Firmware Manager

Thales is a global technology leader with more than 83,000 employees on five continents. With over 7,500 people in the UK, operating across defence, space, aerospace, and digital security, we help build a future we can all trust. Thales supports the security and stability of our nation by providing extraordinary technology to our customers, as well as delivering social value to the UK with our products and services.

Firmware Manager (FPGA)

Location: Crawley, Reading, Cheadle, Bristol, Templecombe, Belfast, Glasgow or other Thales UK sites

Join Thales as a Firmware Manager (FPGA) within the UK Engineering Competence Centre (ECC), where you’ll play a key role in shaping and delivering complex FPGA programmes across multiple business domains. This is a high-impact leadership role combining deep technical expertise with strategic oversight, people management, and delivery excellence.

The Role:

You will lead the Digital Electronics (FPGA) discipline across the UK, ensuring the successful delivery of FPGA-based projects while driving capability growth, process optimisation, and engineering excellence. Working within a complex, multi-stakeholder environment, you’ll influence both project outcomes and long-term engineering strategy.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead and optimise FPGA design, development, and verification capability across the organisation

• Own delivery performance, including cost, schedule, quality, and resource alignment

• Drive continuous improvement by refining processes, tools, and engineering practices

• Provide technical leadership across the full FPGA lifecycle, from architecture through to verification

• Manage and develop engineering teams, including line management and talent pipeline growth

• Collaborate with UK and international stakeholders, including global ECCs (France, Romania, India)

• Ensure adherence to engineering governance, quality standards, and best practices

• Monitor performance metrics and proactively manage risks, escalations, and stakeholder expectations

About You:

• Strong background in digital electronics with deep expertise in FPGA architecture and verification

• Proven experience managing complex engineering teams and delivering across full project lifecycles

• Comfortable operating within structured, regulated environments (e.g. defence, aerospace)

• Demonstrated ability to improve engineering processes, tools, and delivery performance

• Confident stakeholder manager, able to influence at senior levels across engineering and business functions

• Proactive, adaptable, and able to thrive in a fast-paced, evolving environment

Why Join Thales?

This is an opportunity to take ownership of a critical engineering capability within a global organisation, influencing how FPGA solutions are delivered across multiple high-profile programmes. You’ll work at the intersection of technical leadership, strategic development, and operational excellence, with the chance to shape the future of digital electronics engineering in the UK.

Benefits:

• Performance-related bonus

• Half day every Friday, usually finishing around 13:00

• 28 days annual leave (plus bank holidays) with opportunity to buy up to 40 hours/year (pro rata)

• 24 hours volunteering paid for

• Private healthcare

• Pension scheme

• Life cover

• 24/7 Employee Assistance Program and access to mental wellbeing app

• Employee discount shopping schemes on major brands and retailers

• Gym membership discounts

Security Clearance Requirement:

Due to the nature of the work that we do at Thales, many of our roles are subject to security restrictions.  This role requires you to be a UK National and achieve Security Clearance (SC) without any caveats. It would be advantageous if currently held, however, if not currently held, it is a requirement that the successful applicant undergo, achieve, and maintain SC Clearance prior to commencing employment.  If approved by the MOD, a dual national from a non-ITAR country may be considered. 

To be eligible for full SC, you generally need to have resided in the UK for the last 5 years.  In some circumstances, a minimum of 3 years’ residence in the UK over the last 5 years may be accepted, with additional overseas checks.

Please visit the UKSV website for further guidance: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/united-kingdom-security-vetting-clearance-levels/national-security-vetting-clearance-levels.

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At Thales, we ensure equal opportunities, pay and working conditions for all. The benefits we offer include private medical insurance, buying or selling annual leave, cycle to work schemes, employee discounts, paid volunteering day, stocks and shares, annual bonus and much more depending on the role. Read more about our benefits here.

We are committed to creating a workplace where everyone feels valued for who they are and the unique strengths they bring. Discover more about our programmes, employee networks, wellbeing policies, and inclusive features here.

If this role isn’t quite right for you, we encourage you to join our talent community where your details will be shared with our recruitment teams for other potential opportunities. Join the Talent Community here.

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