Navy Command, Principle Design Engineer

At Navy Command, we lead, support, and sustain the Royal Navy across every theatre of operations. We coordinate the people, platforms, and missions that keep the Fleet ready for today’s challenges and tomorrow’s opportunities. Together, we uphold centuries of naval tradition while driving innovation that ensures the Royal Navy’s readiness to protect our nation and secure our future.

As the authority for the Royal Navy’s nuclear submarine capability, the Submarine Directorate oversees one of the most complex and critical elements of UK defence. Covering everything from in‑service management to long‑term fleet modernisation, the directorate ensures the Submarine Flotilla remains safe, reliable, and ready to meet national security requirements.

You'll be based at HMNB Clyde, home to the UK Submarine Service. It sustains the nation’s continuous at-sea deterrent and supports the Royal Navy’s fleet of nuclear-powered submarines. As a centre of excellence for submarine operations, Clyde plays a critical role in national security and global stability.

This position is advertised at 37 hours per week.

Looking for an engineering role where your judgement, leadership and technical knowledge will genuinely matter? Join the HMNB Clyde Design Authority team as a Principal Design Engineer and help shape the policies, standards, designs and engineering evidence that keep vital infrastructure safe and effective. You will tackle varied technical challenges, influence projects from early concept through to operation and life extension, and support the development of the next generation of engineering professionals. It is a role with real responsibility, plenty of variety and the opportunity to make a lasting professional impact.

What you will do:

• Act as the Design Authority’s Subject Matter Expert and Intelligent Customer, providing authoritative engineering direction within your Engineering discipline and demonstrated area of competence.
• Lead the specification, authorship, development, assessment, acceptance, approval, maintenance and management of engineering designs, substantiation, policies, standards, methodologies, guidance, processes and template.
• Translate legislation, regulatory expectations, Safety Management System requirements, recognised standards and relevant good practice into clear, proportionate and practical engineering requirements.
• Ensure infrastructure designs, modifications and supporting engineering evidence meet applicable nuclear, explosive and non-nuclear safety, performance, integrity and operational requirements.
• Ensure engineering substantiation provides robust evidence to support Safety Case claims and arguments and demonstrates that risks have been reduced as low as reasonably practicable.
• Maintain alignment between design intent, Safety Functional Requirements, Operational Functional Requirements and the substantiation of relevant structures, systems and components.
• Define appropriate evidence expectations and acceptance criteria, enabling delivery teams to demonstrate compliance with approved engineering policies, standards and safety requirements.
• Assess engineering designs, modifications, departures, concessions and alternative standards, making recommendations or providing approval where formally delegated and within your demonstrated competence.
• Ensure hazard analysis, source data, commissioning requirements, examination, inspection, maintenance and testing requirements, operating conditions and operational constraints are clearly identified and appropriately substantiated.
• Provide technical direction throughout the engineering lifecycle, including concept development, design, procurement, manufacture, construction, commissioning, operation, maintenance, modification and life extension.
• Lead or support independent technical and peer reviews, ensuring that the scope, reviewers, evidence, findings and responses are suitable and proportionate.
• Develop, assess and maintain through-life examination, inspection, maintenance and testing schedules, procedures and associated engineering requirements.
• Review engineering and maintenance results to confirm that infrastructure continues to meet its design intent, safety requirements and operational constraints.
• Support Periodic Safety Review activity by defining engineering standards and evidence expectations, advising on technical findings and contributing to the effective management of shortfalls.
• Work with Safety Case, compliance, assurance and Authorisation Condition specialists to maintain alignment between engineering requirements, Safety Case expectations and organisational arrangements.
• Provide engineering expertise to compliance assessments, audits, inspections, interventions and corrective-action activities.
• Monitor recurring engineering shortfalls, departures, lessons and implementation concerns, identifying trends and recommending improvements to policies, standards and assurance arrangements.
• Present engineering designs, substantiation, policies and technical matters to relevant safety committees, authorisation groups, working groups, inspections and professional forums.
• Build effective relationships with MOD departments, Design Authorities, Authorisees, regulators, programme and project teams, private-sector organisations, consultants and contractors.
• Promote a strong nuclear safety, security and engineering culture, encouraging adherence to approved arrangements, constructive challenge, learning from experience and proportionate decision-making.
• Apply appropriate engineering governance and assurance arrangements to authorised, licensed, non-authorised and wider Estate infrastructure activities.

Open to UK nationals only.

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills.

As part of Defence Reform, Navy Command continues to review and evolve its Target Operating Model to support more agile ways of working. In this context, the role and responsibilities of this role may develop over time to reflect changing business priorities and opportunities.

Candidates will be required to provide CV details to include job history and qualification details.

Candidates will be required to provide a statement of suitability (500 words) that sets out your motivation for applying and shows how your skills and experience meet the essential requirements for the role.

At sift, candidates will be assessed against their CV and Statement of suitability.

At interview, candidates will be assessed against the following:

Behaviours:

• Leadership
• Communicating and Influencing
• Managing a Quality Service

Technical Skills:

• Nuclear Competence Framework 4.4 – Nuclear Infrastructure Concept, Assessment, Design, Modification and Life Extension – Level 2
• Nuclear Competence Framework 6.1 – Naval Reactor Plant and supporting Infrastructure Maintenance – Level 2

Please note:

Applicants are welcome to demonstrate how their technical skills from other Engineering sectors (e.g. defence, aerospace, marine, energy, or similarly regulated industries) algin with the intent of the Nuclear Competence Framework.

Candidates who are unsuccessful at interview for the advertised post may be considered for another suitable vacancy at the same or a lower grade within the HMNB Clyde Design Authority, provided they meet the requirements of that role.

Further information:

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.

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.

The Ministry of Defence requires all candidates who are successful at interview to declare any outside interests. These declarations will be discussed with successful candidates following the interview process and before a formal offer of employment is made, as some outside interests may not be compatible with MOD civilian roles. This will not, in the majority of cases, prevent employment in MOD, but it is a measure that must be taken to ensure that appropriate mitigations can be put in place to manage any potential, perceived or actual conflicts of interest from the first day of employment.

The Ministry of Defence adopts a zero-tolerance approach to unacceptable behaviours, which includes bullying, harassment, sexual harassment, discrimination, and victimisation. You will not be eligible and will not be considered for this post if you have been dismissed from a role for such unacceptable behaviours within the last five years. This will also apply if you resign or otherwise leave a role but, because of an adverse decision, would have been dismissed for gross misconduct had you continued in that employment. Pre-employment checks will be carried out.

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