Chief Systems Engineer in Southampton

This is a Hybrid role based in Whiteley, Hampshire with travel to customer sites across the South of England. This role will require attainment and maintenance of SC clearance.

Do you have experience in Air Traffic Control? Are you ready for your next challenge? We are looking to recruit an experienced Engineer who understands the challenges of a heavily regulated industry, preferably safety-related, and has experience in technologies and protocols similar to Token Ring, ADA.

With a focus on delivery and operation, the Chief Engineer contributes to the development of solutions that influence strategic project/programme goals and business results. They have a thorough understanding of advanced technical principles, theories, and concepts, and they recommend and collaborate in the development of new technical solutions and/or standards in support of strategy and operations. The successful candidate will be a natural self-starter and team motivator who will guide the technical team to deliver upon Leidos commitments. They are a leader and champion in technical delivery with the experience to back up their decisions and actions, preferably hands-on at a high level. You will work with field-leading subject matter experts who will provide detailed designs and with supporting functions within the division such as programme management, business, financial and senior leadership.

Core Skills and Behaviours:

• Delivery Leadership: Leads and inspires multidisciplinary engineering teams to deliver complex technical outcomes, driving pace while maintaining quality, assurance, and alignment to business objectives.
• Complex Systems Delivery Experience: Significant experience delivering large, complex technical solutions, ideally within Air Traffic Management or other safety-critical, highly regulated environments.
• Technical Decomposition & Planning: Expert at breaking down complex technical problems into manageable, measurable, and trackable delivery plans, with clear ownership and milestones.
• Engineering Lifecycle Expertise: Strong experience across the full engineering lifecycle, including lifecycle methodologies, technical governance, assurance, lifecycle cost analysis, performance analysis, and trade-off studies.
• Systems Engineering & Analysis: Deep expertise in systems engineering and/or technical business analysis, including requirements analysis, requirements management, and Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE).
• Systems Integration & Architecture: Demonstrable experience in large-scale systems integration and systems architecture, including service-oriented architectures and modern enabling technologies.
• Modelling & Evidence-Based Decision Making: Advanced capability in modelling, simulation, and evidence-based technical decision-making to support robust design and delivery choices.
• Technical Leadership & Governance: Provides authoritative technical leadership, owning technical assurance, configuration management, risk management, and compliance, while guiding teams through governance processes.
• Data & Information Architecture: Strong understanding of data and information architectures and their influence on overall system performance, resilience, and delivery.
• Stakeholder Influence: Excellent stakeholder management skills, with the credibility and confidence to challenge, influence, and advise senior technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Technology Advocacy & Learning: A proactive technical advocate and continuous learner, staying current with emerging technologies and innovation, and encouraging the same mindset within the team.
• Mentorship & Technical Excellence: A recognised technical authority who mentors and develops engineers, setting high standards for technical quality, professionalism, and best practice.

What we do for you:

At Leidos we are PASSIONATE about customer success, UNITED as a team and INSPIRED to make a difference. We offer meaningful and engaging careers, a collaborative culture, and support for your career goals, all while nurturing a healthy work-life balance. We provide an employment package that attracts, develops and retains only the best in talent. Our reward scheme includes:

• Contributory Pension Scheme
• Private Medical Insurance
• 33 days Annual Leave (including public and privilege holidays)
• Access to Flexible benefits (including life assurance, health schemes, gym memberships, annual buy and sell holidays and a cycle to work scheme and much more!)
• Flexi-Time Working

Commitment to Diversity: We welcome applications from every part of the community and are committed to a truly diverse and inclusive culture. We foster a sense of belonging, welcoming all perspectives and contributions, and providing equal access to opportunities and resources for everyone. If you have a disability or need any reasonable adjustments during the application and selection stages please let us know, and we will respond in a way that best fits your needs.

Who We Are: Leidos UK & Europe work to make the world safer, healthier, and more efficient through technology, engineering and science. Leidos is a growing company delivering innovative technology and solutions focused on safeguarding critical capabilities and transformation in frontline services, our work in the United Kingdom includes addressing some of the most complex problems in defence, healthcare, government, safety and security, and transportation.

What Makes Us Different:

• Purpose: You can use your passion and abilities at Leidos to keep the people you care about safe. We are at the forefront of machine learning, AI, cyber security and solutions. Using your skills in the technology frontline by helping to build a safer world. You can inspire change.
• Collaboration: Having flexibility to do your job is one of our core benefits, enabling you to become part of our extraordinary team. We have been empowering our people to work flexibly for years. Whether you work from home, the office or on customer sites, we will give you the digital tools and the flexibility to work smarter and align your needs and ours.
• People: Leidos empowers people from every background to be themselves and gives you the tools to learn new skills by enabling growth whilst developing. We believe that extraordinary people need opportunities to grow, to be inspired and to inspire others. At Leidos, we invest in technical academies, career rotations and career development plans that enhance your future.

If you're looking for comfort, keep scrolling. At Leidos, we outthink, outbuild, and outpace the status quo because the mission demands it. We're not hiring followers. We're recruiting the ones who disrupt, provoke, and refuse to fail.