Principal Systems Engineer

Location: Denham

Martin-Baker is the world’s leading manufacturer of ejection and crashworthy seats, saving over 7,805 lives to date. We combine cutting-edge engineering with a clear mission: protecting aircrew around the world.

We are now recruiting a Principal Systems Engineer (Group Lead) to join our Systems Engineering team at our Denham site.

The Role:

As Principal Systems Engineer, you will be a Group Lead, responsible for leading and mentoring a team of engineering managers, each of whom has their own teams of engineers. You will ensure outputs meet regulatory, customer, and internal requirements, applying a Systems Engineering approach across the full product lifecycle — from architecture and requirements definition to verification and integration. You will work closely with cross-functional teams to design and verify complex subsystems, conduct trade studies, and manage technical risks, ensuring that solutions are safe, robust, and commercially viable. You will promote best practice, drive continuous improvement, and support the development of both managers and their teams to maximise technical performance and efficiency.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead and mentor engineering managers who have responsibility for their own teams, ensuring alignment with business goals and project priorities.
• Apply Systems Engineering principles across multiple programmes to ensure safe, compliant, and efficient designs.
• Support prioritisation of engineering activities and resources to drive projects to completion on schedule.
• Capture, analyse, and translate stakeholder needs into system requirements, specifications, and design guidance.
• Lead and support multi-disciplinary teams in developing, verifying, and supporting complex subsystems.
• Conduct trade studies, architecture assessments, and technical reviews to select optimal solutions.
• Inform and support all levels of testing from proof-of-concept through integration and qualification.
• Identify and manage risks throughout the lifecycle, mitigating impacts to safety, performance, quality, and delivery.
• Promote continuous improvement in engineering processes, product quality, and operational efficiency.
• Support workload planning, resource allocation, and recruitment for the engineering teams under your managers.

About You:

We are looking for an experienced, proactive, and technically strong Principal Systems Engineer with a passion for safety-critical aerospace products and a proven ability to lead managers and multi-disciplinary teams.

Essential:

• 1st or 2:1 accredited STEM degree in a relevant discipline.
• Chartered Engineer (CEng) with a recognised professional body (RAeS, IMechE, IET).
• Significant experience in systems engineering, including architecture, requirements elicitation, decomposition, verification, and traceability.
• Proven experience managing engineering managers and multi-disciplinary teams within aerospace, defence, or regulated environments.
• Knowledge of technical reviews (SRR, PDR, CDR, TRR) and system verification.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office and project management tools (e.g., PMS).
• Excellent communication, planning, and collaboration skills.
• Strong problem-solving, analytical, and decision-making capabilities.

Desirable:

• Experience with Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) tools (e.g., Enterprise Architect, SysML).
• Experience with safety-critical aerospace or defence systems.
• Knowledge of ejection seat design principles and associated subsystem modelling tools.
• Experience introducing change and driving process improvement.

Benefits:

• 9% non-contributory pension
• Midday finish on Fridays
• 4x salary Life Assurance (18+)
• Personalised training & development plan
• Healthcare Cash Plan
• 25 days holiday + bank holidays
• Option to purchase additional annual leave
• Cycle to Work & nursery benefits
• Discounts via the Martin-Baker+ platform

Your Interview Journey:

• Initial Telephone Interview: Discussion with your Recruitment Business Partner
• First Stage Interview (Microsoft Teams): Structured technical interview with the Hiring Manager
• Final Stage Interview: Face-to-face interview

Why Join Us?

At Martin-Baker, your work directly contributes to saving lives. You’ll be part of a collaborative, high-performance engineering environment, leading managers and multi-disciplinary teams as Group Lead to deliver safety-critical aerospace systems with real opportunities to make an impact. This role is subject to UK Government security clearance. Applicants must have the existing right to work in the UK and be currently residing in the UK.