Description
Technical Lead - Systems Engineering
Location: Farnborough, or other Leidos UK Offices with flexibility to work from home dependent on business demands
Looking for an opportunity to make an impact?
About the Role
Leidos is seeking an experienced Technical Lead (Systems Engineering) to play a pivotal role on a critical national infrastructure Programme, one of Leidos UK’s flagship delivery programmes supporting a high-profile government customer.
The Technical Lead will provide hands-on technical leadership across complex, multi-supplier systems, applying systems engineering best practice to the design, integration, change and assurance of mission-critical IT services. Working closely with the Chief Engineer, Architects, Project Managers, Infrastructure, Networks and Software teams, the role ensures that solutions delivered by Leidos are technically sound, secure, and fit-for-purpose.
This is a leadership role that combines deep technical expertise, systems thinking, and stakeholder engagement, with accountability for guiding teams through change, risk and technical decision-making.
What will I be doing?
Technical Leadership
*Act as Technical Lead for systems engineering activities within assigned workstreams or projects.
*Provide authoritative technical direction across on-premise and cloud-hosted systems, ensuring coherence across infrastructure, networks, applications and services.
*Lead technical decision-making, trade-offs, and design assurance in line with programme and customer requirements.
Systems Engineering & Design
*Apply Systems Engineering principles across the full engineering lifecycle (V-Model), including requirements, design, integration, verification and transition to service.
*Own and assure key engineering artefacts, including impact assessments, high-level and low-level designs, and technical change documentation.
*Ensure designs are aligned with programme architecture, security constraints, and operational needs.
Change & Impact Assessment
*Lead the technical impact assessment of Requests for Change (RFCs) and new requirements.
*Clearly define technical scope, dependencies, risks and estimates for change delivery.
*Support Project Managers with technically robust inputs to planning, costing and scheduling.
Stakeholder & Customer Engagement
*Work directly with customer technical stakeholders to elicit, clarify and refine requirements.
*Act as a trusted technical authority, able to explain complex technical topics clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences.
*Collaborate effectively across Leidos engineering disciplines and third-party suppliers.
Governance, Quality & Assurance
*Ensure compliance with Leidos engineering standards, programme governance, and security policies.
*Identify technical risks early and define mitigation strategies.
*Support technical reviews, audits, and assurance activities as required.
Mentoring & Capability Development
*Provide technical mentoring and coaching to junior and mid-level engineers.
*Promote good engineering practice, reuse of patterns, and continuous improvement across the programme.
*Contribute to the development of common ways of working and engineering maturity within the programme.
What does Leidos need from me?
Essential
*Proven experience as a Technical Lead or Senior Systems Engineer on large-scale, complex IT programmes.
*Strong grounding in Systems Engineering concepts and lifecycle management.
*Broad technical understanding across: *Infrastructure (compute, storage, virtualisation)
*Networks
*Applications and integrations
*Hybrid and/or cloud environments

*Experience leading technical design, integration and change in a controlled, high-assurance environment.
*Ability to assess technical risk, manage dependencies, and make sound engineering decisions.
*Excellent communication skills, with experience engaging customers and senior stakeholders.
Desirable
*Experience working on UK government, defence or critical national infrastructure programmes.
*Familiarity with IT service delivery environments and operational constraints.
*Knowledge of security-driven design and working within secure environments.
*Experience influencing technical strategy across multi-supplier ecosystems.
Personal Attributes
*Confident technical leader with strong systems thinking.
*Pragmatic, delivery-focused, and able to balance risk, cost and quality.
*Collaborative and comfortable working across organisational boundaries.
*Passionate about engineering excellence and developing others.
What We Offer
*Opportunity to work on one of Leidos UK’s most significant and visible programmes.
*Exposure to complex, mission-critical systems with real national impact.
*A collaborative engineering culture with clear technical career pathways.
*Competitive salary, benefits, and flexible working arrangements.
Location
*UK (Hybrid / Customer site as required)
Clearance Requirements:
*Must be eligible for UK Security Clearance (SC or higher; DV desirable)
What we do for you:
At Leidos we are PASSIONATE about customer success, UNITED as a team and INSPIRED to make a difference. We offer meaningful and engaging careers, a collaborative culture, and support for your career goals, all while nurturing a healthy work-life balance.
We provide an employment package that attracts, develops and retains only the best in talent. Our reward scheme includes:
• Contributory Pension Scheme
• Private Medical Insurance
• 33 days Annual Leave (including public and privilege holidays)
• Access to Flexible benefits (including life assurance, health schemes, gym memberships, annual buy and sell holidays and a cycle to work scheme)
• Flexi-Time Working
Commitment to Diversity:
We welcome applications from every part of the community and are committed to a truly diverse and inclusive culture. We foster a sense of belonging, welcoming all perspectives and contributions, and providing equal access to opportunities and resources for everyone. I