Assistant Chief Engineer - Communications

About the job

Country/Region:  GB

City:  Harrogate

Help us grow and make a difference

Babcock Mission Systems is growing, and we need you to support us delivering the next generation of Beyond Line of Sight (BLOS) Radio Frequency (RF) Communications solutions for a variety of national and international customers.

We are looking for an energetic and driven Principal Engineer to lead our expanding engineering team for a major UK programme. This role represents a fantastic and rare opportunity to lead a design team, working on new and exciting international projects as part of a rapidly expanding organisation.

The difference you will make

As our company grows, we want to help and learn from each other in a supportive and relaxed environment with the main aim of delivering high quality products. You will work collaboratively in a team of multi discipline engineers, subject matter experts and the customer to mature and develop creative solutions for our current and future clients.  You will use your knowledge to drive innovative solutions through the design, build, integration and acceptance phases.

What you will be doing:

• Leading, motivating and inspiring the design team, maturing system architecture, product design and producing contract engineering deliverables, working hand-in-hand with the Programme Manager
• Leading technical interactions with the customer and Front Line Commands
• Overseeing the creation of optimally compliant solutions in response to customer requirements, from concepts through to in-life support.
• Managing the engineering governance for the programme, liaising with the Chief Engineer
• Managing interfaces and trade-offs between systems, sub systems and functions.
• Leading the development, building, testing and trialling of solutions.
• Supporting in-service systems, troubleshooting technical faults.
• Overseeing the creation of high-quality design documentation.
• Requirements management, justification and decomposition.
• Overseeing Validation, Verification, Test and Acceptance activities.

Who we’re looking for:

We’re looking for an individual who will bring big ideas and solve complex problems with simple and elegant solutions. If you can navigate change easily, are curious about what the future holds and always seek to learn new skills, you will thrive in this role.

• Pro-active engineers with a theoretical and practical engineering background.
• Have a proven track record of leading successful engineering teams.
• Engineering expertise across the engineering lifecycle V-Model or equivalent from initial concepts, requirements, design, implementation, integration, verification, validation, maintenance and supportability.
• Work collaboratively with the product and functional specialisms to deliver a cohesive solution for the customer.
• Has a deep understanding of technical and project risks and is able to understand how these need to be managed.

Experience

We are looking for a highly effective Principal Engineer with experience in the following areas

Must have:

• Demonstrable system and solution design and delivery experience
• Full Lifecycle engineering management experience
• Knowledge of Military BLOS Communications systems
• Software & Hardware integration experience

Would ideally have:

• Knowledge of UK MoD practices and ways of working
• Data and Audio switching, MOD JSP604, Security by Design, WAN/LAN, VMWare
• RF transmission & reception systems, antennas & RF distribution

Skills and attributes

• Leadership of engineering teams
• Creation of solutions and problem solving in accordance with customer requirements
• Able to adapt to a constantly changing environment.
• Team player but equally capable of working on their own.
• Great communication skills.
• Attention to detail.
• Management of self and workload to ensure on time delivery.
• Exercise care for own health and safety and that of others as defined by Health and Safety. legislation, adhere to endorsed Company policy, procedures and delegations (e.g. Health & Safety, Diversity & Inclusion, Performance & Development Reviews and Finance etc.)
• Conversant with Microsoft Office packages.

Education and qualifications

• Degree or equivalent in Telecommunications or Electronic Engineering. HNC/HND with equivalent, relevant experience is valued and welcomed
• Chartered Engineer or working towards

In return for your skill and passion, you’ll get:

• Development of skills and career through a clear progression path
• Opportunities to travel
• Autonomy to perform the role
• To work on some of the most exciting engineering projects this country has to offer
• Excellent development opportunities and benefits package
• The honour and responsibility of equipping our armed forces

As well as:

• Holiday entitlement: 25 days, plus bank holidays
• Pension scheme with employee pension contributions matched up to 8% of salary, with life assurance
• Our Babcock Rewards Platform allows you to choose from a range of benefits that best meet your needs, including: critical illness insurance, travel insurance, healthcare cash plan, dental insurance, shopping offers and discounts
• Employee Share Plan
• Free, independent employee assistance programme, offering confidential information, support, advice and counselling, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year
• Professional memberships, personal development training and opportunities
• If you are a reservist in the armed forces, we provide up to ten days special paid leave in support of your training commitments

Where it all fits in:

Mission Systems forms a critical, and growing part of Babcock International Group. Our dynamic and motivated leadership team is committed to an exciting transformation agenda that will help Mission Systems to innovate, modernise and create a more people-focussed business that can support our customers.  Working across a range of exciting design, delivery and support projects, Mission Systems employs approximately 1,500 people across the UK and overseas with the largest sites based in Bristol, Plymouth as well as sites at Harrogate, Skelton and Corsham.

This role is within the Communications & Critical Assets area of Mission Systems, which delivers a wide array of complex communications and engineering services to defence and civil customers across the globe. Currently, we have a number of exciting major RF communications programmes within both the UK and for overseas customers including the Commonwealth of Australia and the New Zealand Defence Force.

A number of employee networks support and foster diversity and inclusion within Babcock, connecting people across the business and empowering them to achieve their potential. Our Diversity and Inclusion strategy amplifies their influence.

Other need to knows:

• This role is remotely based from home, however there will be a need for travel within the UK and occasionally overseas, dependent upon programme you work on
• The successful candidate must be able to achieve the appropriate security clearance level for this role; SC clearance is essential with the ability to undergo DV
• Your safety and wellbeing are of paramount importance to us and health and safety is an integral part of our business. We operate in a high-risk environment; therefore we are looking for people who share our understanding and respect for health and safety for ourselves and each other to ensure that everyone goes home safe every day.
• We are happy to talk about flexible working.  Please ask about alternative patterns of work at interview.

Application Guidance

We are committed to building an inclusive culture and strive to attract talent who thrive in an inclusive and flexible working environment. If you have a disability or need any reasonable adjustments during the application and selection stages please let us know and will respond in a way that best fits your specific needs.

Armed Forces Covenant

We are proud to support the armed forces community by honouring the Armed Forces Covenant. We recognise the value that Serving Personnel, both Regular and Reserves, Veterans, Uniformed Cadet Instructors and Service Families contribute to our business and the United Kingdom. As part of the Covenant, Babcock offers Reservists and Uniformed Cadet Instructors up to 2 week’s special paid leave to help them meet their commitments. To find out more please click here.

Babcock International

For more than a century, Babcock has been trusted to deliver bespoke, highly skilled engineering services. We help customers in the UK and around the world to improve the capability, reliability and availability of their most critical assets within four market sectors; Marine, Land, Aviation, and Nuclear. We’re committed to providing a great employee experience in a supportive and engaging environment. You’ll benefit from excellent career and learning and development opportunities to ensure that you grow and achieve your full potential.

This role is within the Marine Sector of Babcock International Group, which delivers a wide array of complex through-life marine engineering services to defence and civil customers across the globe. These range from UK and international naval fleet support, commercial marine, engineering consultancy, weapons handling, equipment support, intelligence, cyber security and training.