Systems Engineering Manager in Brighton

L3Harris is dedicated to recruiting and developing high‑performing talent who are passionate about what they do. Our employees are unified in a shared dedication to our customers' mission and quest for professional growth. L3Harris provides an inclusive, engaging environment designed to empower employees and promote work‑life success. Fundamental to our culture is an unwavering focus on values, dedication to our communities, and commitment to excellence in everything we do. L3Harris is the Trusted Disruptor in defence technology. With customers' mission‑critical needs always in mind, our employees deliver end‑to‑end technology solutions connecting the space, air, land, sea and cyber domains in the interest of national security.

Our Brighton business is moving to a new location in 2027; the new site is expected to be located within a 20‑minute drive of our current site.

Benefits

• Half–day finish on a Friday
• 25 days holiday per year (plus bank holidays), increasing with long service and the opportunity to buy/sell up to 5 days
• Private medical insurance with optional family cover
• Pension scheme of up to 8% employer contribution
• Life Assurance 4x salary (flexible up to 10x)
• Group income protection
• Flexible opt‑in extras such as a health‑care cash plan, dental insurance, gym membership, critical illness cover, cycle‑to‑work scheme, travel insurance and electric‑car scheme
• Employee Family Assistance Program providing mental health and wellbeing support
• Professional membership reimbursement (discretionary)

Responsibilities

• Technical Leadership
  • Lead and manage the systems engineering team of over 10 people across multiple programmes.
  • Define and maintain systems engineering processes aligned to ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288 and company lifecycle standards.
  • Ensure effective requirements capture, decomposition, traceability, and verification.
  • Oversee system architecture development, interface definition, and integration strategies.
  • Provide governance at key design reviews (SRR, PDR, CDR, TRR, etc.).
  • Ensure robust configuration control and change management practices.
• Programme Delivery
  • Accountable for systems engineering performance against cost, schedule, and quality targets.
  • Support bid and proposal activities, including technical solution development and resource estimation.
  • Identify and manage technical risk and opportunity.
  • Interface with Programme Managers to ensure alignment between technical and delivery plans.
  • Act as an individual contributor executing programmes (project lead, SME, team member) and/or proposals (proposal manager, proposal contributor).
• People Management & Capability
  • Line management responsibility for systems engineers (performance, development, mentoring).
  • Build capability, succession planning, and skills development within the function.
  • Promote a strong systems engineering culture and best‑practice sharing.
  • Support recruitment and workforce planning.
• Stakeholder & Customer Engagement
  • Act as the senior systems engineering representative with customers, partners, and suppliers.
  • Support technical reviews and customer audits.
  • Ensure compliance with contractual and regulatory requirements, including safety and security standards.

Key Accountabilities

• Delivery of compliant system solutions to agreed performance, cost and schedule.
• Maintenance of technical integrity across programmes.
• Development and continuous improvement of systems engineering capability.
• Assurance of safety, security and regulatory compliance.

Required Experience and Skills

• Bachelor's degree with a minimum of 6 years prior relevant experience; Master’s degree with a minimum of 4 years of prior related experience; in lieu of a degree, minimum of 10 years of prior related experience.
• Significant experience in systems engineering within a defence or aerospace environment.
• Proven leadership and people‑management experience.
• Strong understanding of requirements management tools.
• Ability to operate within secure and regulated environments.

Desirable

• Experience supporting export‑controlled programmes.
• Knowledge of Integrated Logistics Support (ILS) and supportability engineering.
• Knowledge of safety‑critical standards (e.g., DEF STAN 00‑056, MIL‑STD 882E, ARP 4754 where applicable).
• Experience working with MoD or international defence customers.
• Experience leading design reviews and technical governance forums.
• Experience across the full systems engineering lifecycle.

Personal Attributes

• Strong leadership presence with the ability to influence at senior levels.
• Structured and methodical problem solver.
• Commercially aware with programme delivery focus.
• Resilient and able to operate in a fast‑paced, regulated environment.
• High integrity and commitment to security and confidentiality.

Important to know: due to the nature of our work many of our roles require a UK nationality and the ability to obtain a security clearance. Applicants who accept a conditional offer of employment must meet the requirement of right to work in the UK and must meet eligibility requirements for access to classified information and will be subject to government security checks.

L3Harris Technologies is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to maintaining a workplace that is free from unlawful discrimination and offers equal opportunities for all. Applications from individuals are encouraged regardless of age, disability, sex, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, and marriage and civil partnerships.