Industrial Placement Test Software Engineer

Leonardo UK Ltd; Easter Howgate; Hybrid; GBP 25,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading aerospace and defence company is seeking an Industrial Placement Test Software Engineer to work on cutting-edge projects. This placement offers the opportunity to apply your studies in a practical setting while being supported by experienced engineers. The role includes software development and collaboration with various engineering teams. A salary of £25,000 is offered, along with a comprehensive benefits package.

Benefits

Accrue up to 12 additional flexi-days

Up to 15% employer pension contribution

Free access to mental health support and financial advice

Flexible benefits worth up to £500 annually

Qualifications

• Currently studying a relevant degree discipline.
• Desire to gain practical experience in software development.
• Willingness to learn and collaborate with various engineering teams.

Responsibilities

• Create high-quality and robust code.
• Document and manage work products under configuration management.
• Deliver technical reports and presentations.
• Collaborate with Software, Systems, Firmware, and Electronics Engineers.

Skills

Software development

Problem-solving

Teamwork

Research

Education

Relevant degree discipline (Physics, Mathematics, Engineering, or STEM)

Job description

Job Description

Your impact

Are you ready to make an impact and gain hands‑on experience working on real‑world projects from day one?

At Leonardo, we’re looking for industrial placement students who want to be part of something bigger—shaping innovation, advancing technology, and enhancing global safety.

Our placements are designed to help you apply your studies in a practical setting, develop your technical skills, and gain valuable insight into how our business operates.

Are you interested in developing software to test some of the most cutting‑edge defence and aerospace projects in the UK? If you like the sound of developing software for projects such as the Eurofighter Typhoon jet, then Leonardo would like to hear from you.

We are looking for an Industrial Placement Test Software Engineer to join our well‑established test engineering community at our Edinburgh based site. You will help us continue our industry leading contribution to projects in our Radar & Advanced Targeting teams.

Our Industrial Placement Programme

Our Industrial Placement Programme offers you the chance to spend a year with us, working on meaningful projects alongside subject matter experts, within multidisciplinary teams, and across the product lifecycle. You’ll receive a salary of £25,000, with coaching and support from a dedicated team to help you achieve both your placement objectives and personal development goals.

Successful completion of an Industrial Placement with Leonardo may also lead to an offer on our Graduate Development Programme.

During your placement, we encourage you to spend at least three days each week on site to integrate with your team and maximise your learning experience.

As an Industrial Placement Test Software Engineer you will:

• Report to an experienced engineer who will provide day‑to‑day guidance and on‑the‑job training
• Be introduced to the software development processes and utilise state‑of‑the‑art methods, technology and tools.
• Gain experience on one or more aspects of the software development lifecycle, which could include: applied research, requirements analysis, design, implementation, integration, and test
• Focus on learning practical skills that may not be easily gained or experienced in the academic environment of a university
• Develop practical skills in design techniques for aerospace applications
• Gain an understanding of key processes and technologies
• Develop software using state‑of‑the‑art modelling tools, compilers and test environments.

As an industrial placement software engineer, you are responsible for creating high quality and robust code, for fully documenting and recording your work products, keeping them under configuration management and providing plans and reports on progress to your supervisor.

You will deliver technical reports and presentations on your work assignments to your supervisor and fellow placement students and be given assistance to deliver plans and reports to the required academic standard of your university.

Your task may involve working closely with Software, Systems, Firmware and Electronics Engineers to solve real integration problems on a complex system.

What you’ll bring

Qualifications

All of our Industrial Placement roles require you to be currently studying a relevant degreediscipline such as Physics, Mathematics, Engineering, or other STEM subject degrees.

Security Clearance

This role is subject to pre‑employment screening in line with the UK Government’s Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS). An additional range of Personnel Security Controls referred to as National Security Vetting (NSV) will apply, this could include meeting the eligibility requirements for The Security Check (SC) or Developed Vetting (DV). For more information and guidance please visit: https://careers.uk.leonardo.com/gb/en/security-and-vetting

Why join us

At Leonardo, our people are at the heart of everything we do, our teams are key contributors in shaping innovation, advancing technology, and enhancing global safety.

We offer a comprehensive, company‑funded benefits package that supports your wellbeing, career development, and work‑life balance. Whether you’re looking to grow professionally, care for your health, or plan for the future, we’re here to help you thrive.

• Time to recharge: Enjoy generous leave with the opportunity to accrue up to 12 additional flexi‑days each year.
• Secure your future: Benefit from our award‑winning pension scheme with up to 15% employer contribution.
• Your wellbeing matters: Free access to mental health support, financial advice, and employee‑led networks championing inclusion and diversity (Enable, Pride, Equalise, Armed Forces, Carers, Wellbeing and Ethnicity).
• Tailored perks: Spend up to £500 annually on flexible benefits including private healthcare, dental, family cover, tech & lifestyle discounts, gym memberships and more.

For a full list of our company benefits please visit: https://careers.uk.leonardo.com/gb/en/company-benefits

We are committed to building an inclusive, accessible, and welcoming workplace. We believe that a diverse workforce sparks creativity, drives innovation, and leads to better outcomes for our people, communities and our customers. If you have any accessibility requirements to support you during the recruitment process, just let us know.

Be part of something bigger - apply now!

Primary Location

GB - Edinburgh

Contract Type

Fixed term

Hybrid Working

Hybrid