Principal Mechanical Engineer

BAE Systems; Rugby; On-site; GBP 100,000 - 125,000; Full time

Job summary

A prominent defense contractor in the United Kingdom is seeking a Senior Mechanical Engineer to join a newly formed Mechanical Engineering team in Coventry. This role involves leading the design and development of mechanical systems for Nuclear submarines. Candidates should have a strong background in mechanical engineering, experience in product life cycles, and a degree in a relevant field. The position offers a competitive compensation package along with a range of flexible benefits including health plans and employee share schemes.

Benefits

Competitive pension scheme

Employee share plans

Flexible health and wellbeing benefits

Private health plans

Shopping discounts

Relocation support

Qualifications

• Experience in applying mechanical engineering for various products.
• Ability to work well within a cross functional team.
• Leadership or mentoring experience is desirable.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop mechanical engineering systems and components.
• Connect with suppliers to ensure specifications meet demands.
• Work with customers to develop requirements based on operational scenarios.
• Perform and review engineering calculations and analysis.
• Coordinate with stakeholders to solve complex engineering problems.

Skills

Mechanical Engineering background in Rotator Machinery

Demonstrable experience in mechanical engineering across product lifecycle

Ability to prioritise workload

Passion for problem solving

Education

Degree level in Engineering, Mechanical or Science subjects

Job description

Job Title: Senior Mechanical Engineer

Location: Coventry. This is an onsite position

Salary: Competitive

What you’ll be doing:

In this role you will be joining a newly formed Mechanical Engineering team within a new office based in Coventry. The goal of this team with be to help deliver crucial ship services, crew life support capabilities and equipment and componentry for the current and next generation of Nuclear Submarine. This role will involved with supporting the design and development of various critical systems of the SSN AUKUS.

• Lead and develop various mechanical engineering systems, equipment and components
• Connect and build relationships with suppliers to ensure that equipment and component specifications meet challenging demands
• Work directly with the customer to develop requirements and acceptance criteria based on operational scenarios, use cases and other design considerations
• Take lead for performing and reviewing engineering calculations and analysis to make decisions and demonstrate system performance
• Coordinate, manage and help influence a wide stakeholder base to solve complex engineering problems and make responsible engineering decisions

Your skills and experiences:

Essential:

• Mechanical Engineering background in Rotator Machinery, Components or Fluid Dynamics
• Demonstrable experience in applying mechanical engineering for various products along woth different stages of a product lifecycle
• Ability to prioritise workload and work well within a cross functional team
• A passion for problem solving and resolving complex engineering calculations
• Educated to degree level in Engineering, Mechanical or Science subjects

Desirable:

• Leadership / Mentoring experience

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 Platform Systems team:

As either the Senior Mechanical Engineer within out Platform Systems team you will the opportunity to join a brand new team being created within our new site in Coventry where you will be working with other passionate engineers to bring a new way of thinking into the design of our Submarines. In this role you will have the opportunity to develop and mentor junior members of staff and build on technical skillsets. 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 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 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: 27th January 2026

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.