Principal / Lead Systems Engineer in Basildon

Are you a Systems Engineer who loves contributing to the UK’s Defence Industry and making impactful change? We are recruiting for a Lead/Principal Systems Engineer in our growing Precision Guidance team, working on real engineering problems, designing and developing solutions that sit at the heart of our products.

Your impact:

• Support the execution of Systems Engineering capability and improvement matters across the Business Areas.
• Provide proactive guidance to senior stakeholders on Systems Thinking and Methods for adoption that aligns with successful project execution.
• Ensure our systems engineering team assesses the problem completely.
• Manage complexity through architecting our systems well.
• Predict and mitigate emergent behaviours when operating at a system or integrated systems level.
• Create and enact the correct verification and validation strategy.

You will be able to demonstrate passion for your trade by instilling a systems-thinking approach based on experience forming and leading high performing teams. You will be able to influence those you work with, thrive in dynamic environments, demonstrate resilience when faced with adversity and make decisions quickly under pressure while setting a clear technical vision for the project team.

Given the extensive people engagement nature of the work, we are still able to offer custom working that allows for a combination of home and on-site working, i.e. flexible working delivering effective results.

Day to day duties include:

• Influence the development of Engineering artefacts, their technical direction and ultimately stakeholder satisfaction.
• Work across a highly demanding and complex area of the business, immersed in full-scale development programmes spanning the breadth of the engineering lifecycle across Precision Guidance.
• Act as the focal point for systems engineering governance on the project.
• Provide expertise and guidance to ensure our engineers understand the problem completely and stakeholder needs through effective coaching on Systems Engineering practices.
• Ensure the appropriate level of concepting, modelling and simulation techniques are used across the lifecycle to inform architectures and solution options.
• Influence whole life design considerations relating to Safety, Security, Manufacture, Test, Supportability, Through Life Support in line with company processes.
• Represent Leonardo within Systems Engineering bodies and groups of interest, such as INCOSE.
• Promote an agile mind-set to systems engineering, building a culture of experimentation and failing fast.
• Collaborate with your peers in similar roles across the UK to promote a culture of continual learning and improvement, acting as a change agent for systems engineering.

What you’ll bring:

• Proven experience as a Lead or Principal Engineer (or role with similar responsibilities).
• Experience in applying governance and guidance on Systems Engineering LCM process.
• Experience working in Integrated Project Teams delivering Engineering artefacts successfully.
• Experience in managing and collaborating with internal/external stakeholders.
• Proven leadership and decision-making skills in a high complexity, dynamic environment.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, proven ability to build trust and respect at different levels.
• Motivation, tenacity and determination, with a desire to deliver outputs and results.

The following experience/skills are very desirable:

• Experience in deriving Stakeholder Needs to Solution Domain Functions and Constraints.
• Experience with Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) and Model Based Design (MBD) tools and methodologies.
• Domain experience in any of the following specialisms: Electro-Optics, Infrared Imaging, Image Processing, Telecommunications, RF or Electronic Warfare.
• Experience in creating and defining architectures – able to describe methods and techniques for optimization and managing the trade-offs from constraints.

This is not an exhaustive list, and we are keen to hear from you even if you might not have experience in all the above. The most important skill is a good attitude and willingness to learn.

Security Clearance:

This role is subject to pre-employment screening in line with the UK Government’s Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS). An additional range of Personnel Security Controls referred to as National Security Vetting (NSV) may apply.

Why join us:

At Leonardo, our people are at the heart of everything we do. We offer a comprehensive, company-funded benefits package that supports your wellbeing, career development, and work–life balance.

• Time to Recharge: Enjoy generous leave with the opportunity to accrue up to 12 additional flexi-days each year.
• Secure your Future: Benefit from our award-winning pension scheme with up to 15% employer contribution.
• Your Wellbeing Matters: Free access to mental health support, financial advice, and employee-led networks championing inclusion and diversity.
• Rewarding Performance: All employees at management level and below are eligible for our bonus scheme.
• Never Stop Learning: Free access to 4,000+ online courses via Coursera and LinkedIn Learning.
• Refer a friend: Receive a financial reward through our referral programme.
• Tailored Perks: Spend up to 500 annually on flexible benefits including private healthcare, dental, family cover, tech & lifestyle discounts, gym memberships and more.
• Flexible working: Flexible hours with hybrid working options.

For a full list of our company benefits please visit our website.

Leonardo is a global leader in Aerospace, Defence, and Security. Headquartered in Italy, we employ over 53,000 people worldwide including 8,500 across 9 sites in the UK. Our employees are not just part of a team—they are key contributors to shaping innovation, advancing technology, and enhancing global safety.

At Leonardo we are committed to building an inclusive, accessible, and welcoming workplace. We believe that a diverse workforce sparks creativity, drives innovation, and leads to better outcomes for our people and our customers.

If you have any accessibility requirements to support you during the recruitment process, just let us know.

Be part of something bigger - apply now!