Engineer - Autonomy and Boats Support

£48,700 - £51,200

Per annum (pro rata for part time)

A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

Alongside your salary of £48,700, Ministry of Defence contributes £14,108 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

Please follow the link to visit the Discover My Benefits site which showcases the benefits and discounts offered when working as a civilian for the MOD:

https://discovermybenefits.mod.gov.uk/civilian/

SDA Reward Offer - Working for SDA - Submarine Delivery Agency - GOV.UK

Please note, due to the level of security, this role is reserved for UK nationals only.

As a result of the changes to the UK immigration rules which came into effect on 1 January 2021, the Ministry of Defence will only offer sponsorship for a skilled worker visa under the points-based system, where a role has been deemed to be business critical. This role does not meet that category, and we will not sponsor a visa. It is therefore NOT open to applications from those who will require sponsorship under the points-based system.

Should you apply for this role and be found to require sponsorship, your application will be rejected, and any provisional offer of employment withdrawn.

Please note the Civil Service Nationality Rules will also need to be met. The Civil Service Nationality Rules operate independently and in addition to the UK Immigration Rules and must be met before an individual can take up employment in the Civil Service. The Civil Service Nationality Rules do not apply to UK, Irish and Commonwealth nationals, or to those who are eligible to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme but do apply to all other nationalities- including EU/EEA nationals who are ineligible to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme.

Open to UK nationals only.

This role within the UK Naval Authority is hosted by the Submarine Delivery Agency (SDA), which is a part of the Ministry of Defence responsible for the procurement, in-service support, and disposal of the UK's nuclear submarines. The Naval Authority & Technology Group certifies all Royal Navy (RN) surface warships and submarines, as well as small-boats, autonomous and novel craft. Our work is of unparalleled strategic importance nationally and internationally, from ensuring the security of the UK's continuous at-sea nuclear deterrent (CASD), to delivering some of the most technically complex programmes in Defence. At least one of four nuclear-armed submarines, supported by smaller attack submarines, is on patrol at all times: of every hour of every day. The UK surface fleet protects our nation, international trade on the high seas, UK dependencies and interests wherever and whenever our government requires.

Naval Authority and Technology Group (NATG) is responsible for safety certification of MOD shipping (boats, submarines and ships) and the provision of subject matter expert advice in safety related technical areas such as navigation, stability and fire safety. The Autonomy and Boats Support role is an engineering post within NATG that supports the Autonomy and Boats section head in the delivery of safety certification for all MOD boats and maritime autonomous systems. There are two main elements to the role:

1) Coordinating the issue of safety certification for over 100 classes of conventionally manned and operated military boats; and
2) Coordinating the safety certification for innovative autonomous and uncrewed vessels.

The successful candidate can expect to:

• Liaise with MOD projects and lead them through certification processes, providing authoritative advice and guidance on boats and autonomous vessel design standards, safety and certification.
• Receive, check, record and disseminate requests for and amendments to boats and autonomy certification.
• Coordinate with other NATG sections involved in boats and autonomy to ensure a coherent approach to certification.
• Engage with other UK regulators, classification societies, other government departments and specialist interest groups through professional correspondence and informative contributions at stakeholder engagement meetings.
• Represent UK MOD interests at international boats and autonomy working groups.
• Support NATG continuous improvement through co-operation with internal audits and draft publication reviews.
• Maintain certification records area and information dashboards, and present on trends, issues and metrics.
• Monitor national and international autonomous vessel and boat safety standards and respond to new standards and legislation accordingly.
• Identify and manage external tasking to take forward rules and guidance development.

This role is especially suited to someone with adaptive communication and leadership styles because the role requires providing a mix of guidance, assistance and instruction to individuals and teams across the MOD and beyond. The right person will have a clear grounding in overarching maritime safety principles and be confident applying this both to conventional manned vessels and to autonomous vessels that challenge conventional processes and approaches to safety. The role is highly collaborative and would suit someone who is comfortable organising, assisting and getting the best from technical experts, but who is also able to solve complex policy problems on their own. We would consider a range of backgrounds as suitable, including safety engineering, safety policy, vessel design, in-service support, marine survey or small craft operations.

Flexible working, Full-time, Job share, Part-time, Compressed hours

This position is advertised at 37 hours per week.

The primary delivery location for this position is Bristol Abbey Wood.

Hybrid and flexible working can be considered for this post. Successful candidates are encouraged to discuss options with the recruiting line manager before starting the role.

Requests to work flexibly and/or part time will be considered, taking into account business needs. Please note the salary will be pro-rata where part time hours are undertaken.

Where business needs allow, some roles may be suitable for a combination of office and working from home as part of a non-contractual hybrid working arrangement. All office-based employees will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of their working time in office, subject to site capacity and any required workplace adjustments. Requirements to attend other locations for official business, or work in another MOD workplace, will also count towards this level of office attendance. Applicants can request further information regarding how this and other flexible working arrangements may work in their team from the Vacancy Holder (see advert for contact details). Defence Business Services cannot respond to any questions about working arrangements.

Apply before 11:55 pm on Thursday 12th November 2026

484937

Senior Executive Officer

Professional II (PII) C1/SEO

Permanent

1

MOD Abbey Wood, Filton, Bristol, BS34 8JH

• Name : SDA HR Recruitment Team
• Email : SDA-HR-WorkforceResourcePlanning@mod.gov.uk

Please see Further Information document.

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