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or is obtained but with caveats that prevent you from carrying out the role, any conditional offer made to you will be withdrawn.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

Are you fascinated by innovative technology and excited by the opportunity to work on Royal Navy platforms and combat systems? We currently have two dynamic positions for Systems Engineers within our Ships portfolio. The Ships domain provides a vital service procuring and supporting reliable, sustainable and affordable capability to our customers. 

These roles could see you working in diverse areas with such as Ship Acquisition, Innovation and Future Capability or Maritime Combat Systems. Each offer different but equally exciting challenges with responsibilities for ensuring our suppliers provide systems that meet the requirements of the end users. That could be a fully integrated Combat System on a new ship or an individual system utilising advanced techniques and technologies.

These are influential roles, working with industry, our customers and other key stakeholders, to provide technical expertise, education and assurance. As an integral member of the teams, you will work on major programmes and will have the opportunity to operate across the engineering lifecycle, from deriving requirements, through integration, test and evaluation to in service support. 

Due to the nature of security requirements, some of these posts will be reserved for sole UK nationals only. Please note that regular travel to MOD Abbey Wood will be required for all successful applicants.

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

• Support and manage the systems integration and verification, and assisting with the production, acceptance and resultant configuration control of requirements acceptance procedure
• Manage, coordinate and liaise with key stakeholder
• Monitor, manage and report technology and technical risks to identify improvement opportunities
• Manage safety activities and be cognisant of Project Security requirements
• Support and manage project phase Engineering activities from concept to delivery including trials planning and management, installation planning, schedule and transition into service management etc.

Person specification

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

• Relevant HNC (i.e., Level 4 or higher) qualification in a STEM subject, or equivalent knowledge, skills and experience
• Current experience in combat systems and/or systems engineering preferably in a maritime environment
• Member of a relevant Professional Engineering / Science Institute or equivalent body or demonstrate suitable equivalent experience with a view to achieving the membership within six months of taking up the role
• Experience of providing technical advice and leading the delivery of successful engineering outcomes

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

• Technical Requirements, Evaluation and Acceptance – Practitioner
• Technical Decision Making – Practitioner
• Communicating and Influencing
• Changing and Improving

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £44,500, Ministry of Defence contributes £12,015 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.