Project Engineering Lead

Job Description:

The Opportunity

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.

A Project Engineering Lead is required to join the Typhoon DASS Development Team within the Combat Air line of business to lead a significant obsolescence removal programme and enable deliveries of equipment well into the next decade and beyond.  This role will ideally be based at the Leonardo site at Capability Green, Luton.

As the Project Engineering Lead you will:

• Be primarily focused on work package management, qualification and delivery of updates to subsystem elements of the Typhoon DASS equipment.
• Provide engineering management direction and leadership supported by the Project Chief Engineer and Project Engineering Manager.
• Be responsible for providing your team with clear expectations of the Engineering Plans and ensuring that they operate consistently within the company Policies & Procedures.
• Work with the Project Engineering Manager to track and report on the Engineering Plans (progress, spend, risks, metrics).
• Develop your Engineering Team providing mentoring, coaching, setting objectives and appraising them of their performance.

What you'll do

• Lead and manage your cross function development team through the full product delivery lifecycle utilising Agile development processes.
• Personally coach and mentor Engineers within your team.
• Ensure that the Engineering activities are well planned, costed and scheduled.
• Work with stakeholders to elicit and prioritise requirements.
• Ensure that the Engineering Plans are clearly defined and well communicated to your team.
• Oversee the completion of the Engineering plans to quality, cost and schedule.
• Work closely with the Project Chief Engineer to ensure the design solution maximises the re-use of existing 'resources', is producible and is robust.
• Work closely with the Project Chief Engineer to ensure the design solution works within its intended environment and is certified using the company engineering development processes.
• Work closely with the Project Engineering Manager to identify technical risks and mitigation strategies.
• Control project configuration and change management.
• Ensure effective implementation of the company's Lifecycle Management process.
• Agree qualification & acceptance criteria and design certification.
• Ensure compliance with Regulatory and Safety Standards.

What we're looking for

You really must have:

• Proven experience in engineering management and delivery of projects.
• Knowledge of Engineering lifecycle processes.
• Strong leadership competencies.
• Good schedule and budget control.
• Ability to produce clear and concise engineering documentation
• Ability to provide clear direction to teams and communicate effectively with a wide range of stakeholders.
• Self-motivation with a strong aptitude for problem solving.
• Commercial and business awareness.

It would be nice if you had:

• Good knowledge of Electronic Warfare systems.
• Knowledge of airborne and ground-based radar systems.
• Undergraduate Engineering degree (or equivalent) or related scientific discipline.

Security Clearance

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). For more information and guidance please visit:

Why join us?

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 (Enable, Pride, Equalise, Armed Forces, Carers, Wellbeing and Ethnicity).
• 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.

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

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