Defence Technical Director – Naval Nuclear

Assystem is among the top three independent nuclear engineering firms worldwide. With over 60 years of experience in highly regulated sectors, the group supports public and industrial stakeholders in the execution of complex and strategic infrastructure projects, subject to high safety and security requirements. Assystem mobilizes 8,000 experts in 13 countries and intervenes across the entire project lifecycle, in engineering, project management and digital solutions.

As Assystem’s Defence business continues to grow, we are looking for two dynamic, self-motivated and outcome-focused Technical Directors to support our ongoing capability development and account growth. These two positions will each focus on a separate area of the Defence business, providing strategic technical leadership and driving engineering excellence across key customer accounts. These roles have no fixed location requirement; however, preference will be given to candidates based in or able to regularly travel to our Newcastle, Derby or Bristol offices. Both Technical Directors will report directly to the Defence Business Unit Engineering Director.

What You’ll Be Doing

• Taking overall accountability for the technical delivery and quality of outputs across your assigned area of the Defence business.
• Working collaboratively with Business Managers and Account Managers to develop and deliver Budget Delivery Plans and Key Account Plans, supporting sustainable short-, medium- and long-term growth.
• Embedding safety into every aspect of project delivery and technical decision-making, championing continuous improvement, lessons learned and best practice.
• Building and maintaining strong client relationships, acting as the senior technical interface with Engineering Directors, Heads of Engineering and other key stakeholders.
• Ensuring all projects are delivered in accordance with relevant technical, quality and regulatory standards, including Assystem and client Quality Management Systems (QMS).
• Developing and implementing technical roadmaps and strategies to ensure capability and capacity align with future business opportunities.
• Driving technical innovation by developing best-in-class engineering capability and supporting business development through expert technical leadership.
• Supporting Bid/No Bid reviews, assessing business opportunities and defining delivery strategies for future projects.
• Championing a culture of technical excellence, continuous learning and professional development across engineering teams.
• Acting as the senior escalation point for technical issues raised by project teams or clients.
• Supporting Assystem-wide bids, strategic initiatives and capability development activities.
• Promoting employee engagement through clear communication of business strategy and objectives.
• Leading recruitment activities for strategic and technical hires, ensuring the continued growth of high-performing engineering teams.
• Driving continuous improvement by developing and enhancing internal procedures, processes and engineering best practice.
• Collaborating with AEIL Technical and Engineering Directors through appropriate governance forums to support engineering assurance and capability development.

Education & Qualifications

• Engineering degree (or equivalent qualification) in a relevant engineering discipline.
• Chartered Engineer (CEng) or Incorporated Engineer (IEng) as a minimum, with a willingness to progress to Fellow (FEng) status.

Skills & Experience

• Significant, demonstrable experience within the Defence industry, particularly in Naval Nuclear environments (e.g. Naval Dockyards, Naval Nuclear, Rolls-Royce Submarines, or MoD – SDA).
• Proven track record (10+ years) of leading multidisciplinary engineering teams delivering major infrastructure projects.
• Extensive experience managing engineering scope throughout the full project lifecycle, from Concept Design through to Detailed Design, Manufacture and Installation.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence and engage senior client stakeholders.
• Experience developing strategic and operational value propositions that successfully influence clients and support business growth.
• Strong understanding and application of current legislative regulations, including CDM Regulations, Machinery Directive and Pressure Equipment Directive (PED).
• Experience working within Quality Management Systems (QMS) and Business Management Systems (BMS).
• Strong commercial awareness, with experience of NEC3 and/or NEC4 contracts being advantageous, although not essential.

We are committed to equal treatment of candidates and promote, as well as foster all forms of diversity within our company. We believe that bringing together people with different backgrounds and perspectives is essential for creating innovative and impactful solutions. Skills, talent, and our people’s ability to dare are the only things that matter! Bring your unique contributions and help us shape the future.