Systems Safety Manager
Bristol Based
Hybrid (2–3 days per week on-site)
Are you a strategic thinker with a strong background in defence safety and DAOS approvals? We’re looking for an experienced Systems Safety Manager to act as an internal consultant — guiding, advising, and enabling our engineering teams to deliver safe, compliant, and effective solutions.
This is an exciting opportunity to make a real impact across the business, supporting key engineering decisions, leading safety work, and advising senior leaders on safety and approvals strategy.
What You’ll Do
* Act as an internal safety consultant — advising the business on what needs to be done to maintain compliance and progress approvals.
* Facilitate and guide technical meetings, helping engineers navigate complex safety and approvals processes.
* Provide leadership and direction on safety design activities and risk management.
* Advise the Engineering Director on approvals and DAOS-related matters.
* Ensure alignment with DefStans and safety governance frameworks.
* Coach and support engineers across business units — influencing without direct line management.
* Balance safety, risk, and delivery priorities in a dynamic defence environment.
What We’re Looking For
* Proven experience in a defence or DE&S environment.
* Strong understanding of DAOS approvals and safety assurance.
* Experience working through safety designs and leading safety activities.
* Solid knowledge of DefStans and MOD safety processes.
* Chartered Engineer (CEng) status desirable (support available if not yet achieved).
* Able to work effectively across teams, building strong relationships and influencing at all levels.
* Comfortable with ambiguity and capable of providing clear direction in complex situations.
* Must hold or be eligible for SC clearance (BPSS to start).
* Environmental awareness and a mindset aligned with sustainable engineering practices.
Why Join Us
You’ll play a key role in shaping and assuring the safety culture within our engineering organisation. This is a hybrid role, with flexibility to work where you’re most effective — typically 2–3 days per week in our Bristol office to build relationships and facilitate collaboration.
We’re open to shaping the role around the right individual, and while initially focused on safety governance and DAOS approvals, there’s potential for the position to evolve as our projects and bids progress.
Interested?
If you’re ready to take on responsibility for safety assurance and approvals within a leading defence engineering environment — we’d love to hear from you. Apply now to join us as our next Systems Safety Manager.