Associate Director Systems

Job Description

AECOM is seeking an experienced Associate Director – Systems to join our Systems Engineering and Safety Assurance (SESA) team, supporting our growing rail portfolio across the UK and Ireland.

The role will form part of the UK & Ireland SESA leadership team, providing senior technical, capability and portfolio leadership for Systems Engineering and Systems Integration.

A key focus of the role will be to strengthen and develop AECOM’s Systems Engineering capability across multiple projects and programmes, improving technical consistency, capability resilience, resource depth and the effective deployment of Systems Engineering expertise across the UK and Ireland.

The successful candidate will combine strong systems-thinking capability with extensive practical experience of requirements, architecture, interfaces, integration, verification and validation and lifecycle engineering.

The role will work closely with System Safety & Interoperability, RAMS, Human Factors, Engineering Management and engineering discipline teams to support integrated delivery of complex railway systems.

Key Responsibilities

Here's what you'll do: 

Systems Engineering & Integration Leadership

• Act as a Subject Matter Expert for Systems Engineering and Systems Integration.
• Lead, guide and assure the application of Systems Engineering across a portfolio of major railway projects and programmes.
• Champion a whole-system and system-of-systems approach, ensuring Systems Engineering improves engineering decisions and delivery outcomes rather than becoming a documentation-led compliance activity.
• Lead development and implementation of proportionate Systems Engineering Management Plans and lifecycle strategies.
• Lead system definition, context, boundaries, lifecycle and stakeholder analysis.
• Support translation of operational, business and stakeholder needs into structured system requirements.
• Balance technical performance, operability, safety, programme, cost and stakeholder needs in system-level decision-making.
• Provide senior intervention where project complexity, technical quality or integration risk requires additional support.

Requirements Engineering

• Lead Requirements Management strategies and plans.

Systems Integration-

• Lead Systems Integration strategies for major programmes.

Systems Capability and Resilience

• Develop and implement the Systems Engineering & Integration capability plan in alignment with the wider UK & Ireland SESA strategy and operating model.

Integrated SESA Delivery

• Work closely with System Safety & Interoperability and RAMS capability leads to ensure requirements, architecture, RAM performance, integration and assurance are coordinated through the lifecycle.
• Support cross-discipline resolution of system-level issues.
• Escalate significant resource, technical or portfolio issues through the wider SESA leadership structure.
• Work with SESA leadership to deploy Systems Engineering capability effectively across UK and Ireland projects, drawing on wider regional and global capability where appropriate.

Project and Commercial Leadership

• Lead significant Systems Engineering and Integration commissions where appropriate.

Clients, Growth and Work Winning

• Act as a trusted senior advisor to clients on Systems Engineering and complex-system integration.
• Develop existing and new client relationships.
• Identify opportunities for Systems Engineering, Integration and Technical Assurance services.

People Leadership

• Lead technical and professional development of Systems Engineering practitioners.
• Provide mentoring, coaching and competency development.

Qualifications

Ready to push the limits of what’s possible?

Here’s what we’re looking for:

You will have Engineering, Systems Engineering or relevant technical degree, or equivalent experience.

• Chartered Engineer or equivalent professional standing.

Strong practical experience across several of:

• requirements management;
• systems integration;
• system architecture;
• interface management;
• V&V;
• configuration/change management;
• technical assurance.

We are looking for an individual who can evidence strong client and stakeholder-management skills and commercial and bid experience.

Additional Information

At AECOM, we are committed to maintaining a secure and trustworthy recruitment process and take any fraudulent hiring activity seriously. To support this commitment, all newly hired employees are required to attend an in-person Day 1 onboarding at an AECOM office location as a condition of employment.

About AECOM

AECOM is the world’s trusted infrastructure consulting firm, delivering professional services throughout the project lifecycle – from advisory, planning, design and engineering to program and construction management. On projects spanning transportation, buildings, water, new energy and the environment, our public- and private-sector clients trust us to solve their most complex challenges. Our teams are driven by a common purpose to deliver a better world through our unrivaled technical and digital expertise, a culture of equity, diversity and inclusion, and a commitment to environmental, social and governance priorities. AECOM is a Fortune 500 firm and its Professional Services business had revenue of $16.1 billion in fiscal year 2025. See how we are delivering sustainable legacies for generations to come at aecom.com and @AECOM.

Freedom to Grow in a World of Opportunity 

You will have the flexibility you need to do your best work with hybrid work options. Whether you’re working from an AECOM office, remote location or at a client site, you will be working in a dynamic environment where your integrity, entrepreneurial spirit and pioneering mindset are championed.

You will help us foster a safe and respectful workplace, where we invite everyone to bring their whole selves to work using their unique talents, backgrounds and expertise to create transformational outcomes for our clients.

AECOM provides a wide array of compensation, benefits and well-being programs to meet the diverse needs of our employees and their families. We’re the world’s trusted global infrastructure firm, and we’re in this together – your growth and success are ours too.

Join us, and you’ll get all the benefits of being a part of a global, publicly traded firm – access to industry-leading technology and thinking and transformational work with big impact and work flexibility. As an Equal Opportunity Employer, we believe in each person’s potential, and we’ll help you reach yours.

We are a Disability Confident Employer and will offer an interview to applicants who have a disability or long-term condition, who meet the minimum/essential criteria for the role. Please let us know using this email address [email protected]  if you would like to apply through the Disability Confident Interview Scheme.

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.