Rodeo
Get started

Leonardo

Lead Systems Engineer (DA) Land CEMA

Basildon
£75k – £91k/yr
Posted 2 days ago
Sign up to applySee more jobs like this

How your CV stacks up

1Upload CV
2Analyse CV
3Improve CV

Upload your CV to see how well it fits this job role

?%

Job Description:

Leonardo has an exciting opportunity for a Lead Systems Engineer / Design Authority with experience across the whole of the engineering lifecycle. As Lead Systems Engineer and Design Authority, you will be responsible for providing the technical oversight and expertise at all levels of the overall system solution, working with both internal and supplier design teams to ensure that the architecture of the overall system solution is developed and delivered to meet the Customer, User and business requirements.

Hybrid working at our dedicated site in Basildon, Essex.


Your impact

Working within our Crenic project team, delivering life-saving protection for the UK military within our Land Cyber & Electromagnetic Activities (CEMA) sector across the south of the UK, you will form part of a multi-disciplined team. The successful candidate will seek advice from SMEs to review and advise on the creation and verification of subsystem technical solutions and lead the directly supporting the System Design Authority (SDA) in ensuring the system and sub system designs are:

  • Fit for purpose and due consideration has been made for the integrity of the design
  • Compliant with customer requirements and required standard
  • Safety of the overall proposed architecture is maintained and assessed

As a result, strong technical, delivery, and people leadership skills and abilities are essential in this role, particularly the ability to discuss and resolve complex technical problems.

  • Work closely with the SDA to identify and resolve technical issues across the whole system and subsystems and to ensure the integrity of the solution.
  • Deputise for the SDA within the project.
  • Lead the architecture team to develop and document the architecture throughout the project lifecycle.
  • Influence all levels of requirements to enable design and development decisions and trade-offs to be made.
  • Provide direction, control, evaluation and recommendations relating to technical risks and opportunities.
  • Support test planning and requirements verification to achieve certification and delivery for the overall system.
  • Working with and influencing key project stakeholders including customer and end users.
  • Present Architecture material at Design reviews internally and externally for the overall system.
  • Act as a technical interface between the end customer and the Leonardo Engineering team.
  • Actively support knowledge sharing and exploitation of best practice.
  • Support the guidance and development of junior Engineers within the Engineering team.
  • Contribute to the successful achievement of engineering.
  • Support and advise sub-system design teams through their design reviews.
  • Travel within the UK to meet with our customers and industry partners.

Reasons to use Rodeo

I’m in my final year doing Economics and I don’t know whether to apply for grad schemes now or do a masters first. What do you think?

Honest answer — it depends on where you want to end up. A lot of top grad schemes (Big 4, civil service, banking) don’t need a masters. Let’s look at the ones you’d be competitive for now, and we can decide if a masters actually adds anything.

Also worth knowing: most autumn 2026 applications are open now. Timing matters more than you think.

Start with a chat, not a search bar

Grad scheme, placement, apprenticeship? Not sure what you want yet — that's fine. Your agent talks it through with you and turns "I have no idea" into a shortlist.

P

Graduate Consultant — 2026 Scheme

PwC·London, UK
£35,000/yr

Why you're a good match

Strong

Your economics background and your summer at a regional bank line up with what PwC looks for on the consulting scheme. Applications close in four weeks.

See breakdown
Save jobNot relevant
View details

It searches the market for you

Every day your agent scans the market matching roles against what actually matters to you, not just keywords on a CV.

Why you're a good match

You’ve got the grades and the economics background, and your bank internship is exactly the experience this scheme looks for. Apply soon — deadlines close within the month.

See breakdown
Strong

Experience fit

Your summer at the bank plus your econometrics coursework map directly to the day-one responsibilities on this scheme — client modelling, market briefings, and deal support.

See breakdown
Strong

Only hits

No noise. No "maybe this fits." Just roles with a clear explanation of why they're right — and where to focus when applying.


What you’ll bring

Required

  • A degree (or equivalent experience) in a STEM subject and strong numerical, analytical and design skills, with the ability to apply these to real world problems.
  • Strong understanding of system and project lifecycles as applicable to delivery of sub-systems, technical and commercial baselines, and change control.
  • Strong understanding of Systems Architecture activities as part of the Systems Lifecycle.
  • Self-motivated with a strong aptitude for problem-solving and decision-making within projects involving design complexity and uncertainty.
  • Strong experience of influencing system design and integration of a major system.
  • Strong experience in stakeholder management within organisations and with customers (internal or external) in a high-pressure environment, pulling in technical expertise when and where appropriate.
  • Experience of successfully passing Design Reviews and implementing potentially complex remedial actions with sub-contract equipment suppliers and integration teams.

Ideally

  • Knowledge of military Force Protection Electronic Counter Measures (FPECM) systems.
  • Strong understanding of systems integration and progressive assurance.
  • Experience of making design decisions by trading-off alternate solution based on functionality, performance and cost.
  • Chartered engineer / member of the Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET)

This is not an exhaustive list, and we are keen to hear from you even if you might not have experience in all the above. The most important skill is a good attitude and willingness to learn.


Security Clearance

This role is subject to pre-employment screening in line with the UK Government’s Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) and The Security Check (SC). For more information and guidance please visit: https://careers.uk.leonardo.com/gb/en/security-and-vetting


Why join us

At Leonardo, our people are at the heart of everything we do. We offer a comprehensive, company-funded benefits package that supports your wellbeing, career development, and work–life balance. Whether you're looking to grow professionally, care for your health, or plan for the future, we’re here to help you thrive.

Get help with your application

Your very own career expert that helps elevate your application to the next level.

Get help applying for this job
  • Time to Recharge: Enjoy generous leave with the opportunity to accrue up to 12 additional flexi-days each year.
  • Secure your Future: Benefit from our award-winning pension scheme with up to 15% employer contribution.
  • Your Wellbeing Matters: Free access to mental health support, financial advice, and employee-led networks championing inclusion and diversity (Enable, Pride, Equalise, Armed Forces, Carers, Wellbeing and Ethnicity).
  • Rewarding Performance: All employees at management level and below are eligible for our bonus scheme.
  • Never Stop Learning: Free access to 4,000+ online courses via Coursera and LinkedIn Learning.
  • Refer a friend: Receive a financial reward through our referral programme.
  • Tailored Perks: Spend up to £500 annually on flexible benefits including private healthcare, dental, family cover, tech & lifestyle discounts, gym memberships and more.
  • Flexible working: Flexible hours with hybrid working options. For part time opportunities, please talk to us about what might be possible for this role.

For a full list of our company benefits please visit our website.


Leonardo UK operates a grade-based salary framework with broad bands. The salary range shown reflects the approved grade band for this role, or a narrower hiring range published within that band, and is benchmarked against the external market. Exceptions above the standard range are managed through governance controls to protect internal equity.


Leonardo is a global leader in Aerospace, Defence, and Security. Headquartered in Italy, we employ over 53,000 people worldwide including 8,500 across 9 sites in the UK. Our employees are not just part of a team—they are key contributors to shaping innovation, advancing technology, and enhancing global safety.

At Leonardo we are committed to building an inclusive, accessible, and welcoming workplace. We believe that a diverse workforce sparks creativity, drives innovation, and leads to better outcomes for our people and our customers. If you have any accessibility requirements to support you during the recruitment process, just let us know.

Be part of something bigger - apply now!


Primary Location:

GB - Basildon


Contract Type:

Permanent


Hybrid Working:

Hybrid

Trusted by 25,000+ job seekers

“It took my CV and asked me questions relevant to understanding what kind of jobs to suggest for me. Suggestions were almost perfect. Jobs were exactly what I’ve been looking for.”

Jessica, London

Get help applying for this job

Skills

Systems Engineering
Design Authority
Systems Architecture
Stakeholder Management
Technical Leadership
Risk Management
Requirements Verification
Systems Integration
Problem Solving
Technical Oversight
Project Lifecycle Management
Change Control
Design Reviews
CEMA
FPECM
STEM Analysis

Location

Basildon, England, United Kingdom

Sign up to applySee more jobs like this