At a Glance
- Tasks: Support and enhance enterprise applications for national security and critical services.
- Company: Join Leonardo UK, a leader in cyber and security solutions.
- Benefits: Enjoy flexible working, competitive salary, and access to 4,000+ online courses.
- Other info: Dynamic hybrid work environment with excellent career growth opportunities.
- Why this job: Make a real impact on critical defence and public sector services.
- Qualifications: Experience in enterprise applications and strong collaboration skills required.
The predicted salary is between 60000 - 80000 £ per year.
Exceptions above the standard range are managed through governance controls to protect internal equity.
Are you ready to support and enhance enterprise applications that underpin national security and critical services? At Leonardo UK, our Senior Application Engineers play a key role in maintaining and improving business-critical platforms — ensuring they are secure, scalable, and aligned with operational needs.
Your work at Leonardo UK will see you take the lead in solving customer problems in an agile, innovative and team-centric manner. The role may involve a blended hybrid working model, with a mixture of working from home and working on site at one of our Leonardo offices to ensure close collaboration with the wider team and with our customers.
Leonardo UK is seeking a Senior Application Engineer to join the Cyber & Security Solutions Division team. This role is focused on delivering, maintaining, and improving platform and systems engineering solutions that underpin critical defence, government and public sector services.
What you will do as a Senior Application Engineer:
- Contribute to application architecture, configuration, integration, and lifecycle activities under the guidance of senior engineers.
- Collaborate with stakeholders across engineering, service management, and product teams to resolve technical issues.
- Ensure compliance with engineering governance, ITSM processes, and cyber security policies.
- Solid experience in supporting, configuring, and enhancing enterprise or mission‑critical applications, ideally within telecoms, control rooms, or public‑safety communications environments.
- Understanding of application lifecycle management, integration patterns, and secure-by-design principles.
- Strong communication and collaboration skills across engineering, service management and product teams.
- Hands‑on experience supporting or configuring operational telecoms systems, public‑safety applications, control room tools, or enterprise‑grade software.
- Understanding of deployment, maintenance, upgrades, and decommissioning phases.
- Awareness of cyber security practices and secure configuration.
- Understanding of ITIL or similar frameworks.
- Experience supporting applications across on-premise, hybrid, and cloud environments (e.g. AWS).
- Knowledge of enterprise IT services such as Active Directory, KMSPKI, and monitoring tools.
- Exposure to DevOps or CI/CD practices.
This role can be based at our Bristol site, with hybrid/custom working options where appropriate. Travel will be involved in the role.
We offer a comprehensive, company-funded benefits package that supports your wellbeing, career development, and work–life balance:
- Award-winning pension scheme with up to 15% employer contribution.
- Free access to mental health support, financial advice, and employee-led networks.
- Never Stop Learning: Free access to 4,000+ online courses via Coursera and LinkedIn Learning.
- Spend up to £500 annually on flexible benefits such as private healthcare, lifestyle discounts, and gym memberships.
- Flexible Working: Flexible hours with hybrid working options.
For a full list of our company benefits please visit our website. Headquartered in Italy, we employ over 53,000 people worldwide including 8,500 across 9 sites in the UK. At Leonardo we are committed to building an inclusive, accessible, and welcoming workplace.
Contract Type: Permanent
Hybrid Working: Hybrid
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Senior Applications Design Engineer in Bristol
✨Join Local Tech Meetups
Get out there and mingle with fellow developers by joining local tech meetups. It’s a fantastic way to meet people who might be working at Leonardo or know someone who does. Plus, you can pick up some trendy tech skills and trends while you're at it!
✨Contribute to Open Source Projects
Show off your coding chops by jumping into open-source projects. Not only does this give you practical experience, but it also gets you noticed in the dev community. You'll create a killer portfolio that speaks volumes about your skills to Leonardo.
✨Tap into Online Developer Communities
Don’t underestimate the power of online developer communities like GitHub, Stack Overflow, and even Reddit. Participate in discussions, share your projects, and build your visibility. We can often find opportunities through these channels that can lead to a full-time gig at companies like Leonardo.
✨Explore Job Boards Specifically for Tech Roles
Keep your eyes peeled on job boards that focus on tech roles. Sites like TechCareers or Stack Overflow Jobs can often have listings for companies like Leonardo that might not show up on broader job sites. Make it a habit to check these regularly, and don’t hesitate to apply directly through our website!
We think you need these skills to ace Senior Applications Design Engineer in Bristol
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show off your coding skills:When applying for a software engineering role, it's super important to showcase your coding skills. Make sure your CV includes your tech stack, any relevant programming languages you’re comfortable with, and examples of projects you've worked on. If you have a GitHub profile, link it up! We love to see code in action.
Tailor your portfolio:For a full-time role, we’d expect to see some solid examples of your work in your portfolio. Make sure to include at least two or three projects that highlight your problem-solving skills and your ability to work with different technologies. Focus on the projects that are most relevant to the position at Leonardo.
Craft a killer cover letter:Your cover letter is your chance to stand out—make it personal! Explain why you want to work at Leonardo and how your skills align with the role. Show us your passion for software development. We dig enthusiastic candidates who understand the value of collaboration and continuous learning!
Be clear and concise:When it comes to writing your CV and cover letter, clarity is key. Avoid jargon that could confuse us and stick to simple, direct language. Highlight your achievements with quantifiable results where possible, and keep everything easy to read. A well-organised application goes a long way!
How to prepare for a job interview at Leonardo
✨Brush Up on Your Coding Skills
For a full-time software engineering role, it's crucial that we stay sharp with our coding abilities. Expect technical questions that might involve solving problems on the spot or discussing algorithms. Practise on platforms like LeetCode or HackerRank to get comfortable with the types of questions that often come up.
✨Know Your Tools and Frameworks
Make sure we’re well-acquainted with the tools and technologies listed in the job description. Familiarise ourselves with any specific frameworks or programming languages mentioned. If Leonardo uses React or Node.js, for instance, be ready to discuss how we’ve used them in previous projects or coursework.
✨Showcase Your Projects
Bring along a portfolio that highlights our best work. This could be code samples, GitHub repositories, or any side projects we’ve built. Make sure we can talk through our thought process for each project, especially the challenges we faced and how we solved them—this shows our problem-solving skills in action.
✨Prepare for Behavioural Questions
While technical skills are key, full-time positions also require cultural fit. Be ready to discuss our previous experiences and how we handle teamwork, conflict, and deadlines. Brush up on the STAR method—Situation, Task, Action, Result—to clearly articulate our past experiences when discussing how we've contributed to a team.
