Research & Innovation - Technical Lead

Location: Malvern, Worcestershire + Hybrid working

Package: Highly Competitive Salary + Benefits Package

Role Type: Full time / Permanent

Role ID: SF16636

Be part of the QinetiQ journey. Join us as a Technical Lead working as part of the Research & Innovation team at our Malvern site where you will have the opportunity to work with cutting-edge technology and many of the industry’s most brilliant minds.

As UK leaders in defence Research & consultancy, we bring together diverse internal QinetiQ resource and external supplier teams to deliver innovation and value to our customers. We specialise in efficient delivery of large research framework contracts focusing on the application of future technologies to defence.

We exploit the unique breadth and depth of QinetiQ technical teams to add real value as a research prime, linking across multiple domains. We provide the expert people and innovation to deliver future products and services for our customers, working to encourage novel ideas as well as insight focused on customer need.

Our key programme areas are:

• C5I1: A large portfolio with MOD as its main customer, covering Command and Control (C2), information exploitation and decision-making as well as a wide range of aspects of novel and deployed RF communications technologies, including resilience, deception, edge processing and cloud computing;
• Exploration: A broad portfolio, focused on emergent technologies with customers across defence, with current work including Artificial Intelligence, Quantum, Human Performance, Operational Analysis, Horizon Scanning, Multi-domain integration, Mission Systems and Intelligence, Surveillance & Reconnaissance;
• Future Sensing: Highly focused portfolio developing advanced sensing technologies primarily centred on radar and Electronic Warfare (EW), with a strong component of advanced signal processing, complemented by advice/consultancy and a range of trials work.  

We are a growing business, working into multiple customers, but primarily delivering research projects and programmes into MOD. We are offering opportunities to work alongside individuals and teams experienced in the above areas, to take on Technical Leadership roles on bids, projects and larger programmes.

The Role

We are looking for people who can provide Technical Leadership of programmes, projects and proposals / bids in a defence research environment. Working alongside project managers, you will be responsible for the quality, pertinence and insight offered by our project, bid and research outputs, ensuring they are valued by our customers.

As a Technical Lead you will provide leadership and coherence to a technical team, planning and delivering the technical work, providing specialism where this fits your experience and coordinating and collating specialist input from a wider network. You will liaise with customers at a technical level to enhance our understanding of their requirements, and theirs of QinetiQ’s capabilities and offerings.

On costed proposals / bids for individual opportunities you will lead the development of the technical solution and proposal document, and working closely with the project / bid manager to support production of the commercial aspects, including price, dependencies and risks.

You will act as a focal point for internal and external stakeholder engagement, ensuring that expectations are understood and managed and that customers and project and programme managers are fully informed of technical progress and issues.

Essential skills, knowledge & capabilities

• Leadership of technical delivery or research projects requiring delivery of complex solutions or findings to a range of customers;
• Ability to communicate effectively with people at all levels across the department, business, and externally with customers, suppliers and other stakeholders;
• Able to ensure that customer needs and expectations are addressed and/or satisfied.

Desirable characteristics

• Understanding of the defence operational environment and underlying domain specific issues;
• Experienced in the planning and delivery of research / experimentation outputs;
• Able to identify, conceive, review, and judge the suitability of technology solutions;
• Familiar with working at Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs) 1-3, investigating future technologies;
• Experienced in the development and maturation of technology through the engineering lifecycle;
• Able to manage multidisciplinary teams of scientists and engineers and scientists and a broad range of internal and external stakeholders whilst building and maintaining excellent relationships;
• Able to proactively anticipate potential problems and deals with barriers;
• Understanding of Technical Assurance;
• Technical background / experience that includes one or more specialisms relevant to C4ISR2 / C5I;
• An understanding of the systems engineering lifecycle and its implementation;
• Interest in working with multiple teams, having significant customer interaction as well as interaction with internal QinetiQ domain experts.

Please note that all applicants must be eligible for SC clearance as a minimum.

UKSV National Security Vetting Solution: guidance for applicants - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Our Benefits

• Adaptive and flexible working;
• Generous holiday allowance;
• Health Cash Plan, Private Medical Insurance and Dental Insurance;
• Matched contribution pension scheme, with life assurance;
• Employee discount portal: Personal Accident Insurance, Travel Insurance, Restaurants, Cinema Tickets and much more;
• Holiday Trading is a benefit that allows most employees to buy up to 5 days’ additional leave;
• We are proud to support the Armed Forces community by honouring the Armed Forces Covenant;
• Payroll Giving and Volunteering - helping charities and local community.

Our volunteering programme enables our people to use their professional skills to make a positive difference in our local communities, for example STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) ambassador days in schools. We support a number of charities that are important to our people, including those which help the defence community. 

1 C5I – Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Cyber Intelligence 

2 C4ISR – Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance

Why join QinetiQ?

As we continue to grow into new markets around the world, there’s never been a more exciting time to join QinetiQ. The formula for success is our appetite for innovation and having the courage to take on a wide variety of complex challenges.

You’ll experience a unique working environment where teams from different backgrounds, disciplines and experience enjoy collaborating widely and openly as we undertake this exciting and rewarding journey. Through effective teamwork, and pulling together, you’ll get to experience what happens when we all share different perspectives, blend disciplines, and link technologies; constantly discovering new ways of solving complex problems in an diverse and inclusive environment where you can be authentic, feel valued and realise your full potential. Read more about our diverse and inclusive workplace culture here.  

Joining QinetiQ offers you an opportunity to work on a broad range of interesting defence-based projects with vast career progression across a global organisation in addition to competitive personal and professional benefits.  You’ll receive a highly competitive salary and benefits package: our basic salaries are very attractive as we constantly review what’s happening in the market. The range of benefits that we offer include, adaptive and flexible working, generous holiday entitlements, Health Cash Plan, Private Medical Insurance and Dental Insurance and much more. 

About QinetiQ

As a company of over 6,000 dedicated professionals, we are a world-centre of excellence in research and development and act as a catalyst for fast-track innovation, offering outstanding experimentation facilities, and technical, engineering and scientific expertise. QinetiQ is made up of dedicated experts in defence, aerospace, security and related markets, all working together to explore new ways of protecting what matters most. Being part of QinetiQ means being central to the safety and security of the world around us. Partnering with our customers, we help to save lives; reduce risks to society; and maintain the global infrastructure on which we all depend. Come and find out how you can play a role.

Please note that many roles in QinetiQ are subject to national security vetting. Applicants that already hold the appropriate level of vetting may be able to transfer it upon appointment, subject to approval. A number of roles are also subject to restrictions on access to information that mean factors such as nationality, previous nationalities held and the country in which you were born may have an effect on the roles that you can be employed in.