Project Engineering Lead

Job Description

At Leonardo, we solve real-world engineering challenges, designing and developing mission-critical solutions that power some of the world’s most advanced defence and security systems.

Your work will contribute to the joint international development of the next generation Distributed Electro-Optical System (DEOS) for the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP). GCAP will deliver a next-generation fighter aircraft for the UK, Italy and Japan.

We are recruiting for a Project Engineering Lead (PEL) who has both a sound technical background and prior experience in an engineering leadership position to lead the joint international development of GCAP DEOS, with the programme entering its First International Contract phase in 2026. The role will report to the GCAP DEOS Project Engineering Manager (PEM) and support the Project Chief Engineer and Project Management Team with delivering the projects engineering objectives.

You will play a major role in defining and leading the engineering activities to be delivered by a tri-national joint engineering team, primarily based in Edinburgh. This includes the establishment of a tri-national Joint Systems Team and Joint Concepting Team made up by team members from each of the international partners.

The PEL will engage and lead a multi-disciplinary tri-national integrated project team on early lifecycle engineering tasks, including:

• Lead early lifecycle Systems & Software Engineering activities such as problem space definition, requirements capture, architecture development and performance modelling. This will require engagement with teams across the GCAP enterprise.
• Lead system & sub-system DEOS product concepting including engagement with international partners within Japan and Italy on workshare defined elements.
• Lead system interface definition including platform installation activities and SWAP (Size, Weight and Power) constraints. This will require regular engagement with Edgewing including BAE Systems in the UK to develop installation proposals for a next-generation fighter aircraft.
• Lead configuration control and release of international documents to support regular collaboration with the GCAP international partners as required.
• Support the establishment and documenting of tri-national engineering management arrangements ensuring international alignment on engineering planning and delivery methods.
• Support engagement with the newly formed GCAP Electronics Evolution (G2E) consortium including collaboration with the UK led ISANKE domain, on integrating DEOS into the wider system of systems.

• Strong stakeholder management within a major international defence project.
• Strong ability and practical experience of working across different stages of the engineering lifecycle including early lifecycle development.
• Technical experience & systems engineering skillsets within the context of EO/IR products and defence contracts.
• Manage and assess reported system-level issues related to platform integration, SWAP and performance predictions.
• Produce effective, efficient and realistic plans to deliver the solution and communicate these to the PEM to ensure forward load is correct and resources are available.
• Ensure effective implementation of the company's Lifecycle Management process and project engineering processes are followed.

• Experience of working in a significant international defence project
• Experience with in a consortium environment and engagement with international partners at a working level.
• The ability to keep track and mange a diverse set of activities with many interactions and dependencies.

This role is subject to pre-employment screening in line with the UK Government’s Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS). An additional range of Personnel Security Controls referred to as National Security Vetting (NSV) may apply, this could include meeting the eligibility requirements for The Security Check (SC) or Developed Vetting (DV). For more information and guidance please visit:

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