Location: Glasgow, United Kingdom

Thales people architect solutions that are relied upon to deliver operational advantage at every decisive moment throughout the mission. Defence and armed forces customers rely on us to deliver the full range of defensive systems for land, sea, and air. From early warning, to threat neutralisation, our platforms cover all levels from very short-range systems, to extended protection across the entire battle-space including Airspace Mobility Solutions, Vehicles and Tactical Systems and Missile Defence, Optronics, and Radar.

Together we offer fantastic opportunities for committed employees to learn and develop their career with us. At Thales UK, we research, develop, and supply technology and services that impact the lives of millions of people each day to make life better, and keep us safer. We innovate across five major industries; Aerospace, Defence, Ground Transportation, Security and Space. Your health and well-being matters to us and that’s why we offer you the flexibility to do what’s important to you; whether that’s part time hours, job sharing, home working, or the ability to flex your start and finish times. Where possible, we support a working pattern that suits your lifestyle and helps you reach your ambitions.

Head of Electronics – Optronics

Glasgow or Reading - Hybrid

We’re recruiting for a Head of Electronics to hold functional management of our experienced and highly skilled Electronics team within our Optronics domain. As the leading Optronics provide across Europe, we deliver integral products and systems across Land, Air and Sea platforms to support and enhance allied capabilities.

This a critical role in our continued development and expansion within Optronics. You’ll take responsibility for a structure of over fifty highly capable Electronics Engineering personnel, including providing suitable development plans, resource and guidance to further enhance the team’s capability and expansion.

In this position you will take charge of the discipline practices and tools including tailoring and deployment (incl. digitisation, automation, data management) across Projects and Products. You will also hold responsibility for the adoption of new technologies and ensuring the capitalisation and sharing of knowledge and assets.

Key responsibilities will include:

• Manage people within your discipline and ensure their development (skills management, coaching, career development, mindset), the adequacy with the expected needs (quality and quantity) at the right time and the allocation to the Bids and Projects
• Perform technical reviews associated with their discipline on Bids/Products and Projects
• Ensure Operational Subject Matter Experts allocates part of their time to coach engineering people and to train people about the Domain activities
• Foster continuous improvement based on root cause analysis, problem solving, new practice deployment.
• You will empower and unite employees around clear objectives by acting as a coach and servant leader, which mobilises influencing and “team first” skills
  

Experience, skills and knowledge required

Substantial knowledge of Electronics including holding a Bachelors, Master or above in Engineering, ideally within Electronics, Computer Science or any other relevant field

• Significant experience in team management of highly skilled engineering personnel, ideally having managed in similar team capabilities and/or similar size teams
• You have a great knowledge of electronics norms, laws and standards
• You are familiar with a wide range of related tools, methods and processes, from the design specification, testing and validation phase to qualification and entry into service, including large scale system development and understanding of Electronics integration.
• You are familiar with a wide range of related tools, methods and processes, from the design specification, testing and validation phase to qualification and entry into service
• You demonstrate a strong desire for continuous improvement and a capacity to develop a strategic vision: you are able to integrate and even anticipate the various elements of your environment in order to guide the team through the challenges prompted by competitiveness
• You know how to adopt a Lean Management approach and apply Agile principles to the management and development of your team, in Scrum and / or Kanban mode
• Familiar with Safety Critical environments, ideally Maritime, Defence or Aerospace but we are very much open to other sectors with proven safety based approaches
• You are a leader willing to engage and develop your team through the use of collaborative work and challenging approaches

Security Clearance Statement

Due to the nature of the work and the security clearance level required, Candidates needs to be sole UK national or hold Dual-nationality as a minimum.

What we can offer

We’re committed to giving you opportunities to be your best. We believe in embracing the passion and potential of our people, and to achieve this we offer market leading training, development and experiences, along with the opportunity to be mentored and coached by some of the smartest minds in the industry. We hire from within as our first priority, so you’ll have a myriad of opportunities within our diverse, global organisation.

Our packages will include significant bonus, car allowance, a strong pension contribute, private healthcare, development focused targets and relocation support can be provided if required along with a variety of learning, development and career enhancement opportunities. Further support can be provide towards academic and membership attainments.

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In line with Thales' Baseline Security requirements, candidates will be asked to provide evidence of identity, eligibility to work in the UK and employment and/or education history for up to three years. Some vacancies may require full Security Clearance which can require further evidence to be provided. For further details of the evidence required to apply for Baseline and Security Clearance please refer to the Defence Business Services National Security Vetting (DBS NSV) Agency.

At Thales we provide CAREERS and not only jobs. With Thales employing 80,000 employees in 68 countries our mobility policy enables thousands of employees each year to develop their careers at home and abroad, in their existing areas of expertise or by branching out into new fields. Together we believe that embracing flexibility is a smarter way of working.

Thales UK is committed to providing an inclusive and barrier-free recruitment process. We will provide reasonable adjustments and support to ensure neuro-diverse applicants or those with a disability or long-term condition can be their best during the recruitment process. To request an adjustment, if you need this job advert in an alternative format or if you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact Resourcing Ops for mid to senior roles, or the Early Careers Team for graduate and apprentice roles.

Great journeys start here, apply now!