Deputy Chief Engineer

Description

Deputy Chief Engineer

Location: Cambridgeshire

Clearance Level - High - Developed Vetting (DV)

UNLEASH YOUR POTENTIAL

The Deputy Chief Engineer - IT and Cyber supports the Chief Engineer in providing technical leadership, engineering governance and delivery assurance across a complex IT, cyber security and secure systems programme.

The role acts as a delegated technical authority, ensuring that solutions are safe, secure, supportable and delivered within agreed quality, cost and schedule constraints. A proportion of the role will include hands on technical contribution where required, delivering specific technical outputs within agile SAFe delivery teams to support programme outcomes.

Key responsibilities

• Deputise for the Chief Engineer on assigned workstreams, programmes or service areas, providing clear technical direction and decision making authority where delegated.
• Lead engineering teams and technical leads across IT infrastructure, cyber security, networks, cloud, applications, service operations and secure system integration.
• Own technical delivery assurance, ensuring solutions meet customer requirements, contractual obligations, security standards and operational needs.
• Chair or support technical governance forums, including design reviews, architecture reviews, security reviews and engineering change boards.
• Review and approve technical documentation, designs, risk assessments, test strategies and acceptance evidence.
• Ensure cyber security is embedded throughout the engineering lifecycle, including secure design, vulnerability management, protective monitoring, incident response and risk treatment.
• Identify and manage technical risks, dependencies, assumptions and issues, escalating where necessary with recommended mitigation options.
• Support bids, change proposals and on contract growth by providing technical input, engineering estimates, solution options and delivery assurance.
• Mentor engineers and technical leads, promoting professional standards, technical excellence, continuous improvement and knowledge sharing.
• Work collaboratively with programme, service, commercial, security, architecture and customer stakeholders to balance technical integrity with delivery outcomes.
• Contribute directly to hands on technical deliverables where needed, working as part of agile SAFe delivery teams to support design, implementation, integration, testing, assurance or issue resolution activities.

Essential skills and capabilities

• Strong technical leadership across complex IT and cyber security environments.
• Practical understanding of systems engineering, solution architecture, secure operations and service transition.
• Knowledge of cyber security principles, including defence in depth, secure configuration, identity and access management, network security, vulnerability management and incident response.
• Ability to interpret and apply customer, regulatory, contractual and internal governance requirements.
• Confident communication skills, with the ability to explain complex technical concepts to senior stakeholders, customers and multi disciplinary teams.
• Strong judgement, problem solving and decision making skills in technically complex or ambiguous situations.
• Experience managing technical teams, work packages, subcontractors or suppliers.
• Ability to balance engineering rigour with delivery pace, commercial constraints and operational priorities.
• Practical experience contributing to agile delivery teams, including SAFe aligned planning, backlog refinement, sprint or iteration delivery, reviews and technical problem solving.

Experience and qualifications

• Significant experience in a senior engineering, technical leadership, solution architecture, cyber security or IT delivery role.
• Demonstrable experience delivering complex IT, cyber, infrastructure, cloud, network or secure systems programmes.
• Experience of technical governance, design assurance, engineering lifecycle management and customer acceptance.
• Relevant degree, equivalent professional experience or recognised technical accreditation.
• Professional certifications such as CISSP, CISM, CEng, CITP, TOGAF, SABSA, ITIL, ISO 27001, NCSC aligned training or vendor security certifications would be advantageous.
• Experience working in regulated, government, defence, critical national infrastructure or other high assurance environments would be desirable.

Leadership behaviours

• Acts as a trusted deputy to the Chief Engineer, providing calm, evidence based leadership.
• Creates clarity for teams by translating strategy, risk and customer needs into practical engineering direction.
• Builds collaborative relationships across engineering, cyber, service, programme and customer communities.
• Challenges constructively to protect technical integrity, security posture and delivery quality.
• Develops others through coaching, mentoring and setting high professional standards.

Measures of success

• Engineering workstreams are delivered to agreed scope, quality, cost and schedule commitments.
• Solutions achieve customer acceptance with clear evidence of technical and security compliance.
• Technical risks are visible, actively managed and escalated with credible mitigation plans.
• Engineering teams are well led, appropriately resourced and clear on priorities.
• Cyber security requirements are embedded in design, delivery, transition and operational support.
• Hands on technical contributions are delivered when required and align with agile SAFe team commitments, priorities and acceptance criteria.
• Technical governance is effective, proportionate and consistently applied.

Security Clearance/Travel

• Ability to gain and hold DV Clearance and pass other checks is essential. Only sole UK nationals need apply.
• Work will predominantly be conducted on the customer's primary site. 4 5 days per week.
• Infrequent travel to other customer locations around the UK.
• Infrequent travel to the Leidos site at Farnborough.

Pay Range

£61,500.00-£78,800.00

Commitment to Non Discrimination

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, race, ethnicity, age, national origin, citizenship, religion, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, pregnancy, family structure, marital status, ancestry, domestic partner status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran or military status, or any other basis prohibited by law. Leidos will also consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories consistent with relevant laws.