Senior Systems Engineer- V&V and Trials
20 hours ago
Bristol
We are seeking a Senior Systems Engineer with deep experience delivering requirements-based testing, IVVQ campaigns, and end-to-end trials across complex, safety- and mission-critical defence systems. You’ll lead laboratory, rig, field, and sea trials, coordinating multidisciplinary teams and ensuring compliance, certification, and airworthiness objectives are met across development cycles. This role is pivotal in planning, executing, and documenting test activities that keep our platforms and subsystems safe, reliable, and compliant. Key Responsibilities Planning & Coordination • Lead planning of trials and test phases for complex systems, covering integration, verification, qualification, training, maintenance, and in-service support., • Coordinate multidisciplinary teams (IVVQ, maritime ops, contractors/suppliers, pilots/crew, training, maintenance) to align resources, schedules, and milestones., • Define and decompose system/subsystem requirements; ensure end-to-end traceability from capture to test execution and reporting., • Utilise DOORS (or equivalent) for requirements management; manage configuration baselines and changes using PVCS (or equivalent)., • Author Test Plans, V&V Plans, Statements of Work (SoW), Test Readiness Reviews (TRR), and Acceptance Criteria for hardware and software., • Produce automated and repeatable test scripts (proprietary and industry-standard); define test data and orchestration approaches., • Design, commission, and manage test rigs for avionics, fuel systems, and mission systems., • Configure engineering interfaces for ARINC 429, MIL‑STD‑1553, AFDX, analogue/discrete I/O, and power distribution., • Lead sea trials and platform tests (maritime and aerospace) including integration, fault isolation, and corrective actions., • Organise daily test activities, liaising with pilots, crew, and operational teams; manage trial resources, logistics, and safety., • Own V&V campaigns from strategy through execution, analysis, and reporting., • Ensure requirements-based coverage, maintain defect/issue registers, drive root-cause analysis, and implement corrective/preventive actions (CAPA)., • Define and execute regression test suites to assure compliance through iterative updates., • Analyse in-service issues; develop engineering solutions and implement updates to service and maintenance instructions., • Plan and execute environmental and qualification-oriented trials (e.g., thermal, vibration, EMC as applicable to role/scope)., • Support safety case development, installation readiness, and certification preparations for trials and integration activities., • Proven experience as a Systems/IVVQ/Test Engineer in the Defence or Aerospace sector delivering complex platforms or subsystems., • Strong background in requirements engineering and traceability (e.g., DOORS), and configuration control (e.g., PVCS or similar)., • Hands-on expertise with lab/rig testing and field/sea trials; confident with fault-finding and root-cause analysis on platform., • Demonstrated knowledge of avionics/mission systems and interfaces: ARINC 429, MIL‑STD‑1553, AFDX, analogue/discrete I/O., • Ability to author test strategies, plans, procedures, scripts, and reports; strong documentation and compliance mindset., • Experience managing V&V campaigns, regression testing, and preparing certification evidence., • Familiarity with environmental/qualification testing principles and evidence generation., • Excellent stakeholder management across operators, crew, suppliers, and customers; able to lead multidisciplinary teams., • Experience with HIL/SIL, Python/MATLAB/LabVIEW or similar for automation and data analysis., • Exposure to model-based systems engineering (MBSE) tools and methods., • Knowledge of airworthiness/Defence standards (e.g., DEF STAN, DO‑178/DO‑254 context, ARP4754A, ISO 15288) appropriate to role focus.