Head of Systems Engineering & Design Capability

About the job

Stevenage

This is an outstanding opportunity to shape the future of Systems Engineering in MBDA UK. As Department Head, you will be responsible for leading the team of engineers developing and maintaining our Systems Engineering and Design Capability

Dynamic (hybrid) working: 2-3 days per week on-site due to workload classification

Security Clearance: British Citizen or a Dual UK national with British citizenship.

Restrictions and/or limitations relating to nationality and/or rights to work may apply. As a minimum and after offer stage, all successful candidates will need to undergo HMG Basic Personnel Security Standard checks (BPSS), which are managed by the MBDA Personnel Security Team.

What we can offer you:

• Company bonus: Up to 35% (based on company performance and will vary year to year)
• Car Allowance: £510 per month
• Pension: maximum total (employer and employee) contribution of up to 14%
• Private Healthcare
• Flexible working: We welcome applicants who are looking for flexible working arrangements
• Enhanced parental leave: offers up to 26 weeks for maternity, adoption and shared parental leave -enhancements are available for paternity leave, neonatal leave and fertility testing and treatments
• Facilities: Fantastic site facilities including subsidised meals, free car parking and much more…

The Opportunity

This is an outstanding opportunity to shape the future of Systems Engineering in MBDA UK. As Department Head, you will be responsible for leading the team of engineers developing and maintaining our Systems Engineering and Design Capability. There is naturally a particular focus on evolving MBDA's Model Based Systems Engineering capability as well as developing and deploying other Digital Engineering initiatives. This involves review of current and future methodologies & tools against business need; and effective implementation of these new capabilities onto projects developing MBDA's future product portfolio.

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The role requires the identification of the Systems Engineering Capability strategy, working alongside multiple stakeholders across the business. Subsequently to the identification, the role is responsible for the rollout of this strategy, effecting improvements in the engineering methods and tools employed to conduct our systems engineering activities across the portfolio of products that we have, servicing the needs of upwards of 800 systems engineers in MBDA UK. This is achieved by a combination of direct interaction and support from the capability team itself, as well as maintenance and development of guidance and training material with associated training delivery.

A collaborative approach with the Technical Expert community, project based specialists, Chief Systems Engineers, SD Function Heads and the Capability & Governance team is critical to the successful delivery of the role.

Specific responsibilities include:

• Systems Engineering capability development including evolution of cutting-edge model based systems engineering, model based engineering, digital engineering, AI exploitation and data analytics.
• Support to projects in implementation of best practice systems engineering processes, methods and tools. A key focus is development of standardised usage of the ALM toolset (using IBM's Engineering Lifecycle Management toolset) and support to project adoption.
• Guidance, training and support to personal, technical and career development for the Systems Engineering population within MBDA UK.
• Facilitation of the Missile Design UK (MDUK) division capability working group, working closely with all MDUK Functions and on behalf of the MDUK division head.

What are we looking for from you?

You will be a leader at business and technical levels, with a passion for delivering Systems Engineering improvements. You will be able to build support and consensus amongst your team and your stakeholder groups.

Key skills:

• The ability to identify a strategy to meet the evolving Engineering business needs, and then deliver adoption of that strategy through influential leadership and people management
• You will thrive in a changing business environment, with highly tuned communications, collaborative working and stakeholder management skills
• Highly adaptable, responsive and decisive in a context of evolving priorities, and the ability to manage technical complexity across a wide range of activities.
• You will have a keen interest in developing people in your team and across the broader engineering community
• Ideally degree qualified in an engineering, science or maths discipline with a strong Systems Engineering background

Our company: Peace is not a given, Freedom is not a given, Sovereignty is not a given

MBDA is a leading defence organisation.  We are proud of the role we play in supporting the Armed Forces who protect our nations. We partner with governments to work together towards a common goal, defending our freedom.

We are proud of our employee-led networks, examples include: Gender Equality, Pride, Menopause Matters, Parents and Carers, Armed Forces, Ethnic Diversity, Neurodiversity and more…

We recognise that everyone is unique, and we encourage you to speak to us should you require any advice, support or adjustments throughout our recruitment process.

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