Graduate Engineering Programme

Rowden; West of England; On-site; GBP 28,000 - 34,000; Full time

Job summary

Rowden, based in Bristol, UK, offers a rotational Graduate Engineering Programme designed to give broad systems and product exposure with real responsibility early on. Graduates work on deployable sensing and communications systems across defence and national security domains, supported by mentors and structured feedback.

You will rotate through several core engineering disciplines, with hands-on ownership as your capability grows.

Qualifications

• A STEM degree or equivalent with fundamentals in Engineering, CS, Maths, or Physics.
• Curiosity and learning agility to pick up concepts quickly.
• Collaborative mindset with willingness to take ownership.
• Evidence of problem solving through projects or competitions.

Responsibilities

• Integrating sensor and data feeds into geospatial applications across software, systems, and interfaces.
• Designing and testing system behaviour under degraded communications and security controls.
• Deploying and evaluating ML models for edge use cases.
• Building future variants of deployable sensing and communications products.
• Shipping software to deploy, configure, and sustain edge devices at scale.

Skills

STEM degree

Curiosity

Collaborative mindset

Problem solving

Education

STEM degree or equivalent

Job description

Graduate Engineering Programme

Department: Engineering

Employment Type: Permanent - Full Time

Location: Bristol, UK

Description

We're building the UK's next generation engineering powerhouse, providing critical technology that strengthens national security and resilience.

We specialise in turning advances in sensing, AI, and communications into operational capability for the edge, where connectivity may be degraded or denied. Our work focuses on accelerating the deployment of technology, improving decision-making for frontline teams, and protecting people and critical assets in demanding environments.

Headquartered in Bristol, Rowden employs over 200 people and operates over 20,000 square feet of engineering and manufacturing facilities. Recognised in the Financial Times FT1000 as one of Europe's fastest-growing engineering businesses, there has never been a better time to join.

Engineering Graduates at Rowden

This is not a traditional graduate scheme built around a narrow role or a long, segmented programme. The Applied Graduate Programme is designed for engineers who want broad systems and product exposure, with real responsibility early and close engagement with end users and operational constraints.

Engineering graduates work on deployable systems supporting defence, emergency services, and national security organisations, alongside engineers from multiple disciplines.

You will join a rotational engineering programme designed to build technical breadth fast, supported by experienced mentors, structured feedback, and clear milestones. From the outset, you will be trusted with meaningful work and increasing ownership as your capability develops.

If you want to understand more about how we design and build systems at Rowden, it's worth reading this blog from one of our Senior Principal Engineers: Rowden Technologies | Engineering Reflections on Rowden's Values

What you’ll work on

As a Graduate Engineer at Rowden, the types of work you’ll be involved with include:

• Integrating sensor and data feeds into geospatial and situational awareness applications, working across software, systems, and interfaces.
• Designing and testing system behaviour under degraded communications, including store-and-forward, prioritisation, and security controls.
• Deploying and evaluating machine learning models for edge use cases such as computer vision or signal processing, with a focus on measurable performance and operational constraints.
• Building future variants of deployable sensing and communications products, influencing how those systems evolve through hands-on engineering, integration work, and performance data.
• Shipping software that enables edge devices to be deployed, configured, and sustained at scale.

How the Graduate Programme works

You will complete several rotations before specialising within one of Rowden’s core engineering disciplines. The exact path isn’t rigid, we’ll shape it around your strengths, interests, and the needs of the business.

Possible rotations include:

• Software Engineering: mobile applications, geospatial tools, systems integration, and test evidence.
• Machine Learning Engineering: deployable models for edge CV and SIGINT, with measurable performance.
• Systems Engineering: user need through requirements, architecture, integration, verification, and fielding.
• Safety Engineering: hazard analysis, mitigations, and safety evidence to support delivery.
• Radio Frequency Engineering: spectrum monitoring and insight to improve operational awareness.
• Infrastructure Engineering / DevOps: cloud platforms, portable on-prem systems, automation, and reliability.

Key skills, experience and behaviours

What we’re looking for

• A STEM degree or equivalent experience, with strong fundamentals in areas such as Engineering, Computer Science, Maths, Physics, Electronics, Data Science, or Cyber Security.
• Curiosity and learning agility, with the ability to pick up new concepts and apply them quickly.
• A collaborative mindset, with the confidence to take ownership where needed.
• Evidence of problem solving through projects, labs, hackathons, societies, or work experience.

Eligibility

Candidates must be eligible for SC Clearance.

More information about security clearance is available here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/united-kingdom-security-vetting-clearance-levels

Recruitment process

Our recruitment process is short, practical, and focused on how you think and work.

• Short tech test: A time-bound task designed to see how you approach a representative engineering challenge.
• Alignment call: A chat with someone from our Talent team or the hiring manager to explore cultural alignment, values, and what you’re looking for from your first role.
• Assessment day (to be held in February 2027): Spend time at Rowden, see our facilities, learn more about what we build and get hands-on with an engineering challenge. Designed to focus on reasoning, communication, and collaboration.

We care less about polished CVs and more about how you approach problems.

Applications are open now for a September 2027 start. As part of your application, you will be asked to indicate two preferred focus (i.e. technical) areas so that we can shape your initial rotations.

Working at Rowden

We are committed to building a flexible, inclusive, and enabling company. Our aim is to create a diverse team of talented people with unique skills, experience, and backgrounds, so please apply and come as you are!

We also recognise the importance of flexible working and support this wherever we can. We typically operate a flexible, hybrid-working model, with an average 3 days in the office each week (dependent on the role). We welcome the opportunity to discuss flexibility, part-time working requirements and/or workplace adjustments with all our applicants.

Rowden is a Disability Confident Committed company, and we actively encourage people with disabilities and health conditions to apply for our roles. Please let us know your requirements early on so that we can make sure you have everything you need up front to help make the recruitment process and experience as easy as possible.

Finally, if you feel that you don’t meet all the criteria included above but have transferable skills and relevant experience, we’d still love to hear from you!