Head of Integrity and Technical Assurance

Job Title:                     Head of Integrity and Technical Assurance

Location:                     Stoke Gifford, Bristol + Hybrid Working Arrangements

Compensation:           Competitive Salary + Benefits

Role Type:                   Full time / Permanent

Role ID:                       SF72988

Set the standard. Protect what matters. Lead engineering integrity at scale.

At Babcock, we’re working to create a safe and secure world, together. If you join us, you can play your part as Head of Integrity and Technical Assurance at our Bristol site, near Bristol, Gloucestershire.  You will be required to travel between Bristol sites and Plymouth and Tewkesbury.

At the heart of defence, aerospace and engineering, Babcock delivers complex, mission‑critical systems that demand absolute trust. This is a career where engineering excellence, ethical leadership and public safety come together and where your decisions truly matter.

The role

As Head of Integrity and Technical Assurance, you are the senior engineering authority responsible for ensuring that Mission Systems outputs are safe, compliant, technically sound and ready for use. Operating across Sense and Connect, Effectors and Space, you will define how engineering integrity is specified, evidenced, assured and accepted across the full lifecycle independently of programme pressure.

This is a rare opportunity to shape how integrity is done at sector level: balancing pace and innovation with rigorous assurance, challenging decisions when needed, and resolving systemic issues early. You will influence strategy, culture and capability, while building confidence with customers, regulators and senior leaders. The role offers exceptional professional credibility, leadership exposure and the chance to leave a legacy in nationally significant programmes.

Day-to-day, you’ll be required to: 

• Ensure that all engineering outputs across the Mission Systems sector are safe, compliant, technically sound and acceptable for use.
• Operate at sector level across Sense and Connect, Effectors and Space, this role defines and owns the engineering integrity intent and provides independent assurance that engineering decisions and outcomes meet customer, contractual, regulatory and ethical expectations.
• Operating on the Business Unit Leadership Team with the Managing Director of Sense and Connect,
• Authorising engineering decisions and outputs, maintaining clear traceability and controlled deviations
• Leading and developing a multidisciplinary team, embedding a strong integrity culture and continuous improvement

This role is full time, 37 hours per week and provides hybrid working arrangements with days onsite and days working from home.  Working from home will be dependent on business needs so flexibility is required. 

Essential experience of the Head of Integrity and Technical Assurance

• Significant experience in defence systems engineering, including design, qualification and lifecycle support.
• Experience overseeing the technical work of others, including authorisation of engineering deliverables.
• Proven leadership experience within complex, multi‑disciplinary engineering environments.
• Strong systems engineering capability, with the ability to tailor compliance pragmatically.
• Commercial and financial awareness, including budget management with strong problem‑solving skills, with the ability to communicate complex technical concepts clearly to non‑specialists.
• Demonstrated ability to lead cultural change and continuous improvement.

Qualifications for the Head of Integrity and Technical Assurance

• Master’s‑level education in Mechanical, Electrical and Electronic, Software or Systems Engineering.
• Chartered Engineer status at an appropriate professional institution.

Security Clearance

The successful candidate must be able to achieve and maintain Developed Vetting (DV) security clearance for this role.  Must be Sole UK National.

Many of the positions within our company are subject to national security clearance and Trade Control restrictions. This means that your eligibility for certain roles may be affected by your place of birth, nationality, current or former citizenship, and any residency you hold or have held. Further details are available at United Kingdom Security Vetting: clearance levels - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

What we offer

• Generous holiday allowance
• Matched contribution pension scheme, with life assurance
• Access to a Digital GP, annual health check, and nutritional consultations through Aviva DigiCare+
• Employee share scheme
• Employee shopping savings portal
• Payment of Professional Fees
• Reservists in the armed forces receive 10‑days special paid leave
• Holiday Trading allows you to buy additional leave or sell up to one working week of annual leave
• ‘Be Kind Day’ provides one paid volunteering day each year
• Flexible working options to support work‑life balance
• A dynamic, collaborative working environment

Babcock

We’re Babcock — a global FTSE 100 organisation with over 26,000 people working together to make a difference.

Here, you’ll be part of something bigger. From initial design to final decommissioning, your work will contribute to products and services that are essential to national security and public infrastructure. Together, we’re building a future that lasts — not just through the impact we make, but through meaningful careers that respect your work-life balance.

We call that lifetime engineering.

Join us and see how far we can go, together.

We are a disability confident committed employer. If you have a disability or need any reasonable adjustments during the application and selection stages, please email careers@babcockinternational.com with the subject header ‘Reasonable adjustments requirement’. We’re committed to building an inclusive culture where everyone’s free to thrive. We are happy to talk about flexible working – please ask about alternative patterns of work at interview.

Closing date: 04/05/2026

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