Head of Safety & Certification

Head of Safety & Certification

Raytheon UK | RTX

Shape the future of aerospace, defence, safety, and mission assurance

At RTX, the world's largest aerospace and defence company, 185,000 brilliant minds come together with a shared purpose: solving some of the world's most complex challenges. Through our market-leading businesses, world-class operations, and continued investment in innovation, we create technologies that connect, protect, and empower nations across the globe.

Within RTX, Raytheon UK combines over a century of engineering excellence with a relentless focus on the future. Our teams deliver cutting-edge solutions that help safeguard national security, support our allies, and create a safer, more secure world.

We are seeking an exceptional Head of Safety & Certification to lead a specialist engineering function that plays a critical role across our portfolio of advanced defence and aerospace programmes.

The Opportunity

This is a senior engineering leadership position with responsibility for leading Raytheon UK's System Safety, Product Safety, Certification, and Environmental Management disciplines.

Reporting as a recognised technical authority, you will provide strategic direction, functional leadership, and expert guidance to a team of specialists supporting complex, mission-critical products and services. You will champion engineering excellence, ensure compliance with regulatory and industry standards, and influence safety and assurance strategies from concept through to delivery.

If you're passionate about safety-critical systems, technical leadership, and developing high-performing engineering teams, this is a unique opportunity to make a significant impact on programmes that matter.

What You'll Be Doing

Lead the Safety & Certification Function

• Provide leadership, coaching, and development for a team of Safety, Certification, and Environmental specialists.
• Define and maintain functional standards, policies, and procedures across the discipline.
• Ensure resources are effectively deployed to meet programme, business, cost, and schedule requirements.
• Act as a trusted technical authority across the organisation.

Drive System Safety Excellence

• Maintain System Safety frameworks in accordance with applicable standards, legislation, and RTX policies.
• Lead safety assessments, workshops, hazard analyses, and assurance activities.
• Oversee integrity allocation activities and functional assurance processes.
• Review and approve key System Safety artefacts and documentation.

Oversee Product Safety

• Maintain robust Product Safety processes aligned to regulatory and industry requirements.
• Partner with Product Safety Managers and Engineering leaders to support programme delivery.
• Ensure sufficient specialist capability is available across the organisation.
• Review and approve Product Safety evidence and documentation.

Lead Certification Activities

• Govern certification processes and documentation across the business.
• Review and approve Certification Plans, Declarations of Design & Performance, Certificates of Design, and associated artefacts.
• Maintain certification records, approved signatory lists, and compliance frameworks.
• Support Certification Boards and strategic assurance activities.

Champion Environmental Management

• Lead environmental compliance and governance activities across programmes.
• Maintain environmental policies and procedures aligned with legislation and best practice.
• Provide specialist guidance to programmes through assessments and workshops.
• Review and approve environmental documentation.

Influence at the Highest Level

• Lead technical input into bids and proposals, identifying risks, opportunities, and delivery strategies.
• Conduct internal audits and support external regulatory and customer audits.
• Represent Raytheon UK with customers, suppliers, industry bodies, and senior stakeholders.
• Stay at the forefront of emerging standards, technologies, and best practice.

What We're Looking For

We're looking for an experienced engineering leader who combines deep technical expertise with outstanding people leadership skills.

Essential Experience & Qualifications

• Degree qualified in Engineering, Physics, or a related technical discipline.
• Chartered Engineer status (or working towards Chartership).
• Proven experience developing safety and environmental cases within regulated or safety-critical environments.
• Strong knowledge of relevant Defence Standards, including:
• Def Stan 00-056
• Def Stan 00-055
• Def Stan 00-051
• Experience leading specialist engineering teams supporting complex or mission-critical products.
• Strong understanding of design assurance, systems engineering, and military standards.
• Experience assuring products with safety-related functionality implemented in software.
• Demonstrated ability to influence senior stakeholders and lead multidisciplinary teams.

Leadership Attributes

• Strategic thinker with excellent judgement and decision-making capability.
• Passionate about developing and mentoring engineering talent.
• Collaborative leader who can operate effectively across technical and business functions.
• Highly credible, resilient, and results-driven.
• Comfortable operating as a senior technical authority in customer-facing environments.

Why Join Raytheon UK?

This is more than a leadership role. It is an opportunity to shape the safety, assurance, and certification strategy of technologies that help protect nations and support critical missions around the world.

You'll join a business where engineering excellence is celebrated, innovation is encouraged, and your expertise will have real-world impact.

What We Offer

• The opportunity to influence complex, cutting-edge defence and aerospace programmes.
• Leadership of a highly skilled technical community.
• Career development within a global technology and engineering organisation.
• A culture built on collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement.
• Competitive salary and comprehensive benefits package.

If you're ready to lead safety and certification excellence at the forefront of defence technology, we'd love to hear from you.

Apply today and help us create a safer, more secure future.