Senior Systems Engineer

Location: Belfast, United Kingdom

Thales people architect solutions that are relied upon to deliver operational advantage at every decisive moment throughout the mission. Defence and armed forces customers rely on us to deliver the full range of defensive systems for land, sea, and air. From early warning, to threat neutralisation, our platforms cover all levels from very short-range systems, to extended protection across the entire battle-space including Airspace Mobility Solutions, Vehicles and Tactical Systems and Missile Defence, Optronics, and Radar.

Together we offer fantastic opportunities for committed employees to learn and develop their career with us. At Thales UK, we research, develop, and supply technology and services that impact the lives of millions of people each day to make life better, and keep us safer. We innovate across the major industries of Aerospace, Defence, Security and Space. Your health and well-being matters to us and that’s why we offer you the flexibility to do what’s important to you; whether that’s part time hours, job sharing, home working, or the ability to flex your start and finish times. Where possible, we support a working pattern that suits your lifestyle and helps you reach your ambitions.

Job Description

Would you like to work for a world-renowned department that research, develop and supply technology and services that impact the lives of millions of people each day to make life better and keep us safer? Do you want to be part of a team of leading specialists that are designing solutions that make tomorrow possible, today? Then look no further…

What the role has to offer:

• Ability to work with state of the art leading edge technology
• Taking complex problems on cutting edge defence equipment to simplify and drive a successful solution. 
• Working with a highly skilled, dynamic and forward thinking team
• A growing business with great career opportunities

Thales Integrated Airspace-protection Systems (IAS) UK designs and manufactures a range of cutting-edge technologies ranging from air surveillance and mission planning systems to missile and space propulsion systems. With sites in Belfast, Templecombe, Crossgar and Thorney Island the company specialises in lightweight missiles and the integration of weapon systems into various platforms along with the systems to manage and exploit critical mission planning and air surveillance data.

As a Senior System Engineer, you will be designing state-of-the-art Fire Control and Air Defence Systems that deliver world-class performance to meet our customer’s needs. Working within an agile multi-discipline team, responsibilities cover the whole product lifecycle from requirements capture and analysis through to defining the system architecture and behaviour, optimising the design and onto building, testing and verifying that the solution meets the customer’s requirements.

The role requires collaborating in a multi-discipline team in the design and development process, covering one or more of the following activities:

• Understanding our customer and business needs leading to requirements capture, definition, development and justification.
• Performing and co-ordinating analysis of system requirements and leading activities such as Use Case development and functional identification.
• Understanding how the User will deploy the product in order to inform the system design.
• Defining the system architecture, interfaces, behaviour and flow-down requirements.
• Working with specialists to inform and define the system design, behaviour or performance.
• Developing and optimising the design through system trades, analyses and prototyping
• Defining verification activities and assessing evidence to ensure the delivered product is compliant with requirements
• Diagnosing complex system faults found during integration and test.
• Capturing the design, decisions and rationale in associated models, specifications and other technical artefacts.
• Providing coaching and mentoring to other team members and sharing knowledge within the wider systems team.

About you:

We are interested to talk to capable candidates from many backgrounds to understand what you can bring to the role. We have recently employed mechanical, electrical and software engineers, as well as physicists and others with prior systems engineering experience. A core capability of a Thales Systems Engineer is the ability to understand the full engineering landscape and different backgrounds can complement this in generating understanding from complexity.

You will ideally have experience in some of the following areas:

• Requirements capture, management and product specification.
• Knowledge of defence systems such as C2, Fire Control, Sensors, Effectors etc.
• Experience in designing and defining systems, interfaces and behaviours
• Ability to design for Non-functional, EMC, Environmental, Eco, Security & Safety Requirements
• Ability in designing for the appropriate Legislative and Regulatory requirements
• Familiarity with defence standard requirements and common interface protocols
• Proficient in system design processes, methods and tools
• Knowledge of modelling methods (SysML etc) and Defence Architectural Frameworks  (e.g. MODAF, NAF etc )
• An understanding of the Systems, Hardware and Software engineering lifecycles
• Excellent analytical skills with proven capability to shape solutions out of complexity
• Excellent communications skills able to articulate complex concepts to technical and non-technical stakeholders
• Self-motivated, innovative and with a “can-do” and “lead by example” attitude

Skills & Qualifications required

Essential

• Bachelor Degree (BEng, BSc) in a Numerate, Scientific or Engineering subject
• Experience more than one of the following system design activities:
  • Establishing  requirements to drive design
  • Designing a system to meet defined requirements
  • Development of a System Architecture
  • Utilising architecture methodology to describe a system to other functions.
  • Building, integrating and/or testing a system to meet defined requirements
• Ability to demonstrate critical thinking & decision making skills.
• Ability to demonstrate problem solving and innovation skills.
• Ability to demonstrate effective written and verbal communicate skills
• Ability to deliver projects, overcome barriers and make things happen             

Desirable

• Knowledge of Air Defence Systems and Technologies
• Ability to demonstrate working within a team under pressure.
• Post-Graduate degree in an engineering discipline
• Chartered Engineer or working towards professional accreditation

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In line with Thales' Baseline Security requirements, candidates will be asked to provide evidence of identity, eligibility to work in the UK and employment and/or education history for up to three years. Some vacancies may require full Security Clearance which can require further evidence to be provided. For further details of the evidence required to apply for Baseline and Security Clearance please refer to the Defence Business Services National Security Vetting (DBS NSV) Agency.

At Thales we provide CAREERS and not only jobs. With Thales employing 80,000 employees in 68 countries our mobility policy enables thousands of employees each year to develop their careers at home and abroad, in their existing areas of expertise or by branching out into new fields. Together we believe that embracing flexibility is a smarter way of working.

Thales UK is committed to providing an inclusive and barrier-free recruitment process. We will provide reasonable adjustments and support to ensure neuro-diverse applicants or those with a disability or long-term condition can be their best during the recruitment process. To request an adjustment, if you need this job advert in an alternative format or if you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact Resourcing Ops for mid to senior roles, or the Early Careers Team for graduate and apprentice roles.

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