Head of Weapon Integration Transformation and Programme Enablers

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an influential role leading a significant task group, accountable for delivering a wide range of enablers across FCAS, including GCAP and Tempest WS5. Enabling a new approach to weapon Integration and employment effects, through the opportunity to influence the design of the platform and wider system. This role also looks to enable the infrastructure tooling and digital approaches needed to be deployed, tested and validated in line with project and weapon system integration dependencies to ensure programme delivery success.

Salary: Circa £80,000 depending on experience

Dynamic (hybrid) working: 2-3 days per week on-site due to workload classification

Security Clearance: British Citizen only

What we can offer you:

• Company Bonus: Bonus of up to 30% of base salary

• Car Allowance: £300 per calendar month

• Pension: maximum total (employer and employee) contribution of up to 14%

• Flexible working: We welcome applicants who are looking for flexible working arrangements

• Enhanced parental leave: offers up to 26 weeks for maternity, adoption and shared parental leave -enhancements are available for paternity leave, neonatal leave and fertility testing and treatments

• Facilities: Fantastic site facilities including subsidised meals, free car parking and much more…

• Private Medical Insurance: Eligible employees are enrolled as standard into the company funded Private Medical Insurance benefit.

FCAS is one of the largest and most exciting programmes within Defence – to design and deliver a Future Combat Air Programme for the RAF in record time. The key cornerstone of FCAS is the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), which sees the UK working with our international partners Italy and Japan. FCAS and GCAP combined present a unique opportunity to influence the design of the platform and wider system to reflect a new approach to weapon integration and employment of effects rather than just traditional integration of effectors to an existing platform.

In addition, this role forms part of the Systems Design Airborne Systems functional leadership team, supporting the Head of Function to develop the function in addition to direct functional management responsibility for a team of integration and weapon system design engineers at various levels.

Responsibilities include [not limited to]:

• Delivering the weapons integration transformation (WIT) strategy, including digital roadmaps, validation and the cost/time benefit analysis
• National and international engagement to ensure appropriate influence over enablers & drive the WIT strategy. This includes responsibility for UK WIT governance and validation opportunities
• Deliver the synthetic development agenda to support both functional weapons integration as well as mission system integration
• Deliver the technical aspects related to the WS5 integration programme of works, including the validation of WS5 through shadow clearances
• Working across internal and external stakeholders, to influence change by Regulators for Airworthiness (direct input to the TAA and UK MAA)
• Manage adherence of all programme and cyber security aspects, acting as delegate for the product cyber security authority (PCSA)
• Sponsorship of required enabling infrastructure in line with secure by design as outlined by project needs. Inclusive of digital and physical elements, High Performance Computing, data storage and any collaborative working environments needed to enable Weapon Integration Transformation. (WIT provides the focus for the Sector given the expected impacts in terms of Data volumes for Qualification and Certification with Digital Weapon Integration, and also requirements from MAA and MOD for enhanced digital traceability).
• Project line management responsibility to direct and indirect individuals. Functional line management including development and performance.
• Acting as Sector customer for Secure by Design assessments on behalf of the Chief Engineer. Running the Security panel for the Sector.

What we’re looking for from you:

• A self-sufficient, self-starter with the ability to use their own initiative to solve problems and create workable solutions
• Experience working in technical project delivery, ideally in a multi-national environment
• An understanding of the current weapons integration or mission system integration challenges faced by industry
• Experience of sponsoring large scale multisite infrastructure projects
• A confident communicator with stakeholders at all levels across the business.
• Comfortable with ambiguity and an ability to define the scope of work from a relative blank sheet of paper.
• Comfortable operating at pace, in a fast moving and evolving environment.
• Proven ability to work collaboratively with international and domestic partners in a cutting edge, complex and demanding programme and technical environment.
• Experience of operating against security grading guides and adherence with security instructions.

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