How to Apply to Leonardo UK

13 min read Last updated April 20, 2026 5 open positions

Key Takeaways

  • Leonardo UK Limited is the British arm of Italian aerospace and defence group Leonardo S.p.A., with more than 7,000 UK employees across Yeovil, Edinburgh, Luton, Basildon, Bristol, Southampton and Lincoln.
  • Yeovil is the global centre for AgustaWestland-heritage rotorcraft (AW101 Merlin, AW159 Wildcat, AW139, AW169, AW189), Edinburgh anchors airborne radar and electronic warfare, Luton and Basildon deliver defensive aids and infrared systems, and Bristol leads the UK cyber and secure-communications portfolio.
  • Apply through uk.leonardo.com/en/careers; the UK portal is tuned for UK clearance, BPSS, residency history and right-to-work, and routes applications to UK Talent Acquisition by site and business area.
  • Most UK roles require eligibility for UK SC or DV clearance; nationality, residency history and clearance status are decisive factors in the application pipeline and visa sponsorship is limited.
  • Compensation is competitive within UK defence: roughly £30-38K for graduates, £50-90K for cleared mid-level engineers, £90-140K for senior and principal specialists, and £150K+ for chief engineers and senior managers, with strong pension, share scheme and benefits.
  • The hiring process typically runs 4 to 12 weeks for application-to-offer, with security clearance processing extending time-to-start significantly, especially for DV roles in Edinburgh, Basildon and the Yeovil military lines.
  • Strategic growth themes (GCAP, Eurofighter ECRS Mk2 radar, AW149 New Medium Helicopter outcomes, AUKUS Pillar 2 adjacencies, AI for defence, quantum-resistant communications) are strong angles to explore in cover letters and interview conversations.
  • Leonardo UK rewards candidates who combine deep specialism with commercial awareness and who view a defence career as a long-term commitment rather than a short hop, in keeping with the AgustaWestland and Ferranti engineering traditions.

About Leonardo UK

Leonardo UK Limited is the British arm of Leonardo S.p.A. (BIT: LDO), the Italian state-influenced aerospace, defence and security group headquartered in Rome. With more than 7,000 employees across England, Scotland and Wales, Leonardo UK is one of the country's largest defence contributors and the home of some of the most strategically significant capabilities in the UK industrial base. Italian government influence runs through Cassa Depositi e Prestiti and the Ministry of Economy and Finance, but UK operations are conducted as a British defence company under UK law, UK security regulation and UK trade-union frameworks, with day-to-day leadership reporting into Leonardo's Rome HQ via the divisional structures for Helicopters, Electronics and Cyber & Security Solutions. The company's UK footprint is anchored by the AgustaWestland heritage at Yeovil in Somerset, where the rotorcraft business designs, manufactures, assembles and supports both military helicopters (the AW101 Merlin operated by the Royal Navy and RAF, and the AW159 Wildcat operated by the Royal Navy and British Army) and the civil AW139, AW169 and AW189 family used worldwide for offshore energy, search-and-rescue, EMS and VIP transport. Yeovil traces its rotorcraft lineage back to Westland Aircraft Works in 1915 and represents a century-old centre of British helicopter engineering that survives intact under the Leonardo name. The UK Helicopters business was reinforced by the Strategic Partnering Arrangement signed with the UK Ministry of Defence and by the New Medium Helicopter (NMH) competition outcomes that continue to shape the Yeovil order book through the late 2020s and beyond. Leonardo UK's electronics business operates from Edinburgh (Crewe Toll, the historic Ferranti site that today builds airborne radars, electro-optic systems, and electronic-warfare suites), Luton (defence electronics, infrared countermeasures, laser systems), Basildon in Essex (electronic warfare and defensive aids), Southampton (advanced electronics R&D), and Lincoln (training and aircraft support). These sites contribute the Praetorian DASS suite for Eurofighter Typhoon, the BriteCloud expendable active decoy, the Skyward-G infrared search-and-track system, and the radar and avionics building blocks for the trilateral Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) with BAE Systems and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. Bristol hosts a meaningful share of Leonardo's UK Cyber & Security Solutions activity, supporting government and critical-national-infrastructure customers in defensive cyber, secure communications, and mission-critical systems integration. Leadership has been in a generational transition. Roberto Cingolani became Leonardo Group CEO in May 2023, succeeding Alessandro Profumo, and has placed UK growth, GCAP execution and European defence consolidation at the centre of the 2024-2028 industrial plan. UK operations are run through Leonardo UK Limited and the Helicopters Division (with Yeovil as a global centre), and the company's UK leadership remains a regular interlocutor with the UK MoD, Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S), the Royal Navy, the British Army and the Royal Air Force. With group revenue of approximately 16-18 billion euro in 2024 and a backlog north of 44 billion euro, the UK arm benefits directly from European rearmament, AUKUS-adjacent capability work, and the long-cycle nature of British defence programmes.

Application Process

  1. 1
    Search open roles at uk

    Search open roles at uk.leonardo.com/en/careers, the dedicated UK careers portal that filters roles by site (Yeovil, Edinburgh, Luton, Basildon, Bristol, Southampton, Lincoln) and by business area (Helicopters, Electronics, Cyber & Security Solutions, Corporate).

  2. 2
    Submit your CV through the official UK portal rather than third-party aggregator

    Submit your CV through the official UK portal rather than third-party aggregators; Leonardo UK recruiters track source attribution and direct applications route fastest into the relevant business unit's pipeline.

  3. 3
    Initial recruiter screen by phone or Microsoft Teams, typically 30 to 45 minutes

    Initial recruiter screen by phone or Microsoft Teams, typically 30 to 45 minutes, covering motivation, technical background, current security clearance status, salary expectations, notice period, and right-to-work in the UK.

  4. 4
    Clearance pre-check: Leonardo UK confirms eligibility to be sponsored for UK Sec

    Clearance pre-check: Leonardo UK confirms eligibility to be sponsored for UK Security Check (SC) or Developed Vetting (DV) before progressing technical rounds; for many roles, especially in Edinburgh, Basildon and the Yeovil military lines, this is a hard gate.

  5. 5
    Technical interview with the hiring manager and one or two senior engineers, usu

    Technical interview with the hiring manager and one or two senior engineers, usually one to two hours covering domain-specific competencies (rotorcraft design, AESA radar, EW, infrared systems, embedded software, mission systems, manufacturing engineering, cybersecurity).

  6. 6
    Competency-based panel interview against Leonardo behaviours, often using STAR-f

    Competency-based panel interview against Leonardo behaviours, often using STAR-format questions on collaboration, innovation, accountability, customer focus, and integrity; for Yeovil and Edinburgh roles this often includes a site visit and a short presentation.

  7. 7
    For senior, principal or chief engineering roles, expect a written exercise, a p

    For senior, principal or chief engineering roles, expect a written exercise, a presentation to the panel on a relevant programmatic or technical topic, and a final conversation with a head of department or director.

  8. 8
    Offer subject to formal UK security clearance processing (SC typically 6 to 12 w

    Offer subject to formal UK security clearance processing (SC typically 6 to 12 weeks, DV often 6 to 12 months), pre-employment screening (BPSS), references, and medical where required for safety-critical or flight-line roles.

  9. 9
    Onboarding includes mandatory security briefings, Official Secrets Act acknowled

    Onboarding includes mandatory security briefings, Official Secrets Act acknowledgement, business-unit induction at the relevant site, and assignment to a specific programme or capability team.


Resume Tips for Leonardo UK

recommended

Lead your CV with a concise professional summary that names your discipline (e

Lead your CV with a concise professional summary that names your discipline (e.g., 'Chartered Aerospace Engineer specialising in rotorcraft dynamics' or 'Principal RF Engineer with airborne radar focus') and your clearance status, since UK defence recruiters scan for this immediately.

recommended

Quote your security clearance explicitly and accurately: 'Active UK SC (granted

Quote your security clearance explicitly and accurately: 'Active UK SC (granted 2024-09)', 'UK DV in process', or 'BPSS cleared, eligible for SC' rather than vague phrases like 'fully cleared' or 'security cleared'.

recommended

Use a UK-style two-page CV for most professional roles; only senior, principal,

Use a UK-style two-page CV for most professional roles; only senior, principal, chief engineer or research-heavy candidates should extend to three pages, and only with substantive content.

recommended

Map your experience to Leonardo UK capability areas: rotorcraft (AW101, AW159, A

Map your experience to Leonardo UK capability areas: rotorcraft (AW101, AW159, AW139, AW169, AW189), airborne radar (AESA, Captor-E, ECRS Mk2), electronic warfare (Praetorian DASS, BriteCloud, EuroDASS), infrared (Skyward-G, Miysis DIRCM), avionics, mission systems, secure communications, defensive cyber.

recommended

Quantify outcomes in defence terms: programme value (GBP millions), TRL/MRL prog

Quantify outcomes in defence terms: programme value (GBP millions), TRL/MRL progression, certification milestones (DEF STAN, MIL-STD, DO-178C, DO-254, AS9100), production cadence, customer engagements (UK MoD, DE&S, Royal Navy, British Army, RAF, NATO, US DoD foreign military sales).

recommended

Highlight chartership, professional memberships and relevant qualifications: CEn

Highlight chartership, professional memberships and relevant qualifications: CEng, IEng, IMechE, IET, RAeS, CISSP, and any apprenticeship completion or recognised UK MoD training.

recommended

Use tools and standards Leonardo UK actually employs: MATLAB/Simulink, DOORS, Ca

Use tools and standards Leonardo UK actually employs: MATLAB/Simulink, DOORS, Cameo MagicDraw, Python, C, C++, Ada, VHDL, Xilinx, MATLAB phased-array toolbox, ARP4754A, DO-160, DEF STAN 00-970 (military air), DEF STAN 00-056, MITRE ATT&CK, NIST SP 800-series.

recommended

For Yeovil rotorcraft roles, list any experience with rotor dynamics, structural

For Yeovil rotorcraft roles, list any experience with rotor dynamics, structural fatigue (DEF STAN, FAR 27/29, EASA CS-27/CS-29), gearbox design, composite manufacture, flight test, and any time spent on AW101, AW159, AW139, AW169 or AW189 programmes; competitor experience at Airbus Helicopters or Boeing Defense is also a strong signal.

recommended

Tailor each application: copy the exact job reference into your cover letter, mi

Tailor each application: copy the exact job reference into your cover letter, mirror the language of the job description, and explain why this specific Leonardo UK role and site (Yeovil, Edinburgh, Luton, Basildon, Bristol, Southampton, Lincoln) fits your trajectory.

recommended

Save your CV as a PDF named 'Surname_Firstname_LeonardoUK_JobRef

Save your CV as a PDF named 'Surname_Firstname_LeonardoUK_JobRef.pdf' and confirm there are no embedded images, headers/footers in tables, or non-standard fonts that the Leonardo UK ATS could mis-parse.



Interview Culture

Interviewing at Leonardo UK blends British defence industry formality with the longer-cycle, engineering-led culture inherited from AgustaWestland in Yeovil and Ferranti/GEC-Marconi in Edinburgh.

Expect interviewers who are technically deep, often Chartered Engineers, ex-military officers, long-tenured rotorcraft specialists, or senior radar and electronic-warfare experts who have spent decades on platforms still flying with the British armed forces. Conversations are professional, structured and respectful; theatrics, hard-sell or oversharing tend to land poorly. Panels usually combine a hiring manager, a senior technical reviewer, and a UK HR or talent partner, with competency questions following the STAR format mapped to Leonardo behaviours such as integrity, accountability, customer focus, collaboration and innovation. For Yeovil rotorcraft roles, you should be ready to discuss real programmes you have shipped, including failures and lessons learned, and to demonstrate genuine understanding of helicopter design, certification (EASA CS-27/CS-29, DEF STAN 00-970), and the realities of British military aviation support. Test pilot, flight test engineer and aircrew roles emphasise airmanship, judgement under uncertainty, and explicit reasoning about risk; many interviewers come from Empire Test Pilots' School backgrounds and value precise, calibrated language. Manufacturing engineering and operations interviews focus on AS9100 discipline, composite and metallic processes, gearbox and transmission engineering, and how you have managed quality escapes, shop-floor change, and trade-union representatives during production reorganisation. Edinburgh, Luton and Basildon electronics interviews probe first-principles understanding rather than framework trivia. A radar engineer will be questioned on Doppler, clutter modelling, waveform design, AESA architecture, and antenna theory; an electronic-warfare engineer on threat library construction, RF effects, and operational doctrine; a signal-processing engineer on real-time DSP, FPGA design, and integration with mission systems. Cyber and secure-communications roles in Bristol test understanding of the UK MoD threat environment, NATO context, secure boot and red-team thinking. For commercial, programme or consulting roles, expect questions on UK MoD procurement, DE&S engagement, Single Source Regulations (SSRO), AUKUS structure, and how you would steward a multi-decade contract such as a Strategic Partnering Arrangement. Culturally, Leonardo UK values measured confidence over bravado. Demonstrate genuine interest in national-security outcomes, articulate why the UK arm of an Italian national champion appeals to you over a pure British prime, and show you can work calmly across UK customers, military stakeholders, allied partners, the Italian parent's divisions, and academic collaborators. Bringing thoughtful questions about the GCAP UK industrial role, the New Medium Helicopter outcome, the Eurofighter ECRS Mk2 radar, or the strategic position of Yeovil signals that you understand Leonardo UK's modern shape, not just the AgustaWestland past.

What Leonardo UK Looks For

  • Demonstrable technical depth in a discipline Leonardo UK delivers: rotorcraft engineering, airborne radar, electronic warfare, infrared and electro-optic systems, mission systems software, secure communications, manufacturing engineering, or defensive cyber.
  • Eligibility for and willingness to maintain UK SC or DV clearance, including stable UK residency history and the nationality profile required by HMG security policy for the specific role.
  • Customer empathy for UK defence and security users: UK MoD, DSTL, DE&S, Royal Navy, British Army, RAF, plus NATO partners, allied governments, and FMS export customers operating Leonardo UK products.
  • Programme delivery discipline appropriate to multi-year, regulated, often classified contracts: risk management, configuration control, rigorous documentation, certification authority engagement, and supplier oversight under AS9100.
  • Ability to communicate clearly with technical, military, commercial and political audiences, including writing concise briefs and presenting to senior officers, civil servants and executives.
  • Integrity and ethical judgement, especially around classification, export control (UK Strategic Export Controls, US ITAR/EAR for collaborative programmes), conflicts of interest and dual-use technology.
  • Collaboration across UK sites, with the Italian Leonardo Group divisions, with joint-venture partners (BAE Systems and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries on GCAP, MBDA on missile systems, Eurofighter consortium partners, Thales on selected programmes), and with the UK academic base.
  • Curiosity about emerging capability areas Leonardo UK is investing in: GCAP and sixth-generation air systems, AESA radar (ECRS Mk2), advanced EW, autonomy and uncrewed rotorcraft, AI-enabled mission systems, quantum-resistant communications, and resilient defensive cyber.
  • Long-horizon mindset. Leonardo UK programmes run 20-40 years (Eurofighter, AW101 Merlin, AW159 Wildcat, GCAP); job hoppers with twelve-month tenures get questioned hard.
  • Cultural awareness around the dual UK and Italian heritage and around UK trade-union frameworks (Unite the Union, Prospect, GMB at relevant sites); experience working constructively with employee representatives is a positive signal.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does Leonardo UK pay engineers compared with BAE Systems, QinetiQ and Raytheon UK?
Indicative UK ranges based on industry benchmarks and Glassdoor UK self-reports: graduate engineers around £30-38K, mid-level cleared engineers £50-90K, senior and principal specialists £90-140K, and chief engineers, programme directors and senior managers £150-250K+ including bonus and long-term incentive. Leonardo UK pays broadly in line with BAE Systems and QinetiQ for equivalent grades, sometimes slightly below the very top of BAE Systems' Air sector for principal engineers, and broadly comparable with Raytheon UK and MBDA for cleared specialists. Total package typically includes a defined-contribution pension with generous employer matching, BUPA-style private medical, life assurance, share-related schemes, and 25-27 days holiday plus bank holidays. Cleared positions, especially DV-cleared roles in EW, radar and cyber, attract a noticeable premium across all UK primes.
Do I need UK security clearance to work at Leonardo UK?
For the majority of Leonardo UK roles, yes. Most positions require at least UK Security Check (SC) clearance, and many specialist roles in EW, radar, secure communications, cyber and certain Yeovil military programmes require Developed Vetting (DV). To be sponsored for SC or DV you must generally be a British national (or, in some cases, a dual national or long-term resident) with a stable, verifiable residency history, typically the last 5 years for SC and 10 years for DV. Some commercial, HR or back-office roles require only Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS). Leonardo UK confirms clearance eligibility early in the process, and the actual SC or DV vetting can extend time-to-start by months.
Does Leonardo UK sponsor visas for international candidates?
Visa sponsorship is limited and highly role-dependent. Leonardo UK primarily hires UK nationals, dual nationals where clearance permits, and EU citizens with established UK residency for non-cleared corporate, R&D and certain commercial functions. Pure international sponsorship for cleared defence positions is rare due to nationality and residency requirements in HMG security clearance frameworks. Some specialist senior R&D, engineering or programme-leadership hires may receive sponsorship on the Skilled Worker route where the role allows, but candidates should not assume sponsorship without confirming with the recruiter early in the process.
Does Leonardo UK run graduate, apprentice or intern programmes?
Yes, and they are a major route into the company. The Leonardo UK Graduate Programme recruits annually across engineering, software, cyber, programme management, supply chain and commercial disciplines, typically offering structured rotations and supporting professional registration (CEng, IEng). Leonardo UK also runs one of the larger UK degree-apprenticeship and engineering-apprenticeship programmes in the defence sector, with significant intakes at Yeovil, Edinburgh, Luton and Basildon, plus summer internships and industrial placements partnered with leading universities. Early-careers schemes are a major route into security-cleared roles for UK undergraduates and school leavers, with applications usually opening in autumn for the following year.
Should I choose helicopters at Yeovil, electronics at Edinburgh or Luton, or cyber at Bristol?
Yeovil is the right choice if you want to work hands-on with rotorcraft for the long term: design, certification, manufacture, flight test and through-life support of the AW101 Merlin, AW159 Wildcat and the civil AW139, AW169, AW189 family. Career horizons are decades long, and Yeovil offers genuine British rotorcraft engineering depth that does not exist elsewhere in the UK. Edinburgh (Crewe Toll) is the right choice for airborne radar, electronic warfare and electro-optic systems engineers who want to work on Eurofighter ECRS Mk2, GCAP sensor architectures and next-generation EW. Luton focuses on defensive aids, infrared countermeasures and laser systems; Basildon on EW and defensive aids; Southampton on advanced electronics R&D. Bristol is best if you want to work on UK government cyber and secure-communications missions. All three career tracks lead to chartered engineer status and long-term defence careers; the right choice is mostly geography and discipline.
How does the AgustaWestland heritage influence working at Yeovil today?
Substantially. The Yeovil site has been a centre of British helicopter engineering since Westland Aircraft Works opened in 1915, through Westland Helicopters, GKN Westland, the AgustaWestland joint venture, and full integration into Leonardo. The site retains a genuine West Country rotorcraft culture: long employee tenures, deep family connections to the factory, strong trade-union representation (Unite the Union, GMB and Prospect at relevant grades), pride in supporting the Royal Navy, the British Army and the Royal Air Force, and an engineering community where most senior people have worked on multiple helicopter generations. New joiners are expected to respect that heritage, learn from it, and contribute to it rather than disrupt it; bringing humility to an established centre of excellence lands well, while bravado lands badly.
What is GCAP and what does it mean for Leonardo UK careers?
GCAP, the Global Combat Air Programme, is the trilateral partnership between the UK (BAE Systems, Leonardo UK, Rolls-Royce, MBDA UK), Italy (Leonardo S.p.A., Avio Aero, MBDA Italy) and Japan (Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Mitsubishi Electric, IHI, Japan Aero Engines, MBDA partners) to design a sixth-generation crewed combat aircraft for first flight later this decade and entry into service in the 2030s. The joint venture, Edgewing, is hiring aggressively across systems engineering, avionics, propulsion integration, mission systems, electronic warfare, AI/ML, software safety and programme management. For Leonardo UK, GCAP is anchored in the Edinburgh and Luton sensor and EW work, the broader UK industrial workshare with BAE Systems, and the long-cycle design effort that will define UK and Italian combat-air capability for decades. It is one of the most significant career opportunities in the UK defence industry.
What is it like working under Italian Leonardo Group ownership while based in the UK?
Leonardo UK operates as a British defence company under UK law, UK security regulation and UK trade-union frameworks, with day-to-day decisions made by UK leadership at the relevant site. Group strategy, divisional reporting and certain corporate functions sit with Rome HQ, and senior leaders interact regularly with Italian colleagues, but most UK engineers, technicians and managers experience Leonardo UK as a UK employer. International mobility opportunities exist for engineers who want to spend time in Italy (Genoa, Rome, Cascina Costa, Vergiate, Cameri) or in other Leonardo locations, particularly on shared programmes such as Eurofighter, GCAP and the AW family. Italian Leonardo Group ownership brings access to broader European defence programmes, multi-national engineering teams, and a parent-group commitment to the UK as a strategic market that has continued under successive Italian government administrations and under CEO Roberto Cingolani.
How long does the hiring process take and how does clearance affect time-to-start?
Plan for four to twelve weeks from application to offer for typical engineering roles, longer if a security clearance is required. The actual SC vetting typically adds six to twelve weeks; DV vetting can add six to twelve months and is usually completed before you can start on cleared programmes. Candidates with active SC or DV clearance who can transfer it across an employer change have a meaningful advantage and can sometimes start within a few weeks of offer. Senior leadership hires can run four to six months given multi-stakeholder approvals across the UK business and, for some roles, alignment with Rome.
How strong is union representation at Leonardo UK and how should I think about it?
Trade-union representation is a real feature of working at Leonardo UK, particularly at Yeovil and at the larger electronics sites, with Unite the Union, Prospect and GMB representing engineering, technical and shop-floor staff at relevant grades. You should treat this as a stabilising force rather than a liability: unions negotiate collective agreements, provide structure for change management, and are a normal part of UK defence industrial culture, mirroring the Italian parent's relationships with FIM-CISL, FIOM-CGIL and UILM-UIL. Mentioning constructive experience working with employee representatives or works councils in interview is a positive signal, especially for manufacturing, operations and programme-management roles.
What kinds of UK roles are easiest to break into right now?
Early-career rotorcraft engineering and manufacturing apprenticeships at Yeovil, RF and antenna engineering at Edinburgh, EW and defensive-aids engineering at Luton and Basildon, embedded software and signal processing across the electronics sites, supply chain and quality engineering supporting the increased UK MoD order book, secure-communications and defensive-cyber engineering at Bristol, and graduate-programme entry across all sites. Mid-career hires with active UK SC or DV clearance and backgrounds in radar, EW, mission systems, rotorcraft certification or secure software are in particularly high demand through the GCAP, ECRS Mk2 and AW149 New Medium Helicopter cycles.

Open Positions

Leonardo UK currently has 5 open positions.

Check Your Resume Before Applying → View 5 open positions at Leonardo UK

Sources

  1. Leonardo UK - Careers
  2. Leonardo UK - About Us
  3. Leonardo S.p.A. - Investor Relations and Annual Report 2024
  4. Leonardo Industrial Plan 2024-2028
  5. Leonardo Helicopters - Yeovil
  6. Leonardo Edinburgh (Crewe Toll) - Electronics
  7. GCAP Global Combat Air Programme - UK industrial role
  8. UK Government - Security Clearance levels (UKSV)
  9. Eurofighter Typhoon ECRS Mk2 radar programme
  10. Leonardo UK Graduate and Apprenticeship Programmes
  11. Roberto Cingolani appointed Leonardo CEO (May 2023)
  12. Cassa Depositi e Prestiti and MEF - Leonardo shareholding