Technical Designer

NATS is the UK’s leading air navigation service provider, handling over 2.4 million flights each year. We provide air traffic control services from two control centres and at airports around the UK. We alsoprovidea wide range of commercial products and solutions internationally. Our people are at the heart of our purpose to advance aviation and keep the skies safe.

Closing Date: 28/10/2026

Responsible for the Technology (Technical) Solution Design for a specific Service or Assets that make up the service. Managing and Supporting the Technical Solution Design elements as part of the Overall Service Design Pack for the Service.

• Within the NATS SI Framework, responsible for the end to end Technical Design of a large scale  high criticality, or Enterprise wide solution representing the Service Design organisation to both its Programme and Service Operations customers and stakeholders.
• Ensures that the Design process for operational methods, procedures, facilities and tools are established, reviewed and maintained. (Enterprise & Business Arch (STPL) Level
  5).
• Responsible for Technical Design for a Service and  or Asset group supporting the Service Designer in meeting their accountabilities for their Service Design components.
• Review and approve High Level and Low-Level Technical Designs. Approve “exceptions” identified in Low Level Designs for underpinning Capabilities and prepare submissions to the relevant design governance mechanisms. (Enterprise IT Governance (GOVN) Level
  5).
• Impact assess Operational Change Requests to ensure changes are within the Design Envelope and elevate through the Design Processes where not. (Business Risk Management (BURM) Level
  6).
• Provide Technology Design representation across the service and wider with a knowledge of each of the systems and assets that make up the system/thread.

The ability to identify technology Design issues and challenges before they impact project or service delivery as well as the corrective actions required. Be able to coordinate disparate teams to tight timescales with little or no additional support Expected to apply own judgement and expertise to determine the course of action required to resolve Technical Design decisions within the Service and Design Governance processes.

Determines when issues should be escalated to a higher level.

• The job of Technical Designer fits into the ITIL role for Service Design Management reporting to the Service Designer (Service Design Manager) specific roles are technical design, architecture and design authority for the technologies used in the service.
• Tactical Planning Be able to identify short term Design decisions that can resolve Programmatic challenges in a way that does not undermine the Safety assurance or undermine the Roadmap for the Service.
• Review Change Requests and associated plans as raised by the Service Operations team to identify whether the proposed change is within the Design envelope.
• Strategic Planning Liaise with Project Managers, Service Transition Managers, customers and other stakeholders to agree technical performance requirements, timescales, work plans and other matters that affect the execution of project tasks.
• Produce engineering papers using predictive modelling techniques to highlight possible service improvement, technology end of life and mitigate technical or operational problems of the future.
• Develop technology strategies in conjunction with the Service Owners, Service Delivery Managers and Enterprise Architects to meet NATS business objectives, highlighting possible future technical or operational benefits and risks.

• The post holder must be highly motivated and able to communicate…