Chief Engineer in Essex

Salary Range - £78,000 - £95,000. Leonardo UK operates a grade-based salary framework with broad bands. The salary range shown reflects the approved grade band for this role, or a narrower hiring range published within that band, and is benchmarked against the external market. Exceptions above the standard range are managed through governance controls to protect internal equity.

A Chief Engineer - Support is required to join the Sensors business sector in Leonardo, covering Systems Design Authority responsibilities within our Support area. Within the Sensors business sector, the product portfolio is diverse and exciting, well suited to a dynamic and driven individual, with a passion for innovation and a keen interest in the defence industry. There is a portfolio of work that covers core products that have been in service for a number of years, but also product and technology developments, which support the future growth of our business.

The opportunity to be involved as a Chief Engineer represents a chance to provide technical leadership and stewardship for products already in service with customers worldwide. You will ensure continued operational effectiveness, safety and supportability throughout the product lifecycle whilst leading design changes, capability sustainment activities and customer support engagements.

In this role, you will support the project teams within the Sensors sector, giving them technical guidance and assurance oversight. Using your experience and authority to provide technical leadership, you will help teams to find the appropriate approach to managing technical risk to help ensure our products offer maximum value to our customers.

As Chief Engineer, you will act as the System Design Authority for in-service products, ensuring the continued safety, integrity, supportability and operational effectiveness of equipment throughout its service life. Responsibilities include:

• Be delegated by the business as the Design Authority and Company Technical Signatory for assigned in-service products.
• Provide Design Authority leadership and technical governance for all post-design support activities.
• Own product integrity, safety, configuration control and compliance throughout the operational lifecycle.
• Act as Design Authority for engineering changes, concessions, deviations and product modifications.
• Ensure technical approval and governance of changes through the appropriate review and configuration control processes.
• Support customers and end-users in resolving technical issues and sustaining operational capability.
• Ensure independent product assurance through Design Reviews, Change Boards and compliance with company procedures.

Own the technical baseline of in-service products, ensuring design integrity is maintained throughout the support lifecycle by representing Leonardo with external stakeholders and representing the Line of Business with internal stakeholders.

• Work closely with support engineering teams, manufacturing, suppliers and customers to resolve technical issues and maintain operational capability.
• Ensure the products are compliant with any performance, legislative and contractual requirements, with a strategy for completing a set of traceable evidence.
• Chair design reviews on Products, Systems and Services to ensure they are technically sound and compliant with the Company’s approach to lifecycle management.
• Provide technical support to customer reviews, service investigations and operational deployments.
• Lead technical assessments relating to component obsolescence, supplier changes and technology refresh activities.
• Lead investigations into field failures, customer defect reports and non-conformances, defining corrective and preventive actions and escalating significant product issues where required.
• Maintain product safety justification and ensure hazards are appropriately assessed and managed throughout the operational lifecycle.
• Support the definition of future capability enhancements, product improvement initiatives and technology insertion roadmaps.

You will have proven experience in a similar senior role and a solid working knowledge supporting in-service equipment.

• Strong background in the support, sustainment, modification or certification of complex products throughout their operational lifecycle.
• Experience of product support, service engineering or post-design support activities.
• Experience of engineering change management and configuration control of in-service products.
• Experience of obsolescence management and technology refresh programmes.
• Experience supporting safety cases and certification maintenance activities.
• Experience working with customers and end-users to resolve operational issues.
• Possess excellent communication and interpersonal skills, to be able to interact with SMEs and End Users of various nationalities regarding a wide range of technical and operational topics.
• Be a self-motivated leader and team player capable of working with minimum direction.

• Experience supporting equipment in operational service environments.
• Experience reviewing trial, customer or service-use data to inform future product improvements.
• Experience conducting failure investigations, root cause analysis and corrective action planning.
• Experience working with suppliers to resolve technical issues and manage design changes.
• Experience supporting legacy systems where technical data, components or specialist skills may be constrained.
• Experience maintaining certification evidence and safety arguments for in-service products.
• Understanding of Through Life Capability Management principles.
• Experience participating in or chairing Engineering Change Boards and Configuration Control Boards.
• Experience supporting complex electro-optic, electronic or mission systems in service.
• Experience engaging directly with MOD, military operators or government customers.

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.

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, this could include meeting the eligibility requirements for The Security Check (SC) or Developed Vetting (DV).

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. Whether you're looking to grow professionally, care for your health, or plan for the future, we’re here to help you thrive.

• 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 part time opportunities, please talk to us about what might be possible for this role.

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!