Full-Time

Lead Systems Engineer

General Dynamics UK

General Dynamics UK

201-500 employees

UK defense contractor delivering C4I, AFV

Compensation Overview

£59.2k - £80k/yr

Hastings, UK

Hybrid

Typically three days working in the office per week; fully office-based work is also available.

UK Top Secret Clearance Required

Bachelor's

Category
Aerospace Engineering (1)
Required Skills
Machine Learning
Quality Assurance (QA)
Risk Management
Excel/Numbers/Sheets

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Requirements
  • Degree-level education or equivalent in a relevant engineering discipline.
  • Extensive experience across the full systems engineering lifecycle.
  • Proven leadership skills in coordinating multidisciplinary teams.
  • Expertise in requirements management, traceability, and audit-ready documentation.
  • Proficiency with DOORS and Excel-based planning tools.
  • Understanding of certification processes and regulatory standards.
  • Experience in Model-Based Systems Engineering.
  • Strong knowledge of avionic systems engineering challenges.
  • All successful or appointed applicants must be able to obtain an appropriate level of UK security clearance and complete suitable right-to-work checks.
Responsibilities
  • Lead the full systems engineering lifecycle from stakeholder needs analysis through delivery, verification, and certification.
  • Coordinate cross-functional engineering teams across software, hardware, and safety domains.
  • Manage requirements using DOORS, ensuring traceability, audit readiness, and verification and validation evidence.
  • Conduct risk-management reviews and change-control governance for engineering activities.
  • Use Model-Based Systems Engineering to create a robust model of the system being developed.
  • Apply systems engineering processes to develop technical solutions to engineering problems.
  • Collaborate with systems, hardware, and software architects to ensure consistency, modularity, reuse, and technical excellence.
  • Support the full product lifecycle from requirements analysis to delivery.
  • Ensure the integrity and suitability of next-generation mission-computing product designs.
  • Lead lifecycle management activities, including design reviews, verification, and qualification activities.
Desired Qualifications
  • Experience working with or familiarity with artificial intelligence and machine-learning models.
  • Flexibility, innovation, and commitment to delivery in fast-paced environments.

General Dynamics UK delivers defence technology and services to the UK MoD, including C4I communications, Armoured Fighting Vehicle capability, and avionics systems. Its products work by designing and integrating end-to-end defence systems that plan, deploy, manage and monitor battlefield information, with systems like Bowman, EvO, AJAX, and aircraft avionics. The company differentiates itself through long-standing MoD collaboration combined with in-house design and manufacturing to deliver large, end-to-end programs from a UK base in South Wales. Its goal is to equip the UK Armed Forces with reliable, integrated communications, combat-vehicle, and avionics systems for current operations and future capability programs.

Company Size

201-500

Company Stage

Growth Equity (Non-Venture Capital)

Total Funding

$70M

Headquarters

Blackwood, United Kingdom

Founded

1962

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Simplify Jobs

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • UK resumed Ajax tests in April 2026, restoring deliveries toward 589 vehicles ordered.
  • The 2026 Light Mobility Vehicle consortium with Ford and Ricardo widens revenue beyond Ajax.
  • The 2026 U.S. Navy fire-control award supports UK strategic-deterrent work through 2033.

What critics are saying

  • Ajax safety investigations after November 2025 vomiting incidents threaten cancellations and reputational damage.
  • Three active Ajax investigations in January 2026 expose program stoppages and acceptance delays.
  • A failed LMV bid in 2027 leaves South Wales dependence on one troubled platform.

What makes General Dynamics UK unique

  • Merthyr Tydfil and Oakdale manufacture Ajax, anchoring Britain’s only sovereign armored-vehicle line.
  • Mission Systems supports Royal Navy deterrence through P-8A analysis and submarine fire-control systems.
  • General Dynamics UK sells into programs with deep MoD lock-in and long sustainment tails.

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Benefits

Hybrid Work Options