Job Title: Head of Engineering Delivery
Location: Ashton Vale, Bristol + Hybrid Working Arrangements
Compensation: Competitive Salary + Benefits
Role Type: Full time / Permanent
Role ID: SF
At Babcock we’re working to create a safe and secure world, together, and if you join us, you can play your part as the Head of Engineering Delivery at our Ashton Vale, Bristol site.
The Role
As Head of Engineering Delivery for Sense & Connect, you will be a senior leader within both the Sense & Connect Leadership Team and the Engineering & Technology Leadership Team. This is a high‑impact role, accountable for engineering delivery outcomes across a diverse and technically demanding portfolio.
You will lead the delivery of engineering activity across multiple programmes and projects, ranging from the development of CEMA systems, AI‑enabled capabilities, highly modular and autonomous systems, through to the in‑service support of strategic and tactical communication systems.
Operating within a matrix organisation, you will hold clear accountability for engineering delivery to cost, time and quality, while working in close partnership with Engineering Discipline and Assurance functions to ensure technical integrity, governance, and capability development.
A key challenge of the role is balancing near‑term programme delivery with the longer‑term development of engineering capability, ways of working, and organisational maturity across Sense & Connect.
Key Accountabilities
1. Accountable for the delivery of engineering activity across Sense & Connect programmes, ensuring customer needs and programme objectives are met to cost, schedule and quality.
2. Leadership of an effective engineering delivery organisation with strong governance, clear accountability, and timely issue identification and resolution.
3. Ownership of holistic engineering estimates to support business winning activity, bids, and organic growth.
4. Driving the adoption and exploitation of new and enhanced technologies, ensuring delivery approaches remain aligned to end‑user needs and growth objectives.
5. Acting as a senior technical and delivery leader, able to engage credibly with customers, partners, and internal stakeholders at all levels.
This role is full time, 37 hours per week and provides flexible hybrid working arrangements with days onsite and days working from home.
Essential Experience of the Head of Engineering Delivery
6. Significant experience delivering complex, safety‑ or mission‑critical systems, using formal systems engineering approaches, within defence, intelligence, aerospace, or similarly regulated environments.
7. Proven accountability for engineering delivery across multiple programmes or portfolios, managing competing priorities, shared resources, and delivery trade‑offs.
8. Demonstrable experience operating in a matrix organisation, leading engineering outcomes through a combination of authority, influence, governance, and clear accountability.
9. Strong financial and commercial acumen, including ownership of engineering estimates, delivery efficiency, and cost‑performance trade‑offs.
10. Evidence of leading engineering organisations through change or maturity uplift, improving delivery predictability, governance, capability, or ways of working.
11. Ability to act as a credible senior engineering leader with customers, partners, and internal stakeholders, clearly articulating complex technical and delivery issues and exercising sound engineering judgement.
Qualifications for the Head of Engineering Delivery
12. Mechanical or Electrical and Electronic Engineering Degree, Master’s Degree level would be beneficial.
13. Chartered Engineer at a relevant institution, or in a position to apply for chartership upon appointment.
Security Clearance
The successful candidate must be able to achieve and maintain Security Check (SC) security clearance for this role. The successful candidate will be eligible to start on Standard (BPSS) security clearance but will need to obtain Security Check (SC) security clearance once in post.
Many of the positions within our company are subject to national security clearance and Trade Control restrictions. This means that your eligibility for certain roles may be affected by your place of birth, nationality, current or former citizenship, and any residency you hold or have held. Further details are available at
What We Offer
14. Generous holiday allowance
15. Matched contribution pension scheme, with life assurance
16. Access to a Digital GP, annual health check, and nutritional consultations through Aviva DigiCare+
17. Employee share scheme
18. Employee shopping savings portal
19. Payment of Professional Fees
20. Reservists in the armed forces receive 10-days special paid leave
21. Holiday Trading is a benefit that allows UK Babcock employees to buy additional leave or to sell up to one working week of annual leave from their annual entitlement. This Window opens February through to March annually
22. ‘Be Kind Day’ enables employees to take one working day's paid leave a year (or equivalent hours) to undertake volunteering work with their chosen organisation or registered charity
23. Excellent development opportunities and benefits package including an employee assistance programme supporting physical, mental and financial wellbeing
24. Flexible working – we give people more options to better integrate their work and personal life, whilst ensuring that business needs are met