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Agent guide: [/agents.md](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/agents.md). --- # Principal Systems Engineer - **Company:** Hackajob Ltd - **Location:** Edinburgh, UK - **Salary:** £53,500.0 - £68,000.0 - **Contract:** Permanent contract - **Skills:** Systems Engineering, Hardware-In-The-Loop Simulation, Sensor Fusion, Systems Integration, Digital Twin, Integration Frameworks - **Published:** August 24, 2026 - **Apply:** https://www.totaljobs.com/job/principal-systems-engineer/hackajob-ltd-job107889331 ## About the Role * Experience leading system integration and test activities on complex engineered products, ideally within highly regulated industries (e.g. aerospace, defence, sensing, or other safety-critical environments). * Proven experience in late lifecycle delivery, particularly post-critical design review integration, qualification, acceptance, and release. * Strong systems engineering background covering requirements, architecture, interfaces, verification, and acceptance. Desirable Experience * Experience with model-based systems engineering (MBSE). * Experience working with digital twins, synthetic environments, HIL/SIL environments, or virtual integration frameworks. * Experience within electro-optical / infrared sensing systems (EOIR), mission systems, or sensor fusion environments. * Experience defining test equipment, test environments, and facility requirements. ## Description We are seeking an experienced Principal Systems Engineer lead Integration, Test, Evaluation and Acceptance activities for advanced electro-optical and infrared sensing systems within the GCAP environment. This is an important systems engineering leadership role, responsible for defining and executing the system integration and verification strategy from detailed design through integration, qualification, acceptance, and transition to production. The successful candidate will shape both physical and digital integration approaches, ensuring robust verification of complex multi-disciplinary systems in a highly demanding defence environment. The role offers the opportunity to influence next-generation sensing capability, working across national and international teams on technically challenging programmes. What you'll do * Integration & Test Leadership + Define integration and verification approaches appropriate for late-lifecycle delivery, ensuring readiness for hardware/software integration, qualification, acceptance, and release. + Develop and maintain the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) electro-optical / infrared sensing systems ITEA master plan, including integration sequencing, verification logic, dependencies, risks, and maturity criteria. + Define progressive integration strategies from component, subsystem, equipment, and system-level verification through formal acceptance. * Test Architecture & Systems Engineering + Lead and define ITEA related strategy and associated systems artefacts including ITEA requirements. + Develop the system integration and test architecture, ensuring testability is designed into the product architecture. + Define verification architectures including: o Physical integration environments o Hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) environments o Synthetic/digital test environments o Laboratory and field test configurations + Ensure requirements, interfaces, performance budgets, and verification methods remain aligned throughout integration. * Digital & Synthetic Environments + Lead development of the EOIR strategy for digital and synthetic integration/test environments. + Define model-based verification approaches that enable early risk reduction, accelerated integration, and increased defect discovery prior to hardware availability. + Support digital thread adoption between requirements, architecture, interfaces, models, and verification artefacts. * Stakeholder Coordination + Liaise with the wider GCAP Test & Integration community to ensure consistency, reuse of best practice, and alignment of facilities, tooling, and processes. + Coordinate integration activities across EOIR, subsystem teams, software, electronics, mechanical, detector, optics, and processing disciplines. + Support design reviews, verification reviews, readiness reviews, qualification reviews, and customer acceptance activities. * Risk & Delivery + Identify integration and verification risks early and develop mitigation plans. + Support programme planning, schedule development, cost estimation, and technical maturity assessments. + Provide technical leadership and mentoring to systems engineers supporting ITEA activities. ## Related Videos - [Model Based Systems Engineering in an Agile Product Development Process](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/68-model-based-systems-engineering-in-an-agile-product-development-process) - [More efficient software for more efficient microchips](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/1164-more-efficient-software-for-more-efficient-microchips) - [Robots 2.0: When artificial intelligence meets steel](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/1452-robots-2-0-when-artificial-intelligence-meets-steel) - [AI in Regulated Industry - Validating AI-Enabled Products with PLM and Digital Twins](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/2065-ai-in-regulated-industry-validating-ai-enabled-products-with-plm-and-digital-twins) - [Breaking the Hardware Mindset: Overcoming Barriers to System-Level Innovation](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/1635-breaking-the-hardware-mindset-overcoming-barriers-to-system-level-innovation) - [Code to Road in < 12 hours](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/1082-code-to-road-in-12-hours) ## Related Articles - [Where To Find Software Engineering Jobs](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/396-where-to-find-software-engineering-jobs) - [How We Built a Worry-Free System That Runs for 10+ Years – And What We’d Do Again](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/751-how-we-built-a-worry-free-system-that-runs-for-10-years-and-what-we-d-do-again) - [Is Software Engineering Over-Saturated?](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/418-is-software-engineering-over-saturated) - [Fully Remote Software Engineer Jobs](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/447-fully-remote-software-engineer-jobs) - [Where to Find Entry-Level Software Engineering Jobs](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/397-where-to-find-entry-level-software-engineering-jobs) - [9 Ways to Make Money Hacking](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/333-9-ways-to-make-money-hacking)