Harness Manager

Reporting to the AIT Functional Manager, the Harness Manager shall design spacecraft harnesses alongside running a sub-team within the group: coordinating integration engineer workload assignment, and being accountable for delivering satellite harnesses, MLI blankets and integration activities.

Responsible for:

• Harness Design and Governance:
  1. Designing and managing the delivery of electrical harnesses for spacecraft systems/subsystems on time, on cost and on quality.
• Integration Engineer Line Management:
  1. Line managing a team of integration engineers (including harness wiremen and mechanical integrators) to ensure:
     1. Suitable capability and capacity exist within the team and assigning work to team members.
     2. Personal development and pastoral care of team members.

Key Tasks

• Line manage a team of up to 10 integration engineers (includes all line management activities throughout the employee life cycle including recruitment, performance, development & mentoring, PDR’s, wellbeing)

Ensure there is a clear understanding of the skillsets, capability, and resourcing required to deliver the project work, current and future (including succession-planning and resolving single point failures)

• Ensure that the team’s current and forward planning of workload is fully-scoped, budgeted and managed through the resource planning tool according to project needs. Proactively resolve issues such as resource limitations, potential resource clashes and also identify skill gaps for future recruitment activities

Mentor and support the team to ensure they have the technical capabilities/skills to deliver to the required quality

Responsible for ensuring engineers are following the correct design, build and test in accordance with SSTL engineering processes and guidelines and the defined needs/requirements

Measure the effectiveness of our engineering processes and working practices (including peer reviews), continuously identifying and implementing improvements where required (including communicating processes with stakeholders)

• Review of the teams technical work ensuring expected standards are met and consistency of technical output for all projects

• Build relationships and work closely with the Project Managers, Lead Engineers and Functional Managers
• Interpret Spacecraft harness requirements (electrical, grounding, environmental), formulate and communicate design solutions (both written and verbal).
• Analyse harness specifications and design documents such as equipment interface specifications; define power, signal and data bus pin-to-pin connections through the harness design tool (Haywire); define bracket or bulkhead connectors; assist with harness routing discussions.
• Identify standard parts (connectors, wire etc) and assist procurement with maintaining stock levels.
• Spacecraft test cable definition and manufacture control
• Deploy appropriate configuration and change management processes
• General AIT and EVT support with possible overseas travel

Qualifications Knowledge & Skills

• Degree or HND/HNC in electrical engineering or science discipline

Proven experience of performing a similar role successfully in a similar industry

Experience in the design, definition, analysis and consolidation of spacecraft subsystems electrical interfaces to meet mission requirements.

Experience in line-managing people (e.g. cell leader, shift manager, team leader, functional manager of similar)

• Ability to think and operate in a forward-looking manner, as well as ability to deal with day-to-day problems

• Be able to communicate clearly and effectively, and influence, negotiate and persuade other people well

• Well organised; good understanding of project/time management skills, able to resolve conflicting priorities and demands within a pressurised environment

• Desire to support and guide others

• Ability to delegate work and empower team members

• Demonstrate flexibility to be able to change plans and priorities based on changing project and market needs

• Results focused; able to take responsibility and commitment to deliver

Pro-active and flexible with a can-do attitude

• Proficient in all MS Office packages and knowledge of Microsoft Project

Working with spacecraft flight hardware during design, development and implementation phases, ideally including system testing

Working with verification and validation of requirements

• Proactive problem solver with drive to chase issues through to their conclusion

• Demonstrable strong attention to detail

• A flexible, pragmatic attitude to work, planning and interactions with others is required along with a well developed sense of humour & irony.

Overseas travel may be required in this role to support testing in customer premises & test facilities in locations worldwide

Able to demonstrate company mindsets and behaviours; Be accountable, Drive & delivery, Communicate effectively, Self-manage effectively, Work as one team

Location

SSTL prides itself on being a super flexible company. The role is based in our Head Office in Guildford, but we fully support hybrid working and a range of flexible working options.

Benefits

Our comprehensive benefits package includes; 32 days Holiday plus Bank Holidays, Pension Scheme with Life Assurance, Private Medical & International Travel Insurance, Annual Bonus Scheme, Share Incentive Plan, Enhanced Maternity, Paternity & Shared Parental Pay for new parents, High Street Discount Scheme and many more!