Lead Mechanical Engineer – Hydraulics in Christchurch, Dorset

Energy Jobline CVL; Christchurch; Hybrid; GBP 50,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A global energy recruitment agency is looking for a Lead Mechanical Engineer to design hydraulic systems for Royal Navy submarines. This role involves ensuring safety and functionality in complex environments and provides opportunities for professional growth and a competitive salary of up to £60,000. The position offers hybrid working arrangements and various benefits including a competitive pension scheme and employee share plans.

Benefits

Competitive pension scheme

Employee share plans

Flexible health and wellbeing benefits

Annual incentive eligibility

Qualifications

• Experience in the design of hydraulic systems in complex environments.
• Proven capability in system lifecycle delivery from concept through to commissioning.
• Demonstrated leadership through technical direction or project ownership.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design of hydraulic systems for the next Royal Navy submarines.
• Produce design documentation and safety justifications.
• Support specification qualification and procurement of components.

Skills

Design of hydraulic systems

Leadership

Systems lifecycle delivery

Familiarity with hydraulic power units

Education

Chartered engineer or working towards accreditation

Job description

Energy Jobline is the largest and fastest growing global Energy Job Board and Energy Hub. We have an audience reach of over 7 million energy professionals, 400,000+ monthly advertised global energy and engineering jobs, and work with the leading energy companies worldwide.

We focus on the Oil & Gas, Renewables, Engineering, Power, and Nuclear markets as well as emerging technologies in EV, Battery, and Fusion. We are committed to ensuring that we offer the most exciting career opportunities from around the world for our jobseekers.

Job Title

Lead Mechanical Engineer – Hydraulics

Location

Barrow-in-Furness or Coventry. We offer a range of hybrid and flexible working arrangements – please speak to your recruiter about the options for this particular role.

Salary

Up to £60,000

What you’ll be doing

• Lead the design of hydraulic systems, sub-systems and equipment for the next Royal Navy submarines
• Undertake functional design activities, modelling and analysis
• Produce design documentation, Verification & Validation evidence and safety justifications
• Support specification qualification and procurement of components, working collaboratively with suppliers
• Engaging with stakeholders across the cross‑functional project team
• Driving engineering governance through peer reviews and design reviews

Your skills and experiences

Essential

• Experience in the design of hydraulic systems – ideally in complex, safety‑critical environments (e.g. maritime, aerospace, defence, nuclear, oil & gas and sub‑sea)
• Familiarity with systems and equipment involving hydraulic power units (HPUs), variable frequency drives (VFDs), control cabinets, pumps, electric motors, hydraulic actuators, hydro‑static transmissions and fluid mechanics.
• Proven capability in system lifecycle delivery – from concept through to commissioning
• Demonstrated leadership – either through technical direction, mentoring, or project ownership
• Chartered engineer or working towards professional accreditation

Desirable

• Knowledge of platform‑level constraints such as noise, shock, or survivability
• Previous engagement with suppliers or stakeholders on hydraulic systems (of hydraulic control logic is desirable, e.g. Variable Frequency Drive solutions)

Benefits

• Competitive pension scheme
• Employee share plans
• Extensive range of flexible discounted health, wellbeing and lifestyle benefits, including a green car scheme, private health plans and shopping discounts
• Eligible for an annual incentive

The Hydraulics team

As a Lead Mechanical Engineer, you will play a pivotal role in the design and development of submarine hydraulic and actuation systems. This includes system‑level design, technical leadership, supplier engagement, and the opportunity to steer design architecture across a major submarine programme. We offer relocation support packages across all Submarines roles, subject to meeting eligibility criteria.

Why BAE Systems?

This is a place where you’ll be able to make a real difference. You’ll be part of an inclusive culture that values of thought, rewards integrity, and merit, and where you’ll be empowered to fulfil your potential. We welcome people from all backgrounds and want to make sure that our recruitment processes are as inclusive as possible. If you have a or health condition (for example dyslexia, autism, an anxiety disorder etc.) that may affect your performance in certain assessment types, please speak to your recruiter about potential reasonable adjustments.

Please be aware that many roles at BAE Systems are subject to both security and export control restrictions. These restrictions mean that factors such as your , any you may have previously held, and your place of birth can restrict the roles you are eligible to perform within the organisation. All applicants must as a minimum achieve Baseline Personnel Security Standard. Many roles also require higher levels of Security Vetting where applicants must typically have 5 to 10 years of continuous in the UK depending on the vetting level required for the role, to allow for meaningful security vetting checks.

Closing Date

28th November 2025

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.