MERITUS are recruiting for a Head of Systems Design Coordination to join Future Combat Air Programmes with our defence client at either their Bristol or Stevenage site.
HEAD OF SYSTEM DESIGN COORDINATION - INSIDE IR35 - £80 PER HOUR (£592 per day) - 6 MONTHS - SC CLEARED (UKEO) - BRISTOL OR STEVENAGE - FAST MOVING PROCESS
Meritus is supporting a critical leadership hire within one of the UK’s most strategically important defence programmes – focused on the development of next-generation combat air capability.
This role sits at the centre of a highly complex, multi-national programme shaping the future of air combat. You will operate at the intersection of platform design, weapons integration, and system-of-systems thinking — influencing how effects are delivered in a modern battlespace rather than simply integrated.
This is not a siloed engineering leadership role. It is a coordination, governance, and influence position operating across a large-scale Chief Systems Engineering (CSE) organisation and external partner network.
The Role
As Head of Systems Design Coordination, you will lead a critical function responsible for aligning engineering activity across a large, multi-disciplinary systems organisation (~70 engineers).
Reporting directly to the Chief Systems Engineer, you will act as a deputy in senior forums and take ownership of engineering coordination across programme-wide activities.
You will:
- Lead a Systems Design Coordination & Transversal team covering:
- Human Factors
- Through-Life Support
- Safety & Assurance
- Product Security
- Weapon Integration
- Own engineering governance across the programme:
- Design reviews & gate approvals
- Engineering Management Plans
- Systems Engineering Management frameworks
- Drive coordination across engineering task groups, ensuring alignment of outputs and technical coherence
- Act as a senior stakeholder interface across:
- Prime contractors
- Government / MOD stakeholders
- Internal engineering and programme leadership
- Support workforce development, mobility, and capability growth across the engineering function
- Contribute to bid activity and long-term capability planning
What We’re Looking For
This is a high-influence leadership role — technical credibility alone is not enough. You must be able to operate commercially, politically, and strategically across a complex defence ecosystem.
Key requirements:
- Proven leadership within complex systems engineering environments (ideally defence or aerospace)
- Strong stakeholder management across primes, government, and internal delivery teams
- Experience operating within structured engineering governance frameworks
- Ability to align competing stakeholder priorities and drive decision-making
- Track record of influencing senior technical and programme leadership
- Strong organisational discipline with attention to detail across large-scale programmes
Programme Environment
- Multi-national collaboration across UK and international partners
- Highly sensitive, security-cleared environment
- Long lifecycle programme with evolving requirements and political visibility
- Strong emphasis on integration of advanced technologies and future capability concepts
