Mission Planning & Control Architect Lead

Bristol Stevenage Until 9/20/2026 First posted July 22, 2026 Last posted July 22, 2026
Job description

MBDA would like you to join a dedicated and driven systems engineering team as an ambitious architect, becoming an integral part in delivering the Mission Planning & Control products for a highly complex and critical weapon system providing both future cruise and anti-ship capabilities across UK and multiple international partners.

Salary: Up to £65,000 depending on experience 

Dynamic (hybrid) working: 3-5 days per week on-site due to workload classification

Security Clearance: British Citizen or a Dual UK national with British citizenship

Restrictions and/or limitations relating to nationality and/or rights to work may apply. As a minimum and after offer stage, all successful candidates will need to undergo HMG Basic Personnel Security Standard checks (BPSS), which are managed by the MBDA Personnel Security Team.

What we can offer you:

  • Company Bonus: Bonus of up to 21% of base salary
  • Pension: maximum total (employer and employee) contribution of up to 14%
  • Flexible working: We welcome applicants who are looking for flexible working arrangements
  • Enhanced parental leave: offers up to 26 weeks for maternity, adoption and shared parental leave -enhancements are available for paternity leave, neonatal leave and fertility testing and treatments
  • Facilities: Fantastic site facilities including subsidised meals, free car parking and much more…
  • Healthcare Cash Plan: The Healthcare Cash Plan benefit provides the option to claim cash back on everyday healthcare expenses such as optical, dental, health and wellbeing and more.

The opportunity:

As the Architect, you will be responsible for the generation of all architectural artefacts within the boundary of TP15 Mission Planning & Control through a combination of your own work, as well as guiding other architects within the team. This project, and hence role, covers multiple product offerings, and as the Lead Architect, you will have the opportunity to strive to maximise modularity and re-use across these, as well as heavily support and influence the design process.

The Architect role reports into the Head of TP15 Mission Planning & Control, and is expected to work and collaborate across other 1st reports to deliver on the overarching team objectives, on time, on cost and on quality.

What we’re looking for from you:

  • Strong background in complex systems architecture – including having been a practitioner of MBSE in a relevant environment.
  • Understanding or experience of key architectural principles in a product line environment would be advantageous.
  • Great communication skills, a strong desire to build and nurture effective relationships and work collaboratively across local and wider teams.
  • Ability to influence and lead effectively, including the ability to co-ordinate and drive through activities across multi-skilled teams.
  • Ability to autonomously lead work packages across small to medium teams.
  • Ability to learn rapidly and understand highly complex problems.
  • Proficiency with;
    • Rhapsody (essential) & SysML
    • IBM Engineering Workflow Management (formerly Rational Team Concert) (essential)
    • DOORS Next Generation (ideal)

Our company: Peace is not a given, Freedom is not a given, Sovereignty is not a given

MBDA is a leading defence organisation.  We are proud of the role we play in supporting the Armed Forces who protect our nations. We partner with governments to work together towards a common goal, defending our freedom.

We are proud of our employee-led networks, examples include: Gender Equality, Pride, Menopause Matters, Parents and Carers, Armed Forces, Ethnic Diversity, Neurodiversity and more…

We recognise that everyone is unique, and we encourage you to speak to us should you require any advice, support or adjustments throughout our recruitment process.

Follow us on LinkedIn (MBDA), X (@MBDA_UK), Instagram (MBDA_UK) and Glassdoor or visit our MBDA Careers website for more information.

About this role

Summary

Lead architecture development for mission planning and control systems in defense.

Job title

Mission Planning & Control Architect Lead

Experience level

professional level

Industry

defence

Location requirements

Bristol or Stevenage; hybrid work allowed

Salary

Up to **_£65,000_** depending on experience

Management role

Yes

Skills & keywords

Required skills

systems architectureMBSESysMLRhapsodyIBM Engineering Workflow ManagementDOORS NG

Preferred skills

product line architecture

Specializations

systems architectureMBSEproduct line architectureSysMLRhapsody
Locations

Structured locations inferred from the posting.

Bristol, UK

Hybrid City

Stevenage, UK

Hybrid City