, or request payment as part of our recruitment process. If you receive suspicious communication claiming to be from our talent team, please report it to [e-mail].

Division: Technical

Here’s how we roll Formula 1® delivers the world’s greatest sports and entertainment spectacle with innovation, inclusivity, and sustainability at the heart of its future growth and value. As the global rights holders of this incredible sport our team delivers the 24-race calendar direct to our passionate fans around the globe. Everything you see on screen or at an event comes via our people at F1. Whether its engineering, broadcast, legal, logistics, security, event management, commercial, media rights, marketing, and communications there is always a driven and talented team working to maximise the potential of the sport. We are focused on delivering the best for our fans and partners while ensuring we do the right thing as a business, using the power of Formula 1 to make a positive contribution to the places we visit and to our own community. We are on track to meet our sustainability commitments and work closely with stakeholders across the sport to leave a positive legacy wherever we race. At the same time, our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion helps ensure that everyone feels welcome and has the opportunity to thrive. This is Formula 1!