Senior Manager Systems Engineering
Confirmed on the employer's own hiring board on Oct 20, 2026. First seen by Alion on Oct 20, 2026. Thales Group scores A on the Alion truth index.
This role is Hybrid Ottawa
Senior Manager, Systems Engineering
Position Summary
Thales Canada Defence & Security (TCDS) is looking for a Senior Manager, Systems Engineering. The Senior Manager of Systems Engineering is the Head of Discipline (HoD) responsible for Systems Engineering (SysEng) across the organization. They are also the Resource Manager for the SysEng Resource Managers.
The Senior Manager, System Engineering provides System Engineering support throughout the project life cycle from requirements analysis and design, through development, integration, test and acceptance to integrate electronic systems on commercial and military platforms. The Senior Manager of Systems Engineering is responsible for inspiring and catalysing the improvement of best practices, processes, tools and governance within the Systems Engineering discipline and its sub-disciplines, ensuring that they are mastered effectively. They act as a primary point of contact on complex subjects and take on an educational role so that their team can reach discipline excellence and deliver competitive solutions within a multidisciplinary environment. They are a mentor and coach - serving the discipline’s engineers and offering a diverse and inclusive environment. They are the guardians of an engineering discipline excellence in a learning environment which contribute to our highly competitive advantage.
The Senior Manager of Systems Engineering reports to the Director of Engineering.
Regulatory Compliance Requirement
This position requires direct or indirect access to hardware, software or technical information controlled under the Canadian Export Control List and/or the US the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). All applicants must be eligible or able to obtain authorization for such access.
Key Areas of Responsibility
Resource Manager
- Leads a team of Resource Managers
- Provides appropriate resources to deliver bids, projects and products
- Plans the team’s workload in the short, medium and long term
- Develops team skills to support bids, projects and products
- Supports recruitment, onboarding, performance management, career management and succession planning for the team
- Coaches, mentors and develops the team
- Leads the team to meet company expectations for productivity, chargeability, quality, continuous improvement and accomplishment of objectives
- Ensures that company policies and procedures are followed, including timesheets, time off, and travel undefined
Head of Discipline
- Responsible for the establishment, standardization and evolution of processes, procedures and tooling for the discipline and sub-disciplines
- Ensures that the discipline and sub-discipline processes, procedures and tooling meet the current and future needs of the bids, projects and products
- Responsible for development of lessons learned and the sharing of knowledge and experience across the discipline and sub-disciplines
- Responsible for bid, project and product estimates for the discipline and sub-disciplinesSystems Engineering sub-disciplines include Modeling and Simulation, Human Factors Engineering, Requirements Management, Environmental Engineering, and Safety Engineering.
Manager of Systems Engineering
- Implement and sustain the Company’s SysEng capability
- Perform SysEng Planning and Management
- Responsible to define subcontractor SysEng activities
- Maintain and report on SysEng metrics
- Define Technical Performance Measures for bids, projects and products
- Improve the Company’s Model-Based Systems Engineering capabilities
Member of the Systems Engineering team
- Responsible for performing SysEng work on bids, projects and products.
Minimum Requirements
- An engineering degree or 3-year technical program diploma in a technical field from a recognized university or college program or certified as a technologist by a recognized provincial, state, or federal (national) licensing body in a related field
- A minimum of 8 years of experience in the last 15 years managing a SysEng team
- A minimum of 8 years of experience in the last 15 years of responsibility for SysEng functions
- A minimum of 5 year of experience in the last 10 years as a Systems Engineering Manager for a Capital or In-Service Support contractExpertise in at least one SysEng tool
- Expertise in at least one SysEng standardExpertise in Requirements ManagementA minimum of 8 years of experience as a people or resource manager
- A minimum of 5 years of experience managing a budget
- A minimum of 8 years of experience managing an Engineering Discipline, including responsibility for associated policies and procedures
- Strong written and verbal communication skills in English
Preferred Qualifications
- A Master’s degree in Engineering, Science, or a related fieldManagement of budget worth at least 1MCAD
- Experience in the Defence industry
- Fluency in French
Special Position Requirements
- Occasional national and international travel. About 4 times per year.
The reference Total Target Compensation (TTC) market range for this position, inclusive of annual base salary and the variable compensation target, is between Total Target Cash (TTC) $140,000 - $160,000 CAD Annual.This reflects how companies in a similar industry and geographic region generally pay for similar jobs. This range helps the Company make pay decisions as one data point among many. Where a position falls within this range is also dependent on other factors including - but not limited to - the employee’s career path history, competencies, skills and performance, as well as the company’s annual salary budget, the customer’s program requirements, and the company’s internal equity. Thales may offer additional benefits and other compensation, depending on circumstances not related to an applicant’s status protected by local, state, or federal law.
We use artificial intelligence-enabled tools as part of our recruitment process to support activities such as candidate discovery, résumé matching, and interview scheduling. These tools may help screen and assess applications and recommend potential matches based on the requirements within the job description. All hiring decisions, including candidate evaluation, selection, and disposition, are made by human recruiters. Artificial intelligence does not make hiring decisions on our behalf.
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Thales provides an extensive benefits program for all full-time employees working 24 or more hours per week and their eligible dependents, including the following:
- Company paid Extended Health, Dental, HSA, Life, AD&D, Short-term Disability, Cancer Care Program, travel insurance, Employee Assistance Plan and Well-Being program.
- Retirement Savings Plans (RRSP, DCPP, TFSA) with a company contribution and a match to a DCPP, with no vesting period.
- Company paid holidays, vacation days, and paid sick leave.
- Voluntary Life, AD&D, Critical Illness, Long-Term Disability.
- Employee Discounts on home, auto, and gym membership.
Thales is an equal opportunity employer which values diversity and inclusivity in the workplace. Thales is committed to providing accommodations in all parts of the interview process. Applicants selected for an interview who require accommodation are asked to advise accordingly upon the invitation for an interview. We will work with you to meet your needs. All accommodation information provided will be treated as confidential and used only for the purpose of providing an accessible candidate experience.
This position requires direct or indirect access to hardware, software or technical information controlled under the Canadian Export Control List, the Canadian Controlled Goods Program, the Canadian Industrial Security Program, the US International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and/or the US Export Administration Regulations (EAR). All applicants must be eligible or able to obtain authorization for such access including eligibility to the Canadian Controlled Goods Program and able to obtain a Canadian NATO Secret clearance.