Principal System Safety Engineer

Lead / Principal System Safety Engineer

SC Clearance is essential (SC)

Up to £76 p/h Inside IR35

Southampton HQ – 1-2 days a week onsite

We are seeking an experienced security cleared Lead / Principal System Safety Engineer to support the development of advanced technologies. This role focuses on the integration of complex sensing, communications systems by bringing together multiple interconnected subsystems within a wider aircraft architecture.

This is an exciting opportunity to take a leading role in system safety across a highly complex, safety-critical aerospace engineering environment. You will work closely with multidisciplinary teams to ensure system-level hazards, risks and dependencies are identified, assessed and effectively managed throughout the engineering lifecycle.

The role would suit a safety professional who can understand complex system interactions, work confidently across engineering disciplines and lead the delivery of integrated safety assessments.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide specialist safety advice to the relevant Safety and Design Authority, supporting product safety authorisation in accordance with established processes.
• Lead system safety activities, ensuring compliance with the agreed Safety Management Plan.
• Identify and analyse intrinsic and functional hazards, developing appropriate mitigations to reduce residual safety risks to ALARP.
• Develop and manage system safety requirements, ensuring they are appropriately allocated and flowed down to relevant subsystems and engineering teams.
• Review subsystem-level safety analyses and integrate their findings into the overall system safety assessment.
• Review aircraft-level safety analyses, ensuring consistency and alignment with the wider system safety assessment.
• Produce and maintain integrated system safety documentation and assessments in line with programme requirements.
• Identify and manage cross-system dependencies, interfaces and safety implications across the wider aircraft architecture.
• Present safety assessment findings at programme design reviews, clearly communicating safety status, risks and mitigation strategies.

Essential Experience and Skills

• **Security cleared currently**
• Proven experience conducting safety analysis of complex systems within a safety-critical industry.
• Experience working across multiple engineering lifecycle phases, from design and development through to verification and validation.
• Demonstrable experience leading and delivering safety work packages involving multiple teams.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including presenting technical safety assessments to stakeholders at varying levels of seniority.
• Experience with aerospace safety and assurance standards such as ARP4754B, ARP4761A, RTCA DO-254 or DO-178C would be advantageous.
• Experience working with complex system designs involving significant uncertainty and technical challenges.
• Knowledge of radar, laser technologies, sensors or Defensive Aids Systems (DAS).
• Awareness of information security principles within complex engineering programmes.
• Involvement in cross-industry safety initiatives, such as those associated with the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) or the Safety-Critical Systems Club (SCSC).

Tools and Technologies

Experience with any of the following tools would be an advantage:

• Cameo Systems Modeler
• IBM DOORS
• Adelard ASCE
• Isograph Reliability Workbench