PCB Manager

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.

We are seeking a PCB Discipline Manager to join the UK Engineering Competence Centre (ECC), playing a central role in delivering complex PCB design programmes across multiple business domains. This is a senior leadership position combining technical expertise, people management, and delivery accountability within a highly collaborative engineering environment.

Location: Crawley, Reading, Cheadle, Bristol, Templecombe, Belfast, Glasgow or other UK sites

The Role:

You will lead the PCB Design discipline across the UK, ensuring high-quality delivery of PCB-based projects while developing capability, improving processes, and driving engineering excellence. Operating within a multi-site, multi-stakeholder environment, you will influence both project outcomes and long-term engineering strategy.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead and optimise PCB design, development, and verification capability across the organisation

• Own delivery performance across cost, schedule, quality, and resource management

• Drive continuous improvement through enhancement of processes, tools, and engineering practices

• Provide technical leadership across the full PCB lifecycle, from concept through to production

• Manage and develop engineering teams, including line management and remote leadership

• Collaborate with UK and international stakeholders, including global ECC teams (France, Romania, India)

• Ensure adherence to engineering governance, quality standards, and best practices

• Monitor performance metrics and proactively manage risks, escalations, and stakeholder expectations

About You:

• Strong background in PCB design and digital electronics, with full lifecycle experience

• Proven leadership experience managing engineering teams and complex project delivery

• Experience working in structured, regulated environments such as defence, aerospace, or similar

• Demonstrated ability to improve engineering processes, tools, and delivery performance

• Confident stakeholder manager with the ability to influence across engineering and business functions

• Proactive, adaptable, and comfortable working in a fast-paced, evolving environment

Why Join Thales?

This is an opportunity to lead and shape a critical engineering capability within a global organisation. You’ll have the platform to influence how PCB solutions are delivered across diverse, high-impact programmes, while driving innovation, efficiency, and technical excellence across the UK engineering community.

Benefits:

• Performance-related bonus

• Half day every Friday, usually finishing around 13:00

• 28 days annual leave (plus bank holidays) with opportunity to buy up to 40 hours/year (pro rata)

• 24 hours volunteering paid for

• Private healthcare

• Pension scheme

• Life cover

• 24/7 Employee Assistance Program and access to mental wellbeing app

• Employee discount shopping schemes on major brands and retailers

• Gym membership discounts

Security Clearance Requirement:

Due to the nature of the work that we do at Thales, many of our roles are subject to security restrictions.  This role requires you to be a UK National and achieve Security Clearance (SC) without any caveats. It would be advantageous if currently held, however, if not currently held, it is a requirement that the successful applicant undergo, achieve, and maintain SC Clearance prior to commencing employment.  If approved by the MOD, a dual national from a non-ITAR country may be considered. 

To be eligible for full SC, you generally need to have resided in the UK for the last 5 years.  In some circumstances, a minimum of 3 years’ residence in the UK over the last 5 years may be accepted, with additional overseas checks.

Please visit the UKSV website for further guidance: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/united-kingdom-security-vetting-clearance-levels/national-security-vetting-clearance-levels.

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At Thales, we ensure equal opportunities, pay and working conditions for all. The benefits we offer include private medical insurance, buying or selling annual leave, cycle to work schemes, employee discounts, paid volunteering day, stocks and shares, annual bonus and much more depending on the role. Read more about our benefits here.

We are committed to creating a workplace where everyone feels valued for who they are and the unique strengths they bring. Discover more about our programmes, employee networks, wellbeing policies, and inclusive features here.

If this role isn’t quite right for you, we encourage you to join our talent community where your details will be shared with our recruitment teams for other potential opportunities. Join the Talent Community here.

Join Thales in the UK – Innovate with us and shape the future!