Senior Principal Engineer at Quest Global, Winnersh
Senior Principal Engineer at Quest Global in Winnersh. Contract. Est. up to $60k. Apply with swipeandhired.
At Quest Global, it’s not just what we do but how and why we do it that makes us different. With over 25 years as an engineering services provider, we believe in the power of doing things differently to make the impossible possible. Our people are driven by the desire to make the world a better place—to make a positive difference that contributes to a brighter future. We bring together technologies and industries, alongside the contributions of diverse individuals who are empowered by an intentional workplace culture, to solve problems better and faster.
We are seeking an experienced Principal Systems Engineer to provide technical leadership across the systems engineering lifecycle for complex aerospace and defence programmes. The successful candidate will be responsible for defining system architectures, managing requirements, overseeing system integration and verification, and ensuring that solutions meet customer, operational, safety and performance requirements.
This role requires extensive experience in systems engineering within a complex engineering environment, with the ability to lead multidisciplinary teams, manage technical risks and influence engineering decisions across the programme lifecycle.
The Principal Systems Engineer will act as a technical authority, working closely with engineering leads, project managers, customers and suppliers to deliver robust, compliant and cost-effective system solutions.
Key Responsibilities
- Systems Engineering Leadership
- Provide technical leadership and direction across the systems engineering lifecycle, from concept development and requirements definition through to integration, verification, validation and in-service support.
- Lead the development of system architectures, functional decompositions, interface definitions and system design solutions.
- Ensure system designs satisfy customer requirements, operational needs and programme objectives.
- Establish and maintain systems engineering processes, methods and technical governance.
- Lead technical reviews, including System Requirements Reviews (SRR), Preliminary Design Reviews (PDR) and Critical Design Reviews (CDR).
- Provide technical guidance, coaching and mentoring to systems engineers and multidisciplinary engineering teams.
- Requirements Management and Traceability
- Lead the capture, analysis, decomposition and allocation of system and subsystem requirements.
- Ensure requirements are clear, measurable, verifiable and traceable throughout the engineering lifecycle.
- Manage requirements baselines and support requirements change control.
- Conduct requirements validation and verification planning.
- Identify and resolve requirements gaps, inconsistencies, conflicts and ambiguities.
- Maintain bidirectional traceability between customer needs, system requirements, design outputs and verification evidence.
- System Architecture and Design
- Develop and evaluate system architectures, operational concepts and functional models.
- Define system boundaries, interfaces, dependencies and subsystem interactions.
- Conduct architectural trade studies and assess design options against technical, operational, cost and schedule constraints.
- Support system modelling and simulation activities to evaluate system behaviour and performance.
- Ensure interoperability and integration across hardware, software, electronics, mechanical and control systems.
- Drive design decisions that balance performance, reliability, maintainability, safety and affordability.
- Integration, Verification and Validation
- Define and oversee system integration, verification and validation strategies.
- Develop system verification plans, acceptance criteria and test approaches.
- Lead the resolution of system-level integration issues and technical discrepancies.
- Ensure verification evidence demonstrates compliance with system requirements.
- Support system integration and test activities, including laboratory, ground and environmental testing, where applicable.
- Coordinate with test engineers, software teams, hardware teams and external suppliers to achieve successful system qualification and acceptance.
- Safety, Reliability and Technical Risk
- Identify and manage system-level technical risks, assumptions, dependencies and opportunities.
- Support system safety assessments, hazard analysis and risk mitigation activities.
- Ensure appropriate consideration of reliability, availability, maintainability and supportability.
- Contribute to failure analysis, root-cause investigations and corrective action planning.
- Ensure compliance with applicable aerospace and defence engineering standards, contractual requirements and regulatory obligations.
- Promote a rigorous engineering culture focused on safety, quality and technical integrity.
- Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE)
- Lead or contribute to Model-Based Systems Engineering activities to improve system definition, analysis and traceability.
- Develop system models, functional architectures, interface models and behavioural representations.
- Use appropriate modelling tools and methods to support architecture development and design validation.
- Promote integration between system models, requirements management, design artefacts and verification activities.
- Support digital engineering and model-based development initiatives across the programme.
- Stakeholder and Programme Management
- Act as a senior technical interface with customers, programme management, suppliers and internal engineering teams.
- Translate operational and customer needs into achievable technical solutions.
- Support bids, proposals, technical estimates and engineering delivery planning.
- Provide technical input to cost, schedule, resource and programme risk assessments.
- Communicate complex engineering issues clearly to technical and non-technical stakeholders.
- Ensure technical decisions, design changes and engineering deliverables are appropriately documented and controlled.
We are known for our extraordinary people who make the impossible possible every day. Questians are driven by hunger, humility, and aspiration. We believe that our company culture is the key to our ability to make a true difference in every industry we reach. Our teams regularly invest time and dedicated effort into internal culture work, ensuring that all voices are heard.
We wholeheartedly believe in the diversity of thought that comes with fostering a culture rooted in respect, where everyone belongs, is valued, and feels inspired to share their ideas. We know embracing our unique differences makes us better, and that solving the worlds hardest engineering problems requires diverse ideas, perspectives, and backgrounds. We shine the brightest when we tap into the many dimensions that thrive across over 21,000 difference-makers in our workplace.
Work Experience
Experience
- Extensive experience in systems engineering within the aerospace, defence or another complex, safety-critical engineering sector.
- Proven experience leading systems engineering activities across multiple phases of the engineering lifecycle.
- Strong understanding of systems engineering principles, methodologies and lifecycle processes.
- Demonstrable expertise in requirements engineering, requirements traceability and configuration management.
- Experience developing system architectures, functional models and interface definitions.
- Strong knowledge of system integration, verification and validation.
- Experience leading technical reviews, resolving complex engineering problems and managing technical risks.
- Ability to influence multidisciplinary engineering teams and provide technical leadership.
- Excellent analytical, decision-making, stakeholder management and communication skills.
- Experience working with customers, suppliers and programme stakeholders in a technically demanding environment.
Desirable Skills and Experience
- Experience with Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE).
- Familiarity with SysML and architecture modelling tools such as Cameo Systems Modeler, IBM Rhapsody or equivalent.
- Experience with requirements management tools such as IBM DOORS Next, DOORS Classic or Jama Connect.
- Knowledge of system safety engineering, hazard analysis and safety case development.
- Experience with complex software-intensive, electronic or electromechanical systems.
- Familiarity with system modelling, simulation and control engineering, including MATLAB and Simulink where relevant to the programme.
- Experience in system-of-systems engineering, platform integration or multi-domain defence systems.
- Knowledge of relevant standards and frameworks, such as ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288, ISO/IEC/IEEE 15289, ARP4754A, or applicable defence standards, depending on the programme.
- Experience supporting bid and proposal activities, customer technical reviews and programme assurance.
Qualifications and Experience
- Degree in Systems Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Software Engineering or a related technical discipline.
- Typically 10–15+ years of relevant engineering experience , including significant responsibility for systems engineering delivery and technical leadership.
- Demonstrable experience operating at senior or principal engineer level on complex engineering programmes.
- Chartered Engineer (CEng) status, or working towards professional registration, is desirable.
- Relevant postgraduate qualifications or recognised systems engineering training would be advantageous.
Equivalent qualifications and substantial relevant industry experience will also be considered.