Consultant Systems Engineer (Senior & Principal) - Defence & Security

We are looking for Consultant Systems Engineers who are comfortable operating across business, operational, and technical domains to shape integrated solutions to complex problems.

This is not a traditional systems engineering role. You will work closely with clients to understand challenges, design operating models and services, and translate these into coherent, implementable solutions across people, process, data, and technology.

You will typically work embedded within client teams, collaborating with multidisciplinary stakeholders to define problems, explore options and support delivery.

Grade Expectations We are hiring at both Senior and Principal levels:

Senior Consultant

• Strong practitioner delivering high-quality outputs within client teams
• Leads workstreams and supports engagements
• Builds trusted relationships with stakeholders

Principal Consultant

• Leads client engagements and shapes problem definition
• Owns senior client relationships and acts as a trusted advisor
• Drives business development, proposal writing, and growth
• Contributes to Raptor's capability development and thought leadership

What You'll Do You will:

• Shape and define solutions across business and technical domains
• Translate stakeholder needs into integrated system and service designs.
• Facilitate workshops and stakeholder engagement to define problems and solutions
• Apply systems thinking to understand interdependencies across complex capabilities
• Support architectural thinking, options analysis, and decision-making
• Build trusted relationships with clients and suppliers, acting as a credible advisor
• Contribute to thought leadership and the development of our consulting capability

Typical outputs may include:

• Operating model designs, process maps, and workflows
• Capability models (logical, operational, service)
• Requirements sets and supporting artefacts
• Workshop outputs and stakeholder maps
• Decision support packs and options analyses

• Experience working in Defence, Security, Government or highly regulated environments
• Strong systems thinking, applying structured approaches to complex problems across people, process, and technology
• Ability to translate business needs into end-to-end, implementable solutions
• Experience in applying systems engineering approaches (e.g. requirements, architecture, lifecycle thinking)
• Experience working across strategy, design, and delivery environments
• Strong communication skills, including facilitating workshops and influencing decision-makers
• Degree in STEM or a related discipline
• Eligible for UK SC security clearance

Desirable

• Experience in business analysis and stakeholder engagement
• Experience with systems engineering or architecture frameworks and tools (e.g. MBSE, DOORS, Sparx, Cameo)
• Experience developing operating models or organisational designs
• Experience in agile or iterative delivery environments
• Experience working in client-side or advisory roles within MOD, DE&S, Defence Digital (Digital & Data), or similar organisations
• Consultancy experience, including shaping and delivering advisory engagements., If you're looking to work on meaningful problems and shape capabilities of national importance, we'd love to hear from you.

Working at Raptor As a growing consultancy, you will have real influence over both client outcomes and how we operate as a business. You won't be one of many layers in a large organisation, you will:

• Work directly with senior clients on meaningful problems
• Have visible impact on engagements and outcomes
• Contribute to shaping our ways of working and growth

What We Offer We reward great work and support long-term growth:

• 25 days' holiday + bank holidays + your birthday off
• Flexible leave - option to buy up to 10 additional days
• Rapid Reward Scheme - discretionary bonus every 6 months
• 7% pension contribution
• Annual car allowance
• Electric Vehicle Salary Sacrifice Scheme
• Private medical insurance & life assurance
• Professional development support & membership fee reimbursement.

About Raptor Raptor is a Bristol-based consultancy working across business, operations, and technology within Defence and Security. We act as an independent trusted partner to our clients, embedding within their teams to help shape complex capabilities and support confident, evidence-based decisions. Our work connects strategy to delivery. We ensure solutions are not only technically sound, but also operationally effective and capable of delivering real-world outcomes across mission and enterprise environments.