Principal Systems Engineer

Our Software Engineering team develops bespoke capabilities for clients in the Cyber Security domain. We may be building assured products that prioritise engineering rigour and reliability, rapid solutions that bring together existing tooling for high-impact results, or blended operational systems that combine software, hardware, networks and third-party technologies to address real-world challenges in the field. Common to all is a commitment to technically led decisions, meaningful technical challenge, and seeing our work make it off the shelf and into the hands of our customers.

As our projects increasingly bring together multiple technologies and engineering disciplines, we are looking for a Principal Systems Engineer, operating as the systems architect and cross-discipline technical authority on our larger projects, to take technical ownership of complete systems from early concept through delivery and acceptance. This role may suit an experienced Systems Architect, Lead Systems Engineer or Technical Authority who wants to remain closely involved throughout integration and delivery.

There is also opportunity to grow the scope of this role to encompass the professionalisation of engineering across multiple projects and teams. This role is about making sure we build the right system , not simply building individual components well. You will work with customers and engineers to understand operational problems, establish system requirements and architecture, make informed technical trade-offs, manage interfaces and guide systems through integration, verification and validation.

You will be equally comfortable discussing a customer's operational need, reviewing a software or network architecture, understanding the constraints imposed by a hardware component, and deciding how the complete system can be demonstrated to meet its requirements. We're led by engineers and empowered to optimise our lightweight engineering processes with the knowledge gained from each project. We are not looking to introduce process for its own sake;

we want systems engineering practices that help teams make better technical decisions, expose problems early and deliver dependable capability. We are ideally looking for a candidate who holds an active Security Clearance to join our team; however, we will consider sponsoring new clearances for candidates who meet our technical requirements. Key Responsibilties As a Principal Systems Engineer, you may be:
Working with customers and engineering teams to turn operational needs into clear system objectives, requirements and acceptance criteria. Defining system architectures, boundaries and interfaces across software, hardware, networks, infrastructure and third-party technologies. Leading technical trade-offs, balancing performance, security, risk, complexity and delivery constraints. Defining integration, verification and validation strategies and providing technical leadership through system integration and acceptance. Acting as technical authority for multidisciplinary projects, managing technical risks and helping establish pragmatic systems engineering practices across Software Engineering.

This is a hands-on technical leadership role. You will typically work closely with small engineering teams rather than operating as a separate governance function. You will also help establish pragmatic systems engineering practices across Software Engineering, mentoring colleagues and identifying where additional rigour provides genuine engineering value. Desirable Skills Successful candidates will have strong experience in several of the following areas:
Designing and delivering complex systems involving multiple interacting technologies or engineering disciplines. Requirements engineering, system architecture, functional decomposition and interface management. Planning and leading system integration, verification, validation and customer acceptance activities. Evaluating technical options and communicating engineering trade-offs covering areas such as performance, reliability, security, maintainability, cost and delivery risk. Technical leadership within multidisciplinary teams, ideally in domains such as defence, cyber security, communications, aerospace, robotics or other complex systems environments.

Familiarity with systems modelling, architecture frameworks, SysML, requirements management tools or MBSE approaches is useful, but practical systems thinking is more important than experience with a…