Lead Systems Engineer in Fareham

Currently located in Titchfield, Hampshire, Eaton's Aerospace business stands as a global leader in aerospace fuel systems. Our site is undergoing a significant and exciting transformation as we relocate to a newly constructed facility in Daedalus. This state-of-the-art site will serve as the Centre of Excellence for aerospace manufacturing across Europe, marking a new era of innovation and excellence. We pride ourselves as a premier supplier of fully integrated fuel systems for fixed and rotary-wing aircraft. We boast extensive fuel and air system test facilities, facilitating comprehensive testing across a range of conditions with various fuel types.

What you’ll do:

The Lead Systems Engineer serves as the technical project lead for aerospace fuel and inerting systems. This role defines system strategy, owns cross‑platform architectures, and ensures technical integrity from concept through certification. The engineer leads complex integration efforts, influences technology roadmaps, guides engineering teams, and represents Eaton with customers, suppliers, and regulatory bodies. This position requires strong systems engineering knowledge, deep domain experience, and strong technical leadership experience.

• Technical Leadership & System Ownership
• Provide technical leadership for system and product engineers, serving as the primary owner of the system and representing Systems Engineering within Integrated Product Teams (IPTs).
• Lead system‑level design reviews (e.g., SRR, PDR, CDR) and drive technical decision‑making, risk identification, and resolution.
• Serve as the primary technical authority for system architecture decisions and customer negotiations.
• Leads resolution of high‑impact system issues affecting customer or programs.
• Work directly with internal and external customers, suppliers, engineering teams, program management, and functional leaders to resolve technical challenges and meet program objectives.
• Mentor and develop lower‑level systems and product engineers, ensuring knowledge transfer and professional growth.
• Systems Engineering Execution
• Perform systems engineering activities at the integrated system, subsystem, and component levels, including requirements development, flow‑down, traceability, validation, and compliance.
• Define and analyze system architectures, interfaces, and integration plans; coordinate integration of hardware and software to ensure compatibility and configuration control.
• Define verification strategies, not just execute them.
• Approve system‑level requirements and validation evidence.
• Leads MBSE adoption and integration across programs.
• Guide analytical modeling approaches and review/approve model outputs.
• Ensure compliance with aerospace certification requirements through systematic integration, verification, and documentation.
• Prepare and review technical documents—including specifications, analysis reports, integration plans, and certification evidence—to ensure accuracy and completeness.
• Support project engineering activities, including schedule development, risk management, and cross‑functional coordination.
• Process Improvement & Standards Development
• Supports harmonization of standards across Eaton Aerospace sites.
• Develop and refine Systems Engineering processes, standards, work instructions, and best practices for the organization.
• Capture, document, and communicate lessons learned across programs to drive continuous improvement.
• Develop efficient analysis tools, design methods, and verification techniques to improve system architecture accuracy and predictability.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering (or equivalent)
• Minimum of 8 years of experience in performing systems engineering activities.
• Minimum 2 years project leadership experience.
• Master’s degree in Mechanical, Electrical, Aerospace, or Systems Engineering from an accredited university.

Skills:

• Design or system architecting; requirements development, component or system design (aerodynamic, mechanical, electrical, controls), piping design, spatial integration, wiring harnesses, system actions and alarms definition.
• Verification and validation: Test plan writing, test management, data analysis, instrument selection, test loop definition, procedure creation, test witnessing.
• Certification compliance - SAE ARP4754B.
• INCOSE CSEP certification or plan to achieve within 6 months.
• Demonstrated authority in systems architecture for safety‑critical aerospace systems.
• Experience leading multi‑disciplinary engineering teams across sites.
• Experience in Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE), MATLAB Simulink, Avionics, Controls (Control Logic) & Monitoring.
• Knowledge of Reliability, Availability, Maintainability & Safety.
• Experience influencing technology roadmaps or product line architectures.
• Experience collaborating with regulatory bodies (EASA/FAA) on certification topics.
• External systems engineering credentials (e.g., INCOSE CSEP or ESEP certification, Systems Engineering degree, CMMI).
• Design for Six Sigma or Six‑sigma (DMAIC) Greenbelt.
• Familiarity with PLM systems.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast‑paced engineering environment.
• Ability to drive alignment among diverse stakeholders with competing priorities.
• Strong written and verbal technical communication skills.
• Executive‑level communication skills for customer negotiations and technical justification.
• Analytical, structured problem‑solving mindset.
• Self‑starter with creativity and initiative.

What we offer:

• Competitive compensation and benefits package
• Challenging projects in dynamic collaborative team
• Great company benefits
• We make your aspirations matter – Eaton encourages internal promotion, whenever possible
• We make your growth matter - We invest in our employees for the long term – not just with salary and benefits, but with ongoing learning and development opportunities made available through Eaton University
• We make your contributions matter - reliability, safety, efficiency, and sustainability are at the core of our dedication to improving people’s lives and the environment through power management technologies
• We make your wellbeing matter – We put your health and safety first. Wellness at Eaton is more than a program, it’s about changing the environment by offering the right tools to help empower employees to make that happen

The successful applicant will be in contact with US ITAR controlled technology, goods and information. As a condition of employment, employees with access to US ITAR controlled technology and goods may be required to undergo an additional screening process as part of the recruitment process.

We are committed to ensuring equal employment opportunities for job applicants and employees. Our recruitment processes use balanced selection criteria and avoid unlawful discrimination against applicants on the basis of their age, colour, disability, marital status, national origin, gender, gender identity, genetic information, race or racial origin, religion, sexual orientation or any other status protected or required by law.