Technical Manager / Principal Systems Engineer with Naval communications experience

Location: Crawley, United Kingdom

Thales people architect solutions at the heart of the defence-security continuum. Interoperable and secure information and telecommunications systems for defence, security, and civil operators, are based upon innovative use of radiocommunications, networks, and cybersecurity. We are ground breaking new digital technologies such as 4G mobile communications, cryptography, cloud computing and big data for use in physical protection systems, and critical information systems.

Together we offer fantastic opportunities for committed employees to learn and develop their career with us. At Thales UK, we research, develop, and supply technology and services that impact the lives of millions of people each day to make life better, and keep us safer. We innovate across the major industries of Aerospace, Defence, Security and Space. Your health and well-being matters to us and that’s why we offer you the flexibility to do what’s important to you; whether that’s part time hours, job sharing, home working, or the ability to flex your start and finish times. Where possible, we support a working pattern that suits your lifestyle and helps you reach your ambitions.

Scope:

This job description describes the requirement for a Senior Principal Systems Engineer to work on large-scale Naval communications projects. It will involve working on challenging programmes and projects to bring new technology to major UK and overseas customers.  It will include all phases of the engineering lifecycle encompassing requirements elicitation and decomposition, solution concept definition and architecture, design and development, validation, verification and qualification, deployment and acceptance and through life support.

Key responsibilities:

• Supporting the bid and project teams to understand customer technical context and requirements

• Generation and provision of work package estimates that balance quality, compliance and cost – subsequently discharge work packages to time, quality and cost.

• Provision of technical leadership for all areas of the solution.

• Coordination of a team of multifunctional engineers to complete the system design, development and qualification of the solution to cost, quality and schedule.

• Definition of the technical solution, including requirements elicitation and decomposition, and architecture from Operational Concepts through to Solution Architecture.

• Ensuring all engineering activities are conducted within the boundaries of the Thales Chorus 2 governance process and project Engineering Management Plan.

• Identification and management of technical risks and opportunities and related mitigation activities.

• Maintenance and management the design baseline from concept to customer installation acceptance.

• Provision of technical support to IVVQ activities during the system integration and acceptance phase of the programme.

• Conduct of technical investigations into both equipment level and system level anomalies, liaising with systems, software and hardware engineers as required.

• Reviewing and sentencing of all solution design Problem Reports, Change Requests and Requests for Information.

• Preparation and delivery of Design Validation and Certificate of Design documentation.

Skills, experience and qualifications:

• Experience of leading a small multifunctional engineering team through the design, development and qualification phase of a project.

• Exhibit good team-working skills, be comfortable with delegation and be able to motivate and share information effectively.

• Experience of engineering work package definition, compilation and estimation liaising with other engineering and project functions as required.

• Knowledge and experience of Systems Engineering lifecycle activities including SOR, SRR, PDR, CDR, PRR, TRR and TQR through the design and development phases into production, integration, verification, validation and acceptance

• Experience in deriving and preparing system and sub-system specifications and engineering design artefacts from defined requirements sets.

• A strong understanding and experience of project governance, including experience of producing and reviewing documentation with clarity and precision.

• Knowledge and experience of Naval transverse characteristics and qualification activities including the operational environment (temperature, humidity, shock, vibration, EMC, TEMPEST), safety, security, cyber, human factors and ILS.

• Experience of working with customers, presenting technical solutions and chairing design reviews.

• Knowledge of Naval communications systems, equipment and infrastructure including management architectures and operational communications.

• Experience of Naval installation, commissioning and trials activities.

• Willingness to travel to both supplier and customer locations as required.

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.  Please visit the UKSV website for further guidance.

• 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.

#LI-DB1

In line with Thales' Baseline Security requirements, candidates will be asked to provide evidence of identity, eligibility to work in the UK and employment and/or education history for up to three years. Some vacancies may require full Security Clearance which can require further evidence to be provided. For further details of the evidence required to apply for Baseline and Security Clearance please refer to the Defence Business Services National Security Vetting (DBS NSV) Agency.

At Thales we provide CAREERS and not only jobs. With Thales employing 80,000 employees in 68 countries our mobility policy enables thousands of employees each year to develop their careers at home and abroad, in their existing areas of expertise or by branching out into new fields. Together we believe that embracing flexibility is a smarter way of working.

Thales UK is committed to providing an inclusive and barrier-free recruitment process. We will provide reasonable adjustments and support to ensure neuro-diverse applicants or those with a disability or long-term condition can be their best during the recruitment process. To request an adjustment, if you need this job advert in an alternative format or if you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact Resourcing Ops for mid to senior roles, or the Early Careers Team for graduate and apprentice roles.

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