Director of System Engineering

Defense & Robotics Manufacturer

Salary: Highly competitive + bonus + ESOP

Airbotics Talent are exclusively partnered with an advanced defense and autonomous robotics systems platform company building scalable, AI-enabled technologies.

This is not a standard leadership role. This is a build role. You will define how systems engineering, integration and test operates across a multi-entity platform scaling at speed.

The Role

You will take ownership of Systems Engineering, Integration & Test as a capability, not just a function.

This includes:

• Implementing MBSE (Cameo/SysML or equivalent) across multiple product lines and organizations
• Defining and enforcing systems engineering standards, governance and lifecycle processes
• Owning system integration, V&V strategy and test architecture end-to-end
• Establishing and scaling integration environments (SIL/HIL, digital test infrastructure)
• Leading certification and airworthiness across complex, safety-critical systems
• Driving technical performance, risk and maturity across programmes

You will operate as a player-coach, remaining technically close to the work while building an organization expected to scale to 50–100 engineers.

The Person

This role is suited to individuals who have already operated at a high level within complex engineering environments.

You are likely to have:

• 10–15+ years in systems engineering within aerospace, defense, robotics or similarly complex systems
• Led systems engineering, integration and test across full product lifecycles
• Hands-on experience implementing MBSE in real-world environments (not just exposure)
• Delivered products through certification or airworthiness processes (FAA, EASA, military or equivalent)
• Built or significantly evolved systems engineering capability within an organization
• Comfort operating in environments with pace, ambiguity and high expectations

This role is unlikely to be a fit if:

• Your experience is primarily theoretical or process-driven without delivery ownership
• You have not owned complex system integration and V&V activities end-to-end
• You are looking for a purely strategic or non-technical leadership role

Why Join?

• Define systems engineering at platform level, not just within a single product
• High ownership, low bureaucracy environment
• Work on mission-critical autonomous systems with real-world impact
• Join at a key stage of scale and integration

Airbotics Talent are committed to providing Equal Employment Opportunities. All candidates are assessed solely on suitability for our clients’ requirements without regard to age, gender, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, ethnic origin, disability, medical history or marital status.