Location: Crawley, United Kingdom Thales is a global technology leader with more than 83,000 employees on five continents. With over 7,500 people in the UK, operating across defence, space, aerospace, and digital security, we help build a future we can all trust. Thales supports the security and stability of our nation by providing extraordinary technology to our customers, as well as delivering social value to the UK with our products and services. DDCC Head of Engineering Crawley – Hybrid (Relocation support can be provided) About cortAIx and Thales: At Thales, we focus on building and delivering robust, real-world AI and Data solutions that make a tangible impact for our customers—and society at large. Our global cortAIx initiative unites over 600 AI and data specialists dedicated to developing trusted, operationally effective AI-powered systems for some of the most challenging and complex environments. In the UK, CortAIx is accelerating this mission by fostering technology, talent, and research focused on ethical, transparent, and explainable AI. Primary Purpose of the Role: DDCC is Thales UK’s Digital and Data Competence Centre. This includes 3 primary areas of activity: cortAIx UK resolve cross-team conflicts. Talent development: hiring strategy, career ladders, mentoring systems, cross-discipline performance processes/escalation point. Change management: improving engineering effectiveness (e.g., test maturity, CI reliability, coding standards). Communication: translate leadership communication and analyse/describe impact to roadmap and trade-offs. Cross-team integration: coordinating platform, software, test/automation and support needs Quality, Safety, Cyber Assurance: verification strategy, traceability, defect management and Project Design Authority co-ordination/delivery Process/tooling: CI/CD for embedded, static analysis, unit/integration test frameworks, hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) testing, configuration management. Risk management: project technical risks reviews and management in conjunction AIDM Key Responsibilities and Tasks: Strategic Leadership Develop and execute the engineering strategy for AI products and platforms. Accountable for the technology roadmaps aligned to business objectives. Partner with executive leadership to identify and prioritise AI opportunities. Build a culture of innovation, experimentation, accountability, and continuous improvement. Act as a trusted advisor on emerging AI technologies, trends, and risks. Engineering Leadership Lead, coach, and develop Engineering Managers, Principal Engineers, AI Engineers and SW Engineers Build and scale high-performing, diverse engineering teams. Establish engineering standards, architecture principles, and delivery practices. Drive operational excellence across reliability, security, performance, and scalability. Foster a strong engineering culture focused on quality and customer outcomes. Operational Excellence Define the process for and track engineering metrics including but not limited to: Reliability Deployment frequency Lead time Platform utilisation Cost efficiency Drive automation throughout the software and AI lifecycle. Success Measures Within the first 12-24 months: Delivery of measurable business value from AI initiatives. Improved engineering productivity and deployment frequency High employee engagement and retention. Successful implementation of AI
DDCC Head of Engineering employer: Thales
Thales is an exceptional employer, offering a dynamic work environment in Glasgow where innovation meets collaboration. With a strong focus on employee development, competitive benefits including a performance-related bonus and generous leave policies, and a commitment to inclusivity, Thales empowers its employees to thrive while contributing to critical projects in the Sea sector. Join us to be part of a team that values your unique strengths and supports your professional growth.
