UK Head of Test Engineering Capability

Leonardo UK Ltd; Basildon; Hybrid; GBP 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

An established industry player is seeking a visionary leader for the role of UK Head of Test Capability. This senior position is pivotal in shaping the future of Test Engineering, ensuring that the capabilities meet the evolving needs of the business and supporting major defense programs. The ideal candidate will be passionate about developing teams, possess strong leadership skills, and have a strategic mindset to drive continuous improvement. This role offers the opportunity to work closely with various stakeholders and make a significant impact in a dynamic environment where innovation is valued and learning is prioritized.

Qualifications

• Experience in test engineering and planning for successful delivery outcomes.
• Proven leadership and decision-making skills in complex environments.

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement a strategy for Test Engineering across Leonardo Electronics UK.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to align strategic direction for maximum effect.

Skills

Test Engineering

Strategic Planning

Leadership

Communication Skills

Negotiation Skills

Financial Awareness

Compliance Knowledge

Team Development

Education

Degree in Engineering or related field

Job description

Job Description:

The Leonardo Electronics UK Business Unit designs, develops and produces a wide range of products and solutions for air, land and maritime platforms that include integrated mission systems, radars and sensors, electronic warfare systems, on-board avionics and communications, targeting systems and a range of support solutions.

Within the Electronics Business Unit, Test Engineering is a critical discipline that provides the capability to ensure that our products meet the needs of our customers as well as statutory and regulatory requirements. We are a multi-disciplined team of engineers across nine UK locations that support five different lines of business, each with its own product domain specialisms who are looking for a visionary leader to deliver our mission to ensure a sustainable Test Capability for the future.

We are looking for a UK Head of Test Capability, a senior position that is a highly influential, business critical role, responsible for developing and implementing a robust, engaging and stretching capability strategy that spans the whole of Test Engineering across Leonardo Electronics UK. The successful candidate will be passionate about developing people to fulfil their potential in order to deliver the test capability that meets the current and future needs of the business. This role will be key in supporting major defence programmes, including the Global Combat Air Programme – a multi-national Government initiative to deliver the next generation of air combat capability.

The Head of Test Capability, reporting directly into the UK VP Mechanical Engineering and accountable to the UK Engineering Council will lead the translation of this strategy into measurable outcomes and deliverables – monitoring and tracking progress and ensuring that Test Engineering is a discipline where learning and continuous professional development are prioritised, where technology and innovation are valued and individuals are stretched to fulfil their potential. They will be knowledgeable on the latest learning theories and think and act with a continuous improvement mind-set. They will need to balance the bespoke, specialist needs of different lines of business with an overall strategy which maximises the opportunity for consistent standards and a shared approach. The postholder will be expected to be highly capable, flexible, driven and an organised leader who is able to see the bigger picture as well as having a high level of energy and attention to detail.

Key Responsibility Areas

As UK Head of Test Capability for Leonardo, you will:

• Work with the Test Capability Leads within each line of business to generate and deliver a strategic roadmap of improvement to ensure the capability of Test Engineering across the UK meets the needs of the organisation throughout the entire Product Life Cycle.
• Collaborate closely with key stakeholders, including UK Function Leads, and Technology Leaders to harmonise strategic direction for maximum effect.
• Identify and address critical gaps in capability.
• Collate and manage a five-year Organisational Development Plan for skills growth.
• Review and ensure alignment of Line of Business Test Strategy plans across the UK, identifying opportunities for efficiency savings.
• Ensure the capability of supply chain partners meets our needs.
• Input into the five-year Integrated Business Plan well-reasoned and considered plans for investment and return.
• Deliver measurable improvements through the application of Continuous Improvement methodologies and principles.

Skills, Qualifications & Knowledge Required

We are looking for systems thinkers, who have:

Essential

• Broad experience across the engineering lifecycle, with an emphasis on test engineering and associated planning and governance activities for successful delivery outcomes.
• Experience of generating strategic visions and delivering against strategic plans.
• Influencing and negotiation skills with a variety of internal and external stakeholders.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, proven ability to build trust and respect at different levels.
• Proven leadership and decision-making skills in a high complexity, dynamic environment at a senior level.
• Financial awareness and experience of financial investment planning.
• Awareness of statutory and regulatory compliance requirements within the defence avionics industry.
• Proven ability to lead, mentor and develop effective high performing teams.
• Ability to achieve SC level security clearance as a minimum.

Desirable

• Experience of delivering test solutions for highly complex and technically challenging products, preferably in the defence electronics sector.
• Knowledge of a broad range of engineering disciplines.
• Awareness of Manufacturing and Operations.
• Knowledge/experience of defence technologies in the sensors, radar or electronic warfare domain.
• Experience of the application of continuous improvement principles within the Lean Six Sigma domain.

Primary Location: GB - Luton - Cap. Green 300

Additional Locations: GB - Basildon, GB - Bristol - Coldharbour Lane, GB - Edinburgh, GB - Lincoln, GB - Newcastle, GB - Southampton

Contract Type:

Hybrid Working: Hybrid