Lead Naval Operability & Crewing Engineer

Navantia; West of England; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 95,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working

Career development opportunities

Global organisation

Lead ILS activities

Collaborative and inclusive workplace

Company pension

31 days holiday

Life assurance

Job summary

Navantia UK is seeking a Principal Operability and Crewing Engineer to shape operability, automation and digital capabilities in complex naval vessels from day one. You will turn CONOPS into clear requirements to reduce crewing and enable uncrewed concepts.

Lead multi-programme operability strategy, develop crew reduction concepts, and collaborate with designers, suppliers and stakeholders to gain buy-in while ensuring safety and regulatory compliance.

Qualifications

• Significant experience in naval operations and/or naval ship design, with a focus on systems, operability and crewing.
• Experience developing crewing models and workload assessments, with a working knowledge of automation and digital technologies.
• Ability to influence across disciplines and translate operational needs into clear engineering requirements.
• Degree in Engineering (e.g., Systems, Mechanical, Marine, Human Factors) or equivalent operational experience.
• Eligibility for BPSS; the ability to obtain SC may be required depending on the programme.

Responsibilities

• Lead operability and crewing/operator strategy across multiple ship design programmes.
• Develop CONOPS and run operational vignette workshops to stress-test concepts and technology choices.
• Define user-centred, mission-focused requirements that shape layout, accessibility, maintainability, workflow, human factors, and automation/digital systems.
• Develop and champion crew reduction/elimination concepts through human-machine integration and emerging digital technologies.
• Work closely with designers, suppliers, operators and stakeholders to embed operator solutions early and gain buy-in.
• Contribute to trade studies and cost/capability analyses so operator impact is visible in key decisions.
• Support safety and regulatory compliance, contributing to hazard identification and risk-based approaches for novel technologies.
• Represent Navantia UK with customers and cross-functional working groups, and mentor developing engineers.

Skills

Naval operations

Crewing models

Cross-disciplinary influence

Human factors

Education

Engineering degree or equivalent

Job description

Navantia UK is seeking a Principal Operability and Crewing Engineer to shape operability, automation and digital capabilities in complex naval vessels from day one. You will turn CONOPS into clear requirements to reduce crewing and enable uncrewed concepts.

Lead multi-programme operability strategy, develop crew reduction concepts, and collaborate with designers, suppliers and stakeholders to gain buy-in while ensuring safety and regulatory compliance.