Systems Architect

Overview Expleo is seeking an experienced Systems Architect to join our growing engineering team in Crawley. This is a permanent opportunity to work as part of an established Expleo team supporting a major customer programme within the defence and aerospace sector, with a particular focus on Uncrewed Autonomous Air Systems. The successful candidate will play a key role in defining and developing system and subsystem architectures, working closely with the customer and multidisciplinary engineering teams to deliver technically robust solutions. You will be responsible for balancing stakeholder expectations, technical requirements, cost, risk and programme schedule, while supporting the solution throughout the engineering lifecycle. This is a highly collaborative and customer-facing position, suited to an experienced Systems Architect who is comfortable operating in a complex engineering environment and influencing technical decisions. Responsibilities Define and recommend candidate architectures for systems and/or subsystems to satisfy stakeholder expectations. Establish solution architectures by balancing stakeholder needs with technical and technological solutions, cost, risk and schedule. Produce and maintain key architecture and engineering artefacts, including: Architecture Justification and Design Justification Files. Product Breakdown Structures (PBS) System and Segment Design Documents. Review and approve lower-level specifications developed internally or by external suppliers. Support the solution development lifecycle and contribute to defining effective co-engineering approaches. Manage the allocation of requirements to the appropriate level throughout the project lifecycle. Lead the management and evaluation of system performance and critical parameters. Define and manage system interfaces. Support technical negotiations between internal and external stakeholders, including the customer and suppliers. Contribute to systems integration, verification, validation and qualification activities. Work collaboratively across multidisciplinary engineering teams using iterative and Agile approaches where appropriate. Support operational analysis and the development of operational concepts. Apply systems thinking to understand and balance technical, programme and stakeholder considerations. Work directly with the customer to understand requirements, communicate technical solutions and influence architectural decisions. Essential skills Degree qualified in an Engineering or Scientific discipline. Strong communication, influencing and negotiation skills. Ability to operate confidently with customers and senior technical stakeholders. Familiarity with Uncrewed Autonomous Air Systems and associated domain concepts. Strong understanding of requirements management, system performance and interfaces. Operational concepts and operational analysis. Systems technical strategy. Co-engineering and collaborative engineering approaches. Lean Thinking and Obeya methodologies. Systems thinking and stakeholder analysis. Concept, design, experimentation and simulation tools. Systems modelling tools and frameworks. Integration, Verification, Validation and Qualification (IVVQ) Iterative and Agile engineering methodologies. Systems engineering lifecycle processes. Experience You’ll be a confident and credible engineering professional who can operate effectively between the technical teams and the customer. You will need to be: Proactive, responsible and self-motivated. Confident and persuasive when presenting technical solutions. Comfortable challenging and influencing technical decisions. Customer-focused with excellent communication and relationship-building skills. Able to take ownership of complex technical problems. Comfortable working collaboratively within a multidisciplinary engineering environment. Able to understand the wider programme context and make informed architectural decisions. Significant professional experience in Systems Engineering and/or Systems Architecture. Proven experience developing and defining architectures for complex systems and/or subsystems. Experience working in a customer-facing engineering environment. Experience working within multidisciplinary engineering teams. Benefits Collaborative working environment – we stand shoulder to shoulder with our clients and our peers through good times and challenges We empower all passionate technology loving professionals by allowing them to expand their skills and take part in inspiring projects Expleo Academy - enables you to acquire and develop the right skills by delivering a suite of accredited training courses Competitive company benefits Always working as one team, our people are not afraid to think big and challenge the status quo As a Disability Confident Committed Employer we have committed to: Ensure our recruitment process is inclusive and accessible Communicating and promoting vacancies Offering an interview to disabled people who meet the minimum criteria for the job Anticipating and providing reasonable adjustments as required Supporting any existing employee who acquires a disability or long term health condition, enabling them to stay in work at least one activity that will make a difference for disabled people “We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from all suitably qualified persons regardless of their race, sex, disability, religion/belief, sexual orientation or age”. We treat everyone fairly and equitably across the organisation, including providing any additional support and adjustments needed for everyone to thrive