Airport Operational Engineer - St Athan

NATS; Barry; On-site; GBP 39,000 - 48,000; Full time

Job summary

NATS is recruiting an Airport Operational Engineer to support critical Air Traffic Control equipment at St Athan Airport, ensuring operational availability and rapid fault response. The role requires planning maintenance, supervising engineers and contractors, and maintaining precise records across safety-critical systems.

You will work across Communications, Navigation, Surveillance and Information domains, with on-call duties and site presence.

Qualifications

• Engineering qualification at least HNC Level 4 or equivalent (SQF Level 7) in Electronics, Telecommunications or Computer Science or another relevant engineering discipline.

Responsibilities

• Plan and carry out planned and corrective maintenance on a range of Air Traffic Control systems.
• Prioritise faults and direct engineering resources toward safe and expeditious restoration of service.
• Make operational decisions and provide guidance, specialist advice and assistance.

Education

Higher National Certificate (HNC) Level 4 or SQF Level 7 in Electronics, Telecommunications or Computer Science

Job description

NATS is the UK’s leading air navigation service provider, handling over 2.4 million flights each year. We provide air traffic control services from two control centres and at airports around the UK. We also provide a wide range of commercial products and solutions internationally. Our people are at the heart of our purpose to advance aviation and keep the skies safe.

Salary: £ 43,870.51

Closing Date: Sunday 11th October 2026

Job Purpose

NATS can offer an exciting and unique opportunity providing engineering services at St Athan Airport, working closely with the airport to ensure critical Air Traffic equipment is available for operational use and responding to failures to limit any prolonged downtime.

You will be a focal point for planned and corrective maintenance management on a range of operational engineering systems and functions.

Duties Include

• Plan and carry out planned and corrective maintenance on a range of Air Traffic Control systems.
• Prioritise faults and or direct engineering resources towards a safe and expeditious restoration of service
• Make operational decisions; provide guidance, specialist advice and assistance.
• Maintain clear and accurate records for all activities where required
• Fully brief Air Traffic Control and other engineering staff, supervise Airport Maintenance Engineers and contractors ensuring compliance with NATS Management System
• Maintain own Competency Ratings and ensure any concerns are reported to the Engineering Manager
• Conduct post incident procedures to aid the provision of Incident Reports in the event of a safety related event
• Expected to work on a variety of equipment and interfaces across the airport. The range of equipment would be across the Communications, Navigation, Surveillance, and Information domains

Qualifications:

• Professional engineering qualification to Higher National Certificate (Level 4 or SQF Level 7) as a minimum Electronics, Telecommunications or Computer Science or other relevant Engineering discipline

In lieu of the above qualifications the candidate will be required to demonstrate one of the following alternative criteria:

Additional Information:

• Relevant lower-level engineering qualifications such as an Apprenticeship coupled with demonstrable engineering experience in a relevant field (May include but not limited to: RAF, Navy, Rail, other Safety Critical environment)
• Evidence of substantial experience gained in a relevant transferable environment (such as ATSEP) gained over a significant period
• Experience of supporting systems and equipment like those used by ANSP’s such as RAF, Navy, Rail, other Safety Critical environment, and experience in maintenance engineering on this type of equipment
• Demonstrate an understanding of safety critical systems and the impact they may have within our operational environment
• Full UK Driving Licence
• Flexible approach and attitude and ability to work unsupervised
• Willing to be a Team player and support others where required

Starting Salary

£ 43,870.51 rising on successful completion of Airport Operational Engineer Unit Endorsement Award.

You will required to live within 1 hour of St Athan Airport for this role.

You will be required to be part of an on-call rota covering out of hours opening and the weekend opening hours.

We are proud to offer a fantastic total reward package to help you thrive both personally and professionally - for more information on what NATS can offer you please visit - Why NATS? - NATS

If you share our passion to advance aviation and keep the skies safe - we would like to hear from you whatever your age, sex, race, faith, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, visible or invisible disability. Individuals that bring different perspectives, skills, life experiences and backgrounds help us be at the forefront of our industry.