Technical Project Lead (PTA) - Onsite Farnborough

DXC Technology; Farnborough; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

DXC Technology is seeking a Project Technical Authority to lead the technical solution for advanced mission planning software. You will coordinate cross‑functional teams, manage requirements, plan engineering activities and ensure Defence-grade standards are met throughout the lifecycle.

You will work with Scrum/Kanban teams, maintain the backlog, and provide rigorous estimates and risk assessments while interfacing with customers and the Design Authority.

Qualifications

• Experience of leading all aspects of the software lifecycle.
• Experience in Agile environments using Scrum and Kanban.
• Ability to define and elicit detailed system and software requirements.
• Ability to provide reasoned estimates with dependencies and risks.
• Experience in functional and OO design engineering.
• Ability to conduct design, code and unit test inspections and walkthroughs.
• UK MOD Security Clearance.

Responsibilities

• Defining and overseeing the implementation of a technical solution aligned with the approved change proposal from requirements through testing and customer acceptance.
• Producing the Project Engineering Plan that defines how the approved technical solution will be implemented by the project team.
• Identifying technical issues and agreeing with the Design Authority and customer on required changes to enable delivery.
• Producing and maintaining the Product Backlog that identifies the complete scope of technical work.
• Working with Software, System and Operational SME Team Leads to refine Backlog items for Sprint Backlogs with scope, effort estimates and acceptance criteria.
• Coordinating with Operational SMEs to ensure Sprint Backlogs meet the approved scope for the customer.
• Ensuring QMS engineering policies are followed as detailed in plans.
• Ensuring sufficient verification and validation coverage to support qualification of the changed system.
• Providing technical support to the PM in external and internal meetings.
• Providing accurate status reports with issues and risks as they arise.

Skills

Software lifecycle

Agile Scrum Kanban

Requirements elicitation

Estimation & risk management

OO design

Code reviews

MOD security clearance

Software safety standards

Geospatial systems

Cross-platform dev

Multi-threading concepts

C/C++ on Linux

Tools

Sparx EA

Rational ClearCase

ClearQuest

DOORS

HP ALM

Job description

Job Description:

The Advanced Mission Planning Aid (AMPA) provides mission planning capabilities across a wide array of fixed wing platforms. The product has a proven delivery record to both the UK MoD as well as export customers around the world. The product comprises both common capabilities and customer / aircraft specific capabilities.

The AMPA product family is well established and most development work on the account is in the form of incremental change to mature software components.

The Project Technical Authority (PTA) provides technical oversight and direction for a project that has been initiated to implement a change to one or more product variant baselines. The PTA is responsible for the overall technical scope and content of the solution and for the progression of the design into a workable and detailed technical solution that meets the Requirements. PTAs ensure that the technical scope of work for the project is broken down into a series of work packages that can be assigned to, and delivered by, one or more teams working in an Agile development environment and then verify that the acceptance criteria for each work package have been met.

As members of the Design Office, PTAs work with the Product Design Authority to ensure that the technical solution / design implemented for the project aligns with the overall product technical direction, and with the Compliance Verification Engineer to ensure that all changes are implemented in accordance with a Quality Management System that reflects the Military Aviation Authority Regulatory Articles. The PTA also seeks to apply appropriate tools and methods to increase productivity and accuracy.

The PTA is part of the project team and reports directly to the Project Manager.

Day to Day Responsibilities

The PTA is responsible for:

• Defining, and overseeing the implementation of, a technical solution that aligns with the solution identified within the approved change proposal covering all aspects from requirements specification through to testing and customer acceptance.
• Producing the Project Engineering Plan that defines how the approved technical solution will be implemented by the project team.
• Identifying any technical issues with the proposed solution and agreeing with the Design Authority, and ultimately the customer, any changes that are required to the approved scope to enable delivery of a solution that meets the stated requirements.
• Producing and maintaining the Product Backlog that identifies the complete scope of technical work for the project.
• Working with Software, System and Operational SME Team Leads to ensure that specific Backlog items are sufficiently well understood that they can be selected for inclusion within Sprint Backlogs with a clear definition of scope, initial effort estimate and acceptance criteria.
• Working with the Operational SMEs to agree that the items in the Sprint Backlogs have been implemented in line with the approved scope in a way that will be acceptable to the customer.
• Ensuring the engineering policies defined within the QMS are adhered to in the manner detailed in the approved Project Management Plan and Project Engineering Plan.
• Ensuring that sufficient verification and validation coverage is being attained to support qualification of the changed system and presenting this evidence to the Compliance Verification Engineer.
• Providing technical support to the PM when interfacing outside of the project team in both customer facing and internal meetings.
• Providing accurate status reports to the Design Authority and Project Manager with clear articulation of issues and risks as they become apparent.

Essential Skills

A successful candidate will have:

• Experience of working in, and leading, all aspects of the software lifecycle.
• Experience of working in an Agile development environment using both Scrum and Kanban
• The ability to define and elicit detailed system & software requirements and translate these into Use Cases.
• The ability to provide reasoned detailed estimates with corresponding assessments of dependencies, assumptions and risks
• Experience of both functional and Object Oriented (OO) Design engineering
• The ability to conduct design, code and unit test inspections, reviews, and walkthroughs.
• UK MOD SC Security Clearance.

Desirable Skills

• A successful candidate will ideally have:

• Experience of the design and development of software in compliance with Software Safety and Security Standards

• Experience of the design and development of software for use on ground-based equipment in compliance with Military Aviation Authority Regulatory Articles.

• An understanding of system level architecture as well as detailed knowledge of multi-threading, inter-process communication, memory management and cross platform development.

• Knowledge of development in C/C++ on Linux.

• Experience of tools such as Sparx Enterprise Architect, Rational ClearCase and ClearQuest, DOORS and HP ALM

• Experience of service oriented or distributed systems

• Experience working with Geospatial Information Systems

• Experience of defence and/or air industry process and standards

At DXC Technology, we believe strong connections and community are key to our success. Our work model prioritizes in-person collaboration while offering flexibility to support wellbeing, productivity, individual work styles, and life circumstances. We’re committed to fostering an inclusive environment where everyone can thrive.