About the job

Job summary

At Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S), we supply and maintain vital equipment and services for the Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force. Together, we deliver a vast range of essential defence programmes, and strive for what's next. Because it helps keep our military at the top of their game and our nation safe – for today, and tomorrow.

We offer 25+ days’ holiday, flexible and hybrid working, enhanced parental leave schemes, shopping discounts, and an exceptional employer pension contribution of around 27%, to help work, work for you.

Nationality, visas and vetting: For security reasons this role is open to sole UK nationals only. A ‘sole UK national’ refers to an individual who holds citizenship solely in the UK, without dual citizenship or nationality from another country. We’re unable to offer visa sponsorship.

This role requires you to have lived in the UK for the last 5 years and obtain Security Check (SC) security clearance. Clearance must be obtained without any caveats that prevent you from carrying out the role you have been recruited for. If it isn’t obtained, or is obtained but with caveats that prevent you from carrying out the role, any conditional offer made to you will be withdrawn. Obtaining SC security clearance can be a lengthy process, and we reserve the right to withdraw any conditional offer made if the necessary security clearance isn’t obtained within 12 months.

Job description

Meaningful work. Support for progression. Family-friendly working practices. Looking for an engineering role where you can benefit from all this and more? Welcome to DE&S. We are actively looking for Engineers with experience in electronics, sensors, systems or communications to join us in Filton, Bristol.

You will become part of our Integrated Battlespace Operating Centre (IBOC) – IBOC has a diverse portfolio including communications, networks, radars, Electronic Warfare (EW) - including Electronic Countermeasures (ECM), Electronic Surveillance (ES) and Electronic Attack (EA), Chemical Biological Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN), and Air Traffic Management (ATM) equipment.

You will help ensure the platforms and equipment we deliver to the military are available and safe to operate by providing engineering support and assurance on all activities related to sensors and electronic systems.

As an Engineer you will work within a multidisciplinary team, providing insight and specialist advice in relation to your area of expertise as well as providing technical assurance of complex projects. You will work closely with a wide range of specialisms, bringing your problem-solving and team working skills to deliver projects that directly contribute towards current and future military operations.

At DE&S, we champion flexible ways of working. Regular in-person attendance is required to promote the benefits of face-to-face collaboration alongside flexibility of hours to support work-life balance. Initially, you may be expected to attend more frequently to familiarise yourselves with the site, the team, and your role. Please note, there will be regular travel to other UK sites involved and the potential for international travel.

Due to the nature of security requirements for some roles, you may be required to undergo Developed Vetting (DV) clearance once in the post.

What you’ll be doing

• Working with suppliers to develop and assess designs and plan for the test & acceptance of solutions
• Providing specialist input to system requirements setting and engineering planning
• Pro-actively contribute to the development of safe systems by identifying hazards and suggesting/evaluating technical risk mitigations
• Engaging with the military end user to diagnose and solve issues with in-service capabilities
• Attending equipment trials and assessing trials data to ensure the equipment meets the system requirements specification

Person specification

To be successful with your application, you'll need to show that you meet the following essential criteria:

• Hold a HNC (i.e., Level 4 or higher) qualification in a relevant field, or have the equivalent experience
• Experience working in a team and with a variety of stakeholders
• Technical experience in at least one of the following engineering disciplines: electronics, sensors, systems or communications

In addition to the responsibilities above, the following technical competences and behaviours will be assessed at interview:

• Technical Requirements, Evaluation & Acceptance (Supervised Practitioner)
• Technical Risk Management (Supervised Practitioner)
• Communicating and influencing
• Making effective decisions

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £36,100, Ministry of Defence contributes £9,747 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Things you need to know

Selection process details

Your application will go through the following stages of assessment:

1. Pre-sift - We will check that you meet any essential or eligibility criteria that are listed in the Person Specification section of this advert. On your CV, please clearly show how you meet the essential criteria.
2. Sift - Your CV will be assessed against the following categories, using a simple numerical scoring system: Key Achievements; Relevant Experience; Applied Knowledge and Skills

Please follow our guidance on CV writing for best chance of success.

1. Interview - If you're invited to interview, you'll be assessed against the Sift categories listed above, as well as the Technical Competences and Behaviours listed in the Person Specification section of this advert.

Security

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window). People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

Open to UK nationals only.

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window). The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria. The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.