Research Scientist

Job Description:

Your Impact

• Are you a researcher in industry or academia looking to advance your career and work on technology that will shape the future of defence? If you have a STEM PhD and five years UK residency, we are looking for talented Scientists and Engineers with experience in research and collaboration to join us at Leonardo in Luton in a predominantly office and laboratory-based role.
• We are not expecting you to have domain knowledge of electronic warfare systems, or significant experience in engineering. What we are looking for are scientists and engineers looking to build their technical knowledge through training, team working, and one-to-one mentoring.

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What you'll do as a Research Scientist

• Applied research: Early research looking into exploiting new technologies or concepts
• High-level design: Understanding the impact of design decisions on performance
• Low-level design: Detailed design, prototyping and optimisation of a particular solution using expertise within their technical domain
• We need talented scientists and engineers to take early concepts from a variety of sources and turn them into working solutions.
• You do not need a background in engineering to make a difference. Our System Engineers predominantly come from science backgrounds. Many of these people at Leonardo have PhDs/EngDs from a diverse range of research domains across STEM.
• We will support you in your technical and professional development whatever your background, and provide challenging technical work to allow you to excel. Our working environment is fast-paced but relaxed. We value the expertise of our engineers and work to ensure they have the autonomy and confidence to make decisions themselves or as a team. We put trust in all our engineers to ensure they remain in control of their work and future career prospects.

Examples of Work

• Contribute or lead an early concept study investigating whether new types of algorithm could improve the detection of threats at range

What you'll bring

• A PhD, EngD or other relevant research experience within a Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths subject
• Experience of theoretical or applied research in an academic or business environment
• Experience of collaborating with others either within your research group or wider afield
• A drive for continuously improvement of your own skills and knowledge
• A methodical approach to solving large complex problems
• Experience in planning, leading and overseeing technical research or development tasks
• An appreciation of the Systems Engineering process
• Coding is central to our day to day work. You should have some experience of using a programming language to solve problems or develop models. Experience using Matlab and Simulink would be an advantage
• This is not an exhaustive list, and we are keen to hear from you even if you might not have experience in all the above. The most important skill is a good attitude and willingness to learn.

Security Clearance

This role is subject to pre-employment screening in line with the UK Government’s Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS), along with an additional range of Personnel Security Controls referred to as National Security Vetting (NSV), including meeting the eligibility requirements for The Security Check (SC) or Developed Vetting (DV). For more information and guidance please visit: https://careers.uk.leonardo.com/gb/en/security-and-vetting. Due to the nature of the work and its connections to UK Defence strategy, applicants must have five years UK Residency and hold a UK Passport.

Salary Range: 

• Senior Engineer £45,000 to £58,000

Where this vacancy is being recruited across more than one grade, the successful candidate will be appointed to a specific assessed grade, and the applicable salary range will be that associated with the grade of appointment.

Leonardo UK operates a grade-based salary framework with broad bands. The salary range shown reflects the approved grade band for this role, or a narrower hiring range published within that band, and is benchmarked against the external market. Exceptions above the standard range are managed through governance controls to protect internal equity.

Why join us

At Leonardo, our people are at the heart of everything we do. We offer a comprehensive, company-funded benefits package that supports your wellbeing, career development, and work–life balance. Whether you're looking to grow professionally, care for your health, or plan for the future, we’re here to help you thrive.

Time to Recharge: Enjoy generous leave with the opportunity to accrue up to 12 additional flexi-days each year.

Secure your Future: Benefit from our award-winning pension scheme with up to 15% employer contribution.

Your Wellbeing Matters: Free access to mental health support, financial advice, and employee-led networks championing inclusion and diversity (Enable, Pride, Equalise, Armed Forces, Carers, Wellbeing and Ethnicity).

Rewarding Performance: All employees at management level and below are eligible for our bonus scheme.

Never Stop Learning: Free access to 4,000+ online courses via Coursera and LinkedIn Learning.

Refer a friend: Receive a financial reward through our referral programme.

Tailored Perks: Spend up to £500 annually on flexible benefits including private healthcare, dental, family cover, tech & lifestyle discounts, gym memberships and more.

Flexible working: Flexible hours with hybrid working options. For part time opportunities, please talk to us about what might be possible for this role.

For a full list of our company benefits please visit our website.

Leonardo is a global leader in Aerospace, Defence, and Security. Headquartered in Italy, we employ over 53,000 people worldwide including 8,500 across 9 sites in the UK. Our employees are not just part of a team—they are key contributors to shaping innovation, advancing technology, and enhancing global safety.

At Leonardo we are committed to building an inclusive, accessible, and welcoming workplace. We believe that a diverse workforce sparks creativity, drives innovation, and leads to better outcomes for our people and our customers. If you have any accessibility requirements to support you during the recruitment process, just let us know.

Be part of something bigger - apply now!​

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