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Airbus • Portsmouth, United Kingdom

Head of Systems Delivery

Employment type:  Full time
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Job Description

Job Description:

SECURITY CLEARANCE: Eligibility to gain UK SC Security Clearance

TRAVEL REQUIRED: Twice a month to Portsmouth. Regular travel to other sites in the UK wide. Occasionally internal travel may be required

LOCATION: Portsmouth OR Stevenage (60% of your working week must be office based)

TYPE: Full time

WHAT'S IN IT FOR YOU

  • Financial Reward: Competitive salary, annual profit share, contributory pension, share options, car leasing scheme, free onsite parking, tax-free technology scheme, discounted shopping and much more
  • Work / Life Balance: 37 hour week, flexible working around core hours, hybrid working, up to 2 additional days per month as TOIL.

There are no core hours on Friday afternoons. Employees may use this flexibility at their discretion, provided they fulfil their contractual working hours and meet business needs (such as urgent deadlines or client requirements)

  • Personal Development: Personalised development plan and unlimited access to 10,000+ E-learning courses, internal mobility including international opportunities
  • Health & Wellbeing: Wellbeing benefits (including 24/7 online GP and mental health support), Employee Assistance Programme, discounted family health / dental insurance / eye tests, cycle-to-work scheme, on-site canteen and coffee shop, lunchtime pilates
  • Family and Caregiving: Life assurance, enhanced pay for parental leave (23 weeks at 100% pay), adoption / shared parental / caregiving leave
  • Inclusive Environment: Wellbeing room, Multi-faith room, Employee Representative Groups (Gender, LGBTQ+, International, Generational, Disability, Social & Cultural Diversity, Neurodiversity)

We're not just committed to sustainable flight; we are on the front line of innovation, developing the advanced systems that protect societies and secure our collective future. Ready to engineer what's next in defence? Make your next change a groundbreaking one.

Are you a Head of Systems Design or Head of Systems Delivery looking for a new career? Looking for a role with an extensive handover and buddy system? Passionate Space and about championing Engineering, to fulfil our promise to clients to be On Time, On Cost, On Quality (OTOCOQ)? Want to work for a company who makes history? We’d love to speak to you!

Due to internal promotion, we are looking for a Head of Systems Design and Delivery. In this high visibility key role you will be responsible for a team of ~50 senior technical Engineering professionals (Chief Engineers, Lead Architects, Systems Integrators) based in Portsmouth, Stevenage and Newport.

You and your team will be working on Ground Segments covering Secure Satellite Communications (MILSATCom), Earth Observation and Space Situation Awareness solutions for UK/US and NATO customers.

How you will Contribute to the team

  • Represent, harmonise and champion Engineering and to continue and nurture relationships between the business, project and production
  • Ensure collaboration and transparency between you and your team across multiple UK sites to work together on the full engineering lifecycle including support
  • Manage the Pre-Sales Engineering teams in the definition, costing and validation of technical solutions through pre-bid technical reviews.
  • Define and deploy a development plan for the technical solution with a strong Design-to-Value / Design-to-Cost approach, based on requirements, schedule and budget and Systems Engineering best practices.
  • Identify and drive key engineering trade-off studies with support of the Design Authority organisation.
  • Take the lead in quality assurance, regulatory compliance (i.e. export rating, licensing) and safety, as well as management and achievement of certification / evaluation of technical solutions, using the knowledge and services of Enablers (e.g. Product Security, Safety, Product Regulatory Compliance).

About you

  • Significant experience in delivering major delivery programmes for Military / Governmental Satellite Communications systems and/or Earth Observation systems (Optical/Radar) at a Senior level for the UK, US or NATO.
  • Passionate and genuinely believe in delivering on commitments, protecting projects integrity and ensure projects stay on track, OTOCOQ with a strong customer delivery focus
  • Experience in promoting, implementing and monitoring the use of Engineering best practices (Model based Systems Engineering, Agile).
  • Awareness of any potential compliance risks and a commitment to act with integrity, as the foundation for the company's success, reputation and sustainable growth.
  • Extensive experience in working directly with customers with a proven track record of successful delivery.

Not a 100% match? No worries! Airbus supports your personal growth with customised development solutions.

How we can support you

Many of our staff work flexibly in many different ways, including part-time. Please talk to us at the interview about the flexibility you need and we’ll always do our best to accommodate your request.

Please let us know if you need us to make any adjustments for the selection process - you can share this with your Talent Acquisition Partner if you are invited to interview. Examples may include (but not exclusive to) accessible facilities; auxiliary aids; room layout, etc. Any information disclosed will be treated in the strictest confidence.

As a Disability Confident Employer, Airbus UK will offer an interview to any applicant that considers themselves to have a disability or long-term condition under the Equality Act 2010 and meets the minimum criteria of the role (as set out in the job advert). To ‘opt in’, just select the option during your application submission and your application will be considered accordingly.

This job requires an awareness of any potential compliance risks and a commitment to act with integrity, as the foundation for the Company’s success, reputation and sustainable growth.

Company:
AIRBUS Defence and Space Limited

Employment Type:
Permanent
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Experience Level:
Professional

Job Family:
Leadership

By submitting your CV or application you are consenting to Airbus using and storing information about you for monitoring purposes relating to your application or future employment. This information will only be used by Airbus.
Airbus is committed to achieving workforce diversity and creating an inclusive working environment. We welcome all applications irrespective of social and cultural background, age, gender, disability, sexual orientation or religious belief.

Airbus is, and always has been, committed to equal opportunities for all. As such, we will never ask for any type of monetary exchange in the frame of a recruitment process. Any impersonation of Airbus to do so should be reported to emsom@airbus.com .

At Airbus, we support you to work, connect and collaborate more easily and flexibly. Wherever possible, we foster flexible working arrangements to stimulate innovative thinking.

Company benefits

Accrued annual leave
Adoption leave
Annual bonus
Bike parking
Coaching
Complimentary Medical Services
Cycle to work scheme
Employee discounts
Enhanced maternity leave
Enhanced paternity leave
Enhanced sick pay
Family health insurance
Health insurance
In house training
Language lessons
Mentoring
On-site gym
Open to compressed hours
Open to job sharing
Open to part time work for some roles
Open to part-time employees
Referral bonus
Sabbaticals
Teambuilding days
Mental health support
Mental health platform access
Mental health first aiders

Working at Airbus

Company employees:

165000

Gender diversity (m:f):

70:30

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Awards & Accreditations

1st - Best Work-Life Balance

1st - Best Work-Life Balance

Flexa awards 2026
2nd – Most loved - Large companies

2nd – Most loved - Large companies

Flexa awards 2026
Most Mission Driven Company

Top 5 - Most Mission Driven Company

Flexa awards 2026
1st - Best Work-Life Balance

1st - Best Work-Life Balance

Flexa awards 2025
3rd - Best Career Progression

3rd - Best Career Progression

Flexa awards 2025
Most Inclusive Company

Top 5 - Most Inclusive Company

Flexa awards 2025
Most Flexible Company

Top 10 - Most Flexible Company

Flexa awards 2025

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