Product Development And Sustainment Programme Manager

Engineered to Protect, that’s our promise, we protect what matters - our nations, our waters, our land, our cities, our people, our environment, our world. This role will lead the product development and subsequent enhancement of our decoy launcher product, ensuring we continue to enhance its capabilities in a controlled way, addressing the addition of new features and managing obsolescence. Role title will be based at our Location site. This role allows for flexible working. This role does require being onsite x days a week. The salary for this role is circa £75k, depending on experience.

What you’ll be doing:

• Define and deliver product development programmes, which may come from customer-funded and PV initiatives, ensuring alignment with strategic goals.
• Own outcomes for scope, budget, quality, and timescales, monitoring progress and initiating corrective actions.
• Act as the primary customer and stakeholder interface, maintaining constructive relationships with customers, suppliers, and internal teams.
• Identify and control Key Interface Dependencies (KIDs) supporting Customer Project Delivery.
• Provide strong leadership, fostering team engagement, collaboration, and focus on common goals.
• Identify, manage, and resolve risks, issues, and opportunities, leading problem-solving and contingency planning.
• Ensure compliance with defence standards, security protocols, and champion process improvement in line with best practice.
• Coordinate the cross-functional Integrated Project Team (IPT) to achieve milestones and product releases.

About our company:

At SEA, we develop and deliver advanced solutions to make our world safer, cleaner and more efficient. We provide state‑of‑the‑art applications for naval ship and fleet protection, and undersea surveillance systems. In‑service across the globe, our systems deliver a rapid response to threats and system effectiveness and interoperation. Our systems support an ever‑growing number of navies across the world, and we continue to bolster our already specialist, on‑the‑ground knowledge of key overseas markets.

What we offer:

• Work life balance
• Hybrid/flexible working arrangements
• 25 days’ annual leave, plus buy and sell
• Up to 16 days flexi leave accrual
• Half day Fridays
• Reservists in the Armed Forces receive special paid leave
• Private medical health insurance & Employee Assistance Program
• All Staff Bonus
• Group Pension Plan of up to 7% employer contribution
• Cycle to work scheme
• Wellbeing Centre
• Sports & Social activities
• Employee Discounts portal - online and in‑store discounts, travel savings
• Life assurance policy
• Publication and recruitment bonus rewards
• Development opportunities, including LinkedIn learning
• Electric vehicle charging points at all sites
• Private seated lunch areas
• Onsite bistro (Barnstaple office) and free hot and cold beverages
• Onsite showers and toiletries provision
• Free onsite parking

The skills you need:

• Hands‑on experience with project management tools (e.g., Microsoft Project, risk registers) and professional qualifications such as APM, PMI, or PRINCE2.
• Proven experience managing complex product or systems development through the full lifecycle in defence or similarly regulated environments.
• Deep knowledge of all phases of project/programme delivery - from inception and planning through execution, monitoring, and closure - within an Engineering Delivery context.
• Strong financial and commercial acumen, including budgeting, forecasting, Earned Value Management (EVM), and supplier/subcontractor management.
• Expertise in risk and opportunity management, configuration management, and change control processes.
• Excellent communication and influencing skills, with demonstrated ability to manage stakeholders, resolve conflicts, and lead effective change.

Join us and be part of something smaller - with 500 people in the UK and Canada - doing something bigger: protecting what matters.