The Opportunity

At Leonardo, we have a fantastic new opportunity for a Senior Servo Systems Engineer. Leonardo is a global high-tech company and one of the key players in Aerospace, Defence and Security. Headquartered in Italy, Leonardo has over 45,000 employees, of which 7,000 are based in the UK.

Servo control systems engineering is a core competence and differentiating factor in Leonardo’s Precision Guidance portfolio of missile seekers and technologies, spanning established products, new developments and extensive research and development. Seekers operate a number of tightly integrated control loops. These are primarily associated with sightline pointing, stabilisation and object tracking in response to sensor feedback. Critically, seekers integrate with the higher-level control functions of the host missile system, requiring a high degree of collaboration, driven through model-based development and culminating in empirical and real-world trial validation.

This Systems Engineering vacancy presents an exciting opportunity for an ambitious individual to develop and grow their skills and knowledge within a thriving organisation. The job holder will be engaged in all aspects of servo control design, spanning concept generation and modelling through to full-scale solutions implemented through model driven engineering. This will integrate with a wide variety of Systems Engineering activities covering the entire engineering lifecycle, including; systems definition, input to estimates and bid activities, requirements apportionment, systems architecting, integration, verification & validation, which will involve proactive interaction and communication with other Engineering and non-Engineering functions.

Candidates with a core capability in servo control engineering plus good awareness of all aspects of Systems Engineering should apply.

Project work at Leonardo is based on both internally funded products and directly funded work with deliverables to key customers within short timescales. If successful, you will be joining a dedicated multi-disciplined Integrated Project Team with a full and stretching workload - with huge potential for personal growth and professional development.

The role will be based from our Basildon site, and will be a mixture of home based/onsite working according to our Custom Working policy. The actual split will be driven by the security needs of the projects and may include up-to 100% site attendance.

To find out about all of our Company benefits

What You'll Do

As a Servo Control Engineer you will:

Concept generation, theoretical analysis and modelling of dynamic systems for servo control mechanisms. The typical nature of the mechanisms is highly agile, direct-drive electro-mechanical sightline actuation. Thermal devices etc. may also feature. Development of dynamic control algorithms to meet system performance requirements, including “what if” trade-off studies. Selection and specification of control components (motors, inertial measurement devices, angular and linear displacement sensors, electronic drive amplifiers etc.) Specification and production of embedded control software and firmware from Simulink, Xilinx and HDLcoder (and future approaches) Generation of test plans and specifications Development of Matlab scripts and functions to support testing and evaluation, including Hardware In The Loop (HWIL) stimulus files generation and automated test output analysis. Support to module and system-level integration, execution of testing and analysis of test recordings and results. Complete development of formal models representing the applicable control system, both for internal use within the company and for delivery to external customer / partner organisations. Adherence to Leonardo's Engineering governance e.g. policy, framework processes, design reviews Support to new and existing product line operations as required Maintaining an organised record of project related decisions, risks, actions & opportunities for audit purposes or general good practice The preparation of system and sub-system technical requirements and their dissemination to appropriate engineering functions

You must be eligible for full security clearance. For more information and guidance please visit :

What We're Looking For

You really should have:

Theory of linear & non-linear dynamic feedback control systems, including PID, H∞, H2, Variable-structure control etc. Thorough understanding of rotational and translational geometry using direction-cosine and/or quaternion approaches. Appreciation of fundamentals of electro-mechanical designs, including direct drive and indirect (geared or tape/wire) drives, steering mirrors etc. Experience of MATLAB/Simulink and Simulink Coder are essential. Experience of Xilinx FPGA development tools is highly desirable. An appreciation of real-time embeddable Software and Firmware (to support Software and Firmware Specialists). Understanding of characteristics and representation of control components including: Electric motors - dc brushed, brushless, stepper, linear, voice-coil etc. Inertial measurement devices - gyro’s, accelerometers Angular and linear displacement sensors - accelerometers, optical encoders, resolvers, Inductosyns, tacho’s etc. Electronic drive amplifiers etc.

It would be nice if you had:

Previous experience working with control systems for precision guidance applications Previous experience working with military systems, with missiles being a particular interest Knowledge of military and international specifications and standards Configuration control using tools, such as Simulink Project, Git, Dimensions and Teamcenter Desktop Linux familiarity Familiarity with DOORS