Principal Systems Engineer

Programme Name: Office of Technology

Location: This role can be based from any of our UK offices (Farnborough, Whiteley, Glasgow, Bristol) on a hybrid basis with travel to other offices as required

Salary: £75,800 - £99,800

The Role:

The Principal System Engineer will provide technical leadership and assurance across systems, digital, and product engineering practices for UK programmes. This role will coach, mentor, and guide teams to adopt and tailor best-in-class engineering approaches, ensuring delivery excellence from design through product and sustainment.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Practice Leadership

• Oversee systems engineering practices, setting standards, frameworks, and processes for programme delivery.
• Champion the unification of Systems Engineering methodologies across UK programmes, including the adoption of model-based systems engineering (MBSE), digital engineering tools, and product engineering methodologies where appropriate.

Programme Coaching & Assurance

• Coach teams on tailoring and implement systems engineering practices appropriate to their complexity and lifecycle stage.
• Provide technical assurance and governance, ensuring alignment with best practice and contractual requirements.

Product Engineering Oversight

• Lead the integration of product engineering into the programme lifecycle, ensuring robust planning, implementation, fabrication, integration, test, and transition to operations.
• Oversee product readiness, deployment, and cutover activities, working closely with SMEs and Test to validate products, environments and releases.
• Ensure product engineering processes are mapped to the UK Engineering Lifecycle and delivery methodologies.

Technical Leadership

• Lead technical reviews, trade studies, and solution development across the engineering lifecycle.
• Guide requirements engineering, design, integration, verification, validation, and product handover activities.

Stakeholder Engagement

• Build strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders, including customers, partners, and suppliers to ensure effective collaboration, clear communication, and alignment of technical objectives across all parties involved in programme delivery
• Act as the technical point of contact for System Engineering matters.

Continuous Improvement

• Drive continuous improvement in engineering processes, tools, and skills.
• Identify and implement opportunities for efficiency, quality, and risk reduction.
• Capability Development
• Mentor and develop engineering talent, fostering a culture of learning and innovation.
• Support training and development initiatives for systems, digital, and product engineering.

Example Impact Areas

• Played a pivotal role in initiating new projects and programmes by promoting the adoption of Leidos systems engineering practices, implementing digital engineering toolsets, and applying robust methodologies to ensure excellence throughout the delivery lifecycle.
• Delivering technical leadership and systems engineering expertise, providing assurance throughout the bid phase to drive strategic growth. Responsibilities include verifying that proposed solutions satisfy all requirements, adhere to established systems engineering standards, and are appropriately tailored when necessary. Key activities encompass collaborating with stakeholders to refine objectives, guiding engineering methodologies, and assisting teams in integrating systems thinking into solution development.
• Supervise product environment validation, cutover readiness, and deployment assurance activities.
• Create and update systems, digital, and product engineering guidelines suitable for various programme types and levels of complexity.

What does Leidos need from me?

• Proven experience in leading systems, digital, and product engineering practices across complex, multi-disciplinary programmes, ideally in defence, aerospace, or government sectors.
• Deep understanding of systems engineering methodologies, MBSE, requirements management and lifecycle assurance.
• Experience with digital engineering tools and frameworks (e.g., Cameo, Jama, JIRA, TestRail, Confluence).
• Experience in product engineering, including planning, deployment, cutover, and operational readiness.
• Experience in the application of security principles (Secure by Design, Zero Trust etc.) and standards (ISO 27001etc.)
• Ability to coach and mentor teams, tailoring engineering approaches to programme needs.
• Strong stakeholder management and communication skills.
• Experience in technical governance, risk management, and quality assurance.
• Eligible for UK Security Clearance (SC or above).

Skills Desired:

• Extensive experience in product engineering best practices.
• Familiarity with Defence, Maritime, or Aerospace standards and design assurance processes.
• Track record of leading programme reviews, technical trade studies, and product handovers.
• Comfortable working in agile and spiral lifecycle environments.

Clearance Requirements: BPSS Screening to start, SC for role

What we do for you:
At Leidos we are PASSIONATE about customer success, UNITED as a team and INSPIRED to make a difference. We offer meaningful and engaging careers, a collaborative culture, and support for your career goals, all while nurturing a healthy work-life balance.
We provide an employment package that attracts, develops and retains only the best in talent. Our reward scheme includes:
•    Contributory Pension Scheme
•    Private Medical Insurance
•    33 days Annual Leave (including public and privilege holidays)
•    Access to Flexible benefits (including life assurance, health schemes, gym memberships, annual buy and sell holidays and a cycle to work scheme)

•    Flexi-Time Working

Commitment to Diversity:

We welcome applications from every part of the community and are committed to a truly diverse and inclusive culture.  We foster a sense of belonging, welcoming all perspectives and contributions, and providing equal access to opportunities and resources for everyone.  If you have a disability or need any reasonable adjustments during the application and selection stages please let us know, and we will respond in a way that best fits your needs.

Who We Are:

Leidos UK & EUROPE – we work to make the world safer, healthier, and more efficient through technology, engineering and science.

Leidos is a growing company delivering innovative technology and solutions focused on safeguarding critical capabilities and transformation in frontline services, our work in the United Kingdom includes addressing some of the most complex problems in defence, healthcare, government, safety and security, and transportation.

What Makes Us Different:

Purpose: you can use your passion and abilities at Leidos to keep the people you care about safe. We are at the forefront of machine learning, AI, cyber security and solutions. Using your skills in the technology frontline by helping to build a safer world.  You can inspire change.

Collaboration: having flexibility to do your job is one of our core benefits, enabling you to become part of our extraordinary team.  We have been empowering our people to work flexibly for years.  Whether you work from home, the office or on customer sites, we will give you the digital tools and the flexibility to work smarter and align your needs and ours.          

People: Leidos empowers people from every background to be themselves and gives you the tools to learn new skills by enabling growth whilst developing. We believe that extraordinary people need opportunities to grow, to be inspired and to inspire others. At Leidos, we invest in technical academies, career rotations and a career development plans that enhance your future.

If you're looking for comfort, keep scrolling. At Leidos, we outthink, outbuild, and outpace the status quo — because the mission demands it. We're not hiring followers. We're recruiting the ones who disrupt, provoke, and refuse to fail. Step 10 is ancient history. We're already at step 30 — and moving faster than anyone else dares.

Original Posting:

Pay Range:

£75,800.00-£99,800.00

The Leidos pay range for this job level is a general guideline only and not a guarantee of compensation or salary. Additional factors considered in extending an offer include (but are not limited to) responsibilities of the job, education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities, as well as internal equity, alignment with market data, applicable bargaining agreement (if any), or other law.