A fantastic opportunity exists for an experienced Systems Engineering Manager to join MASS based from the companies St Neots, Cambridgeshire site.

Established in 1983, MASS is a highly successful independent systems house who enjoys a strong reputation for delivering technical excellence and flexible support directly to the UK MoD. Other customers include defence prime contractors, overseas customers and a growing number of non-defence clients requiring the company's expertise in supporting secure operations.

The position comes with a salary of £48k - £60k (depending on experience) a great benefits package is also included.

Please Note: you must have the ability to become MoD Security Cleared to SC (Secret) level, if you do not already hold this level of clearance.

Job Description:

Experienced Systems Engineering Manager to lead up to 30 of MASS’s brightest staff. You must be able to guide and challenge outside your own core technical expertise. The role will require a strong technical leader with experience, character and discipline and be prepared to take tough people decisions.

The position will require experience in at least three of our core technical fields: (Expert in one of our disciplines)

• High integrity IT/IS architectures
• Secure communications
• Handheld mobile devices
• Test and integration of COTS
• EW technologies (Sensor, Via processing, via Database, to Effect)

You will be someone who is analytical and able to isolate and analyse key technical challenges in order to be able to propose solutions within your technical expertise while bringing teams to consensus in other areas.

Your role will require strong technical strategy experience and being able to propose route to meeting a medium term technical or technology objective is important. Part of the technical strategy will involve balancing risk and reward where a solution is not in immediate grasp and being able to lead other technical experts to propose technical solutions.

A key part of MASS’s design approach is recognising the link between system/architecture and a business model for a product or service.

Experienced or aware of techniques:

• Roadmapping
• Phase Gate innovation
• Technical partnering

A strong systems engineering background is required in order to be a role model for systems engineering team. You must be able to inspire teams to develop and work to best practice without unrealistic idealism. MASS is an organisation that "sell" systems engineering - not just the products or systems that are created.

Commercially awareness is very important and the ability to sense and judge opportunity is vital.

Defence industry experience is highly sought after as is having security market experience.

Typical role accountabilities:

• Bid Manager for small systems centric bids
• Lead technical architect for large scale Systems bids
• Can build a commercially realistic phased technical approach
• Able to engage at highest management levels and all technical/operational levels. You will be required to understand senior staff and Director motivations, responsibilities and pressures and be engaging and persuasive.

It’s important to be able to fit into the MASS ‘way of working’ and be able to work professionally to MASS values. Being able to fit into the MASS culture will require understanding the practicalities and necessities of working at a high performing SME and having the desire and will to progress with the business and be prepared to challenge.