Thales is a global technology leader with more than 83,000 employees on five continents. With over 7,500 people in the UK, operating across defence, space, aerospace, and digital security, we help build a future we can all trust. Thales supports the security and stability of our nation by providing extraordinary technology to our customers, as well as delivering social value to the UK with our products and services.
Systems Engineering Group Manager (Hardware)
Cheadle / Stockport | Hybrid Working
Lead People. Shape Capability. Drive Engineering Excellence.
At Thales, our engineers solve complex challenges that help make the world safer, greener and more connected. We're seeking a Systems Engineering Group Manager to lead our Systems Engineering community across UWS Hardware, combining strong people leadership with deep Systems Engineering expertise.
This is a pivotal leadership role responsible for developing and growing our engineering capability, fostering a high-performance culture and ensuring the Systems Engineering discipline continues to deliver excellence across our programmes.
Aligned to our leadership pillars of Think Big, Make it Happen and Together, you'll lead a talented community of engineers whilst acting as a champion for Systems Engineering methods, standards, tools and best practices.
What You'll Be Doing
Think Big
- Shape the future capability of the Systems Engineering function, developing strategies that support business growth and programme delivery.
- Build and maintain a workforce plan that ensures the right blend of skills, experience and expertise across permanent, contingent and partner resources.
- Drive continuous improvement in Systems Engineering practices, processes, tools and methodologies.
- Champion innovation and the adoption of Engineering Fundamentals across the organisation.
Make it Happen
- Lead, develop and inspire a team of Systems Engineering professionals, creating clear development pathways and succession plans.
- Own recruitment, talent development and retention activities to ensure a sustainable pipeline of engineering talent.
- Define and maintain Systems Engineering standards, ensuring consistency, quality and technical excellence across all sites.
- Partner with Engineering Delivery teams to ensure capability and resource demand are effectively aligned.
- Influence investment in engineering tools, infrastructure and capability development to enable teams to perform at their best.
Together
- Create an inclusive and supportive environment where engineers can thrive, develop and perform at their best.
- Coach and mentor Technical Leads and engineering teams, fostering collaboration and knowledge sharing across the community.
- Build strong relationships with Engineering Leadership, Architects, Delivery teams and key stakeholders across the business.
- Act as a trusted leader and advocate for the Systems Engineering discipline within the wider Engineering function.
About You
You'll bring a combination of leadership excellence and Systems Engineering credibility, with:
- Proven experience leading and developing engineering teams within a complex technical environment.
- Strong Systems Engineering knowledge across the engineering lifecycle, including requirements management, architecture, integration, verification and validation.
- Experience establishing and maintaining engineering standards, governance and best practice.
- A track record of workforce planning, capability development and talent management.
- Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills, with the ability to operate effectively within a matrix organisation.
- The ability to balance strategic thinking with practical delivery and execution.
Why Thales?
This is an opportunity to lead one of our key engineering communities, influencing both the development of our people and the evolution of our Systems Engineering capability. You'll play a critical role in ensuring we continue to deliver innovative solutions to our customers while developing the next generation of engineering talent.
Location: Cheadle / Stockport
Travel: Up to 10%
Direct Reports: Up to 40
Security Clearance: UK Government Security Clearance required
At Thales, you'll have the opportunity to Think Big, Make it Happen and succeed Together.
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At Thales, we ensure equal opportunities, pay and working conditions for all. The benefits we offer include private medical insurance, buying or selling annual leave, cycle to work schemes, employee discounts, paid volunteering day, stocks and shares, annual bonus and much more depending on the role. Read more about our benefits here.
We are committed to creating a workplace where everyone feels valued for who they are and the unique strengths they bring. Discover more about our programmes, employee networks, wellbeing policies, and inclusive features here.
If this role isn’t quite right for you, we encourage you to join our talent community where your details will be shared with our recruitment teams for other potential opportunities. Join the Talent Community here.
Join Thales in the UK – Innovate with us and shape the future!
Skills Required
- UK Government Security Clearance
- Proven experience in engineering talent strategy and workforce planning (permanent, contingent, external partners)
- Experience leading and managing engineering teams/groups and technical leads
- Experience defining and enforcing engineering craft standards and quality gates
- Experience influencing tooling, infrastructure and budget decisions
- Experience managing recruitment, retention, career development and performance processes
- Experience managing contingent workforce quality and onboarding processes
- Ability to provide pastoral care, mentorship, and handle escalations in a matrix environment
- Willingness to travel up to 10%
Thales Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Thales and has not been reviewed or approved by Thales.
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Retirement Support — Retirement plans with employer contributions and matches, profit sharing, and share purchase opportunities are emphasized across multiple regions. These elements are positioned as competitive components of total rewards.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Generous PTO that increases with tenure, paid holidays, and paid military, maternity, and paternity leave are described. This breadth supports work–life balance across locations.
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Flexible Benefits — Hybrid work options, flexible schedules, and parental supports such as childcare benefits and leave for sick children are available in several markets. Flexibility is presented as a core part of the employee experience.
Thales Insights
What We Do
Thales is a global high technology leader investing in digital and “deep tech” innovations – connectivity, big data, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and quantum technology – to build a future we can all trust, which is vital to the development of our societies. The company provides solutions, services and products that help its customers – businesses, organisations and states – in the defence, aeronautics, space, transportation and digital identity and security markets to fulfil their critical missions, by placing humans at the heart of the decision-making process.
