Lead Mechanical Engineer – Product Assurance

BAE Systems; Ulverston; On-site; GBP 55,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading defense contractor in the UK is seeking a Lead Mechanical Engineer for Product Assurance. The role involves delivering engineering assurance across advanced Submarine products, leading assurance reviews, and collaborating with engineering teams to ensure high standards. Candidates should have a degree in Mechanical Engineering or relevant experience in design and commissioning. The position offers competitive benefits, including flexible working arrangements, and emphasizes an inclusive workplace culture.

Benefits

Competitive pension scheme

Employee share plans

Extensive health and wellbeing benefits

Green car scheme

Private health plans

Shopping discounts

Annual incentive eligibility

Qualifications

• Degree in Mechanical Engineering or extensive experience in design/commissioning.
• Hands-on experience with event reporting and issue resolution.
• Proven design proving ability with verification and validation projects.

Responsibilities

• Deliver engineering assurance for Submarine programmes.
• Lead assurance reviews and validate design decisions.
• Collaborate with teams to shape product quality.

Skills

Mechanical Engineering expertise

Design and commissioning experience

Event reporting system knowledge

Design proving capability

Knowledge of audits and change management

Education

Mechanical Engineer degree

Job description

Job Title

Lead Mechanical Engineer – Product Assurance

Location

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

Salary

Circa £55,000

What you’ll be doing

• Deliver high‑level engineering assurance across cutting‑edge BAE Systems Maritime Submarines products, ensuring integrity across major Submarine Enterprise programmes.
• Plan and prioritise assurance activities using a risk‑based approach, optimising limited resources while working to the Submarines Engineering Product Assurance Framework.
• Lead and support key assurance reviews, bringing your SQEP expertise to validate design decisions, technical bids, and engineering evidence.
• Ensure products are safe, compliant, cost‑effective, and fully integrated, with hazards demonstrated ALARP and configurations clearly controlled.
• Provide independent oversight to design and technical reviews, offering objective judgement aligned with mandated engineering frameworks and policies.
• Collaborate across engineering and wider business teams, influencing outcomes, shaping product quality, and enabling safe, successful delivery.
• Act as an independent voice in safety assurance, offering impartial technical support to the broader Submarine Enterprise and challenging designs from a fresh, safety‑focused perspective.

Your skills and experiences

• Mechanical Engineer degree preferred, though strong experience in design and/or commissioning will be equally considered.
• Hands‑on experience with event reporting systems, confidently identifying issues, investigating root causes, and driving effective resolutions.
• Proven capability in design proving, taking projects through verification, validation, and successful commissioning.
• Strong, demonstrable knowledge of design reviews, audits, changes management, and resolving complex technical challenges.
• Solid Mechanical Engineering background, with practical experience across design, testing, and commissioning activities.

Benefits

As well as a competitive pension scheme, BAE Systems also offers employee share plans, an extensive range of flexible discounted health, wellbeing and lifestyle benefits, including a green car scheme, private health plans and shopping discounts – you may also be eligible for an annual incentive.

The Product Assurance team

As the Lead Mechanical Engineer – Product Assurance, you will be at the centre of some of the UK’s most advanced engineering challenges. You’ll shape key elements of the assurance schedule and gain hands‑on insight into evidence from audits, inspections, reviews, tests, and trials. The work is varied and engaging – producing clear technical briefings, supporting issue investigation, and tracking progress through the Product Assurance teams Concerns and Best Practice System. You’ll also act as a trusted source of specialist technical advice, directly contributing to the safety and assurance of world‑class Submarine technologies. We offer relocation support across all Submarine 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 diversity 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 disability or health condition (for example dyslexia, autism, an anxiety disorder et cetera) 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 nationality, any nationalities 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 National Security Vetting where applicants must typically have 5 to 10 years of continuous residency in the UK depending on the vetting level required for the role, to allow for meaningful security vetting checks.

Closing Date

10th December 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.