Head of Systems Design Coordination

MERITUS are recruiting for a Head of Systems Design Coordination to join Future Combat Air Programmes with our defence client at either their Bristol or Stevenage site.

HEAD OF SYSTEM DESIGN COORDINATION - INSIDE IR35 - £80 PER HOUR (£592 per day) - 6 MONTHS - SC CLEARED (UKEO) - BRISTOL OR STEVENAGE - FAST MOVING PROCESS

Meritus is supporting a critical leadership hire within one of the UK's most strategically important defence programmes - focused on the development of next-generation combat air capability.

This role sits at the centre of a highly complex, multi-national programme shaping the future of air combat. You will operate at the intersection of platform design, weapons integration, and system-of-systems thinking - influencing how effects are delivered in a modern battlespace rather than simply integrated.

This is not a siloed engineering leadership role. It is a coordination, governance, and influence position operating across a large-scale Chief Systems Engineering (CSE) organisation and external partner network.

The Role

As Head of Systems Design Coordination, you will lead a critical function responsible for aligning engineering activity across a large, multi-disciplinary systems organisation (~70 engineers).

Reporting directly to the Chief Systems Engineer, you will act as a deputy in senior forums and take ownership of engineering coordination across programme-wide activities.

You will:

Lead a Systems Design Coordination & Transversal team covering:
Human Factors
Through-Life Support
Safety & Assurance
Product Security
Weapon Integration
Own engineering governance across the programme:
Design reviews & gate approvals
Engineering Management Plans
Systems Engineering Management frameworks
Drive coordination across engineering task groups, ensuring alignment of outputs and technical coherence
Act as a senior stakeholder interface across:
Prime contractors
Government / MOD stakeholders
Internal engineering and programme leadership
Support workforce development, mobility, and capability growth across the engineering function
Contribute to bid activity and long-term capability planning

What We're Looking For

This is a high-influence leadership role - technical credibility alone is not enough. You must be able to operate commercially, politically, and strategically across a complex defence ecosystem.

Key requirements:

Proven leadership within complex systems engineering environments (ideally defence or aerospace)
Strong stakeholder management across primes, government, and internal delivery teams
Experience operating within structured engineering governance frameworks
Ability to align competing stakeholder priorities and drive decision-making
Track record of influencing senior technical and programme leadership
Strong organisational discipline with attention to detail across large-scale programmes

Programme Environment

Multi-national collaboration across UK and international partners
Highly sensitive, security-cleared environment
Long lifecycle programme with evolving requirements and political visibility
Strong emphasis on integration of advanced technologies and future capability concepts