Lead Project Engineer (Engineering Continuous Improvement)

About The Role We are seeking a highly motivated and experienced Lead Project Engineer to join our Ampthill, Bedfordshire team. The successful candidate will be responsible for ensuring the integrity of complex engineering projects by bridging traditional engineering Management with modern Digital Engineering methodologies. You will play a critical role in ensuring that MBSE models, Digital Twin data, and physical assets remain synchronized, providing a single, authoritative source of truth across the entire product lifecycle.

The role will require a mandatory presence on-site of Monday's and Tuesday's each week, with the rest of the week working to a more hybrid model.

Responsibilities

• Digital Governance: Lead governance of tools within a Digital Engineering environment, ensuring that digital models and data are managed with the same rigor as physical components.
• Digital Thread Orchestration: Establish and maintain the Digital Thread, ensuring seamless data continuity between requirements (MBSE), design (CAD/PLM), manufacturing, and sustainment.
• Model-Based Change Control: Manage complex change control processes that include the impact analysis of changes on MBSE models and Digital Twin simulations.
• Data Integrity & Auditing: Conduct audits to verify conformance not only to physical requirements but to the digital architecture, ensuring the "as-designed," "as-built," and "as-maintained" states are digitally synchronised.
• Lifecycle Integration: Collaborate with Configuration Engineers and Systems Engineers to ensure that configuration status accounting is automated and integrated into the broader digital ecosystem.
• Process Innovation: Drive the development and continuous improvement of processes specifically tailored for Digital Twin environments and automated data integration platforms.
• Learning and applying new technologies related to Digital Thread (e.g., MBSE tools, data integration platforms).

Required Skills, Qualifications And Experience

• Bachelor's degree in an engineering or related discipline.
• Proven experience as a Project Engineer in a complex engineering environment, preferably within the defence industry.
• Strong knowledge of Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) principles, processes, and standards.
• Experience managing Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) or integrated digital environment.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to manage complexity of multi-disciplinary digital data sets.
• Excellent communication, interpersonal, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to work effectively in a team environment.
• Strong attention to detail and a commitment to quality.

Desired Skills

• Direct experience with Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) tools and methodologies.
• Digital Thread – experience in implementing or managing data continuity across different engineering domains.
• Digital Twin knowledge – understanding pf how data feeds into and maintains Digital Twin accuracy
• Familiarity with Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) systems.
• Membership of a relevant professional body (e.g., MEIT).