Principal Engineer - Safety & Environmental Engineering (Control Damage Hazards)

BAE Systems; England; Hybrid; GBP 100,000 - 125,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading defense contractor in the UK is seeking a Principal Safety Engineer to provide technical leadership in safety engineering, mentor other engineers, and analyze nuclear submarine designs. Candidates should have a degree in a relevant STEM field and strong communication skills. Benefits include a competitive pension scheme and various health and lifestyle benefits. This role involves hybrid working arrangements and offers professional growth opportunities.

Benefits

Competitive pension scheme

Employee share plans

Flexible health benefits

Private health plans

Shopping discounts

Annual incentive eligibility

Qualifications

• Degree qualified in a relevant STEM discipline or equivalent experience.
• Proven ability to produce clear, structured safety case arguments for complex systems.
• Experience in highly regulated industries is desirable.
• Familiarity with hazard analysis techniques is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical leadership as a subject matter expert in safety engineering.
• Mentor and develop engineers guiding safety analysis.
• Analyse nuclear submarine design focusing on major hazards.
• Develop and review safety case documentation.

Skills

Strong analytical skills

Written communication skills

Oral communication skills

Problem-solving

Safety case argument production

Hazard identification and mitigation

Education

Degree in a relevant STEM discipline

Tools

HAZOP

FMEA

Fault and Event Tree Analysis

Job description

Job Title

Principal Safety Engineer – Safety & Environmental Engineering

Location

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

Salary

Competitive

What you’ll be doing

• Provide technical leadership as a subject matter expert in safety engineering
• Mentor and develop engineers, guiding safety analysis and influencing design decisions
• Analyse and influence nuclear submarine design using safety engineering techniques, focussing on major hazards (fires, explosions including DSEAR, steam release)
• Apply engineering judgement to justify design safety and compliance
• Interface with regulators, clients within the MOD and internal stakeholders
• Develop and review safety case documentation to substantiate design safety

Your skills and experiences

Essential

• Degree qualified in a relevant STEM discipline or equivalent experience
• Strong analytical, written and oral communication skills with a practical and pragmatic approach to problem solving
• Proven ability to produce clear, structured safety case arguments and supporting technical documentation for complex systemsAbility to identify, assess, and mitigate hazards in complex engineering environments

Desirable

• Experience in highly regulated industries (nuclear, oil and gas, maritime, aerospace)
• Experience in DSEAR and fire risk assessments, including hazard identification and analysis.
• Familiarity with hazard analysis techniques (e.g. HAZOP, FMEA, Fault and Event Tree Analysis)

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 Safety & Environmental team

This is an exciting opportunity to join an established team tasked which offers exposure to the wider strategic initiative. You will be working with six people from principals to apprentices, liaising with operational managers, heads of departments as well as the Health & Safety teams. This role offers exposure to the Wider Control Damage Hazards team whilst individually being given the opportunity for professional growth within the function. 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 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 etc.) that may affect your performance in certain assessment types, please speak to your recruiter about potential reasonable adjustments.

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: 9th 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.