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: 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or is obtained but with caveats that prevent you from carrying out the role, any conditional offer made to you will be withdrawn.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

Here at Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S), we're looking for Mechanical or Marine Engineers to join our teams in Bristol or Portsmouth. We're dedicated to supporting our people to learn, progress, and take that next career step - so let us know your ambitions and we'll be with you every step of the way. This is a brilliant opportunity to develop your career in Engineering and take on a meaningful and rewarding role supporting UK Defence.

If you have a desire to learn, make a difference and begin a long and varied career, you could join our Maritime Ship Support Team (MSS). MSS provides engineering and management support to all marine platforms, including surface and submarine vessels, on behalf of the Royal Navy (RN). They offer subject matter expertise to the Platform Authority, Operational Duty Holder, Delegated Duty Holder, and RN front line staff as needed to ensure equipment safety and logistics support throughout the life of the platform.

You will be allocated to either the Marine Propulsion or Marine Auxiliary sub-teams within MSS. These are multi-functional teams responsible for the planning and delivery of support to equipment currently in service and deployed across RN platforms, including Marine Diesel Engines, Marine Transmissions Steering and Stabilisers, Fluid Systems, Marine Handling and Lifting, Environmental, Domestics and Habitability.

You will benefit from professional development, job stability, and the chance to work on high profile projects, as well as providing a great work/life balance and an array of other perks which come with joining DE&S. In addition, you will have the opportunity to travel to other UK sites, Warships and dockyards, which will give you valuable exposure to the equipment. Our more senior Engineers will also mentor and develop you, helping you improve your skills and progress in your role.

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.

What you’ll be doing

• Responsible for the engineering in-service support and availability of the assigned equipment area
• Conducting technical investigations to resolve technical defects and ensure equipment is available, capable, and safe to operate
• Supporting the supply of equipment by liaising with platforms and Original Equipment Manufacturers to ensure that the correct equipment can be provided
• Management of Design Change activities and define design change processes
• Provision of engineering subject matter engineering support and advice to Front Line Command Operators, Platform Teams and Waterfront authorities in support of equipment operation, fault finding, defect rectification, maintenance activities etc. 
• Manage engineering technical requirements (definition, architecture, integration, contract assessment and management and change)
• Support Supply Chain staff in the management of obsolescent and hazardous materials within the supply chain, identifying alternative materials, introducing those alternatives into service and updating configuration data and documentation to ensure continued supportability 
• Support the development and maintenance of engineering artefacts, including safety and environmental, for assigned equipment
• Support the maintenance of equipment technical artefacts including Books of Reference, maintenance definition, instructional documents, Defence Standards and illustrated parts catalogues etc.
• Support senior Engineers with reviewing and investigating concessions requests from vessels

Person specification

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

• A minimum of a HNC qualification (e.g., Level 4) in an engineering subject, or equivalent relevant experience
• Experience working with multi-discipline teams and a variety of stakeholders including contractors
• Experience in Mechanical or Marine Engineering

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

• Technical Requirements, Evaluation and 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.

3. 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.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

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

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

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.