Technical Project Manager (Aerospace/Defence)

Location: In-office at Aviation Business Park, Bournemouth International Airport, Christchurch, Dorset, United Kingdom. Regular work alongside delivery teams is required, with occasional UK and international travel including overnight stays. Applicants must have the right to work in the UK and be eligible to obtain and maintain the required level of UK national security clearance; some projects may have additional nationality, residency or export-control restrictions.

Company

hirify.global powered by Spherea is a global engineering and technology business providing test, quality and validation solutions for complex and safety-critical aerospace, defence and technology products and systems.

What you will do

• Lead assigned engineering projects from internal handover and customer kick-off through design, manufacture, integration, acceptance, commissioning and warranty closure.
• Act as the principal day-to-day customer interface, managing communications, governance, progress reviews, design reviews, decisions and actions.
• Lead multidisciplinary teams across systems, hardware, software, mechanical, production, procurement, quality and support within a matrix organisation.
• Maintain project scope, deliverables, work breakdown structures, integrated schedules, resource plans, risk registers, forecasts, reporting and quality/configuration arrangements.
• Control delivery against technical baselines, schedules and budgets, including revenue, expenditure, gross margin, cost to complete, cash, work in progress and resource demand.
• Manage lifecycle gates, requirements, interfaces, changes, acceptance evidence, contract provisions, risks, opportunities, variations, claims and recovery actions.

Requirements

• Experience managing complex engineering, technology or equipment-delivery projects and leading multidisciplinary teams in a matrix organisation.
• Strong customer-facing, people-leadership, coordination and stakeholder-management skills, including experience as the principal interface for demanding customers.
• Sufficient technical understanding to work credibly with engineers on complex test, control, automation or equipment-development projects.
• Understanding of the bespoke systems engineering lifecycle, including requirements, design reviews, manufacture, integration, verification, validation and acceptance.
• Experience controlling scope, schedule, resources, risk, quality and cost, with commercial awareness of forecasting, cost-to-complete, gross-margin protection and change control.
• Confidence to challenge constructively, make decisions and escalate issues, with clear written and verbal communication and the ability to present complex information to technical and non-technical audiences.
• Strong organisation, attention to detail, ability to build trust across teams and cultures, and flexibility to work alongside engineering teams at required locations.
• Willingness to travel in the UK and internationally, a full UK-valid driving licence, ability to meet company vehicle-insurance requirements, and the right to work in the UK.

Nice to have

• Experience in aerospace, defence, space, rail, energy or another regulated sector; automated or special-to-type test equipment; electronic, electrical, software-controlled or electromechanical systems; or low-volume, high-complexity equipment.
• Experience with defence procurement or contracting, requirements management, systems engineering, formal lifecycle reviews, factory or site acceptance testing and customer commissioning.
• Experience delivering international or multi-entity projects, fixed-price work, variations or claims, and recovery of delayed, technically challenged or loss-making projects.
• A recognised project-management qualification or equivalent structured training.
• Relevant Armed Forces experience in technical leadership, engineering management, logistics, equipment support, training, procurement or operational delivery.

Culture & Benefits

• Collaborative and supportive team with international reach.
• Generous pension scheme with 4% employee and 8% employer contributions.
• Full family healthcare plan, family health cash plan, life assurance and income protection insurance.
• 27 days of holiday plus bank holidays.
• Opportunities for continuous learning and professional growth, with ESG central to the company’s mission.