Director Technical Excellence

Director Technical Excellence (UK Nationals Only)

Location:

Any Thales BL location.

As Director of Technical Excellence, you will spearhead technical leadership, innovation and excellence across Thales UK, acting as the principal lead for technical strategy, cross‑business collaboration and engagement.

This highly visible position places you at the core of Thales UK’s strategic pillar—exploiting technology for the nation’s benefit. You will collaborate closely with external stakeholders, industry partners, academia, and internal senior leaders across the business.

• Lead a high‑calibre functional team and work closely with the UK CTO and Business Line Technical Directors.
• Own cross‑business line Technical Design Authority, product and digital assurance, product safety assurance, solution innovation and engagement, technical capability strategy, IP management, technology transfer and knowledge management.
• Drive continuous improvement through lessons learned, audits, capability assessments, and technical reviews.
• Develop the UK Technology Strategy, ensuring coherence and interoperability across digital and physical platforms.
• Define architectural principles, reusable patterns, and technology standards in line with Thales Technology Strategy.
• Support programme teams with risk evaluation, technical decision‑making, and design assurance.
• Lead a team of Solution Innovation leads to bring innovative solutions into key customer segments.
• Build and run innovation challenges and communities that accelerate idea‑to‑demonstrator.
• Govern IP identification, protection, filing and reuse, integrating it into product roadmaps and bids.
• Represent Thales in external technical, regulatory and government‑industry forums.
• Lead the management of the Thales Specialists & Experts network together with the UK CTO.
• Act as the lead amongst equals of the Technical Directors within the A2IS portfolio, attending A2IS meetings and supporting the portfolio.

• Significant experience leading multi‑discipline engineering and/or digital teams, including multi‑year road‑maps and technical capability strategies.
• Proven record in technical governance, systems assurance, safety‑critical and digital engineering, including leading design reviews for complex cross‑domain solutions.
• Deep understanding of enterprise and solution architecture, innovation management and technology transition in complex, multi‑domain environments.
• Familiarity with defence, aerospace or regulated engineering domains, aligning with external technical authorities, regulators and professional standards organisations.
• Experience navigating enterprise matrix organisations and engaging with complex internal and external stakeholder groups across international regions.

Applications close on 03 Jan 2026.

Applicants will need to provide evidence of identity, eligibility to work in the UK and employment & education history for up to three years. Some vacancies may require full Security Clearance.

Thales UK is committed to providing an inclusive and barrier‑free recruitment process, offering reasonable adjustments and support for neuro‑diverse applicants, those with a disability or long‑term condition. For alternative format requests or recruitment questions, contact Resourcing Ops for mid‑to‑senior roles, or the Early Careers Team for graduate and apprentice roles.

Great journeys start here – apply now!