Principal Quality Assurance and Quality Control Engineer

weServed; Plymouth; On-site; GBP 57,000 - 72,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous holiday allowance

Pension with life assurance

Digital GP and health checks

Employee share scheme

Discount/shopping portal

Professional fees covered

Reserved leave for service members

Job summary

Babcock is seeking a Principal Quality Assurance and Quality Control Engineer to lead welding quality on complex marine and defence programmes at Devonport Royal Dockyard. You will manage a team of welding QA/QC professionals and act as Responsible Welding Coordinator ensuring ISO 3834-2 compliance and high safety standards.

The role focuses on technical leadership, quality assurance across projects, and driving continuous improvement in welding systems within a nuclear/marine environment.

Qualifications

• Demonstrated welding quality assurance experience in welding, fabrication, welding inspection or welding QA environments.
• Strong knowledge of weld quality management systems per ISO 3834-2.
• Understanding of non-destructive testing processes and welding quality requirements.
• Proven knowledge of pipework and structural welding codes and standards.
• Experience leading teams and building stakeholder relationships with a strong safety culture.

Responsibilities

• Leading and developing a team of quality assurance and quality control engineers, including coaching and mentoring.
• Acting as Responsible Welding Coordinator and maintaining ISO 3834-2 compliance.
• Providing expert advice on complex welding repairs, fabrication activities and quality matters.
• Driving continuous improvement of welding systems and processes.
• Collaborating with engineering teams, suppliers and stakeholders to ensure welding activities meet standards and business needs.

Skills

Leadership

Welding

ISO 3834-2

NDT

Team building

Education

CSWIP 3.2 Senior Welding Inspector

Craft apprenticeship in welding

Senior Welding Inspector in nuclear/marine

Job description

Job Title: Principal Quality Assurance and Quality Control Engineer

Location: Plymouth, Devon

Compensation: £57,300 - £71,600 Depending on Experience + Benefits

Role Type: Full time / Permanent

Role ID: SF76323

At Babcock we are working to create a safe and secure world, together, and if you join us, you can play your part as a Principal Quality Assurance and Quality Control Engineer at our Devonport Royal Dockyard site.

The role

As a Principal Quality Assurance and Quality Control Engineer, you will play a key leadership role in ensuring welding activities are delivered to the highest quality, safety and regulatory standards. This is a unique opportunity to combine technical expertise, leadership and continuous improvement while supporting complex marine engineering and defence programmes that contribute directly to national security.

Day-to-day, you will lead a team of welding quality professionals responsible for assuring welding compliance across Devonport Royal Dockyard. Acting as a recognised subject matter expert, you'll provide technical leadership on complex welding and fabrication activities, maintain critical quality accreditations and influence engineering standards across a diverse range of projects.

• Leading and developing a team of quality assurance and quality control engineers, including coaching, mentoring and competency development.
• Acting as Responsible Welding Coordinator and maintaining compliance with ISO 3834-2 requirements.
• Providing expert advice on complex welding repairs, fabrication activities and technical quality matters.
• Driving continuous improvement initiatives, including the development and implementation of welding systems and processes.
• Collaborating with engineering teams, suppliers and stakeholders to ensure welding activities meet required standards and business needs.

This role is full time, 35 hours per week and is based on site at Devonport Royal Dockyard.

Essential experience of the Principal Quality Assurance and Quality Control Engineer

• Demonstrable experience within welding, fabrication, welding inspection or welding quality assurance environments.
• Strong knowledge of weld quality management systems in accordance with ISO 3834-2.
• Understanding of non-destructive testing processes and welding quality requirements.
• Proven knowledge of pipework and structural welding codes and standards.
• Experience leading teams and building strong relationships with stakeholders while promoting a positive safety culture.

Qualifications for the Principal Quality Assurance and Quality Control Engineer

Essential

• CSWIP 3.2 Senior Welding Inspector certification.
• Completed craft apprenticeship with demonstrable experience in welding, fabrication, welding inspection or non-destructive testing environments.
• Experience operating as a Senior Welding Inspector or Welding Quality Assurance professional within a nuclear or marine environment.
• Ability to obtain and maintain site-specific authorisations required to access relevant operational areas.

Desirable

• Welding Institute Diploma to Specialist or Technologist level.
• Engineering Technician professional registration.
• PCN Level 2 qualification in Radiographic Interpretation.

Security Clearance

The successful candidate must be a sole UK National who is able to achieve and maintain Security Check (SC) security clearance for this role.

Many of the positions within our company are subject to national security clearance and Trade Control restrictions. This means that your eligibility for certain roles may be affected by your place of birth, nationality, current or former citizenship, and any residency you hold or have held. Further details are available at United Kingdom Security Vetting: clearance levels - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

What we offer

• Generous holiday allowance
• Matched contribution pension scheme, with life assurance
• Access to a Digital GP, annual health check, and nutritional consultations through Aviva DigiCare+
• Employee share scheme
• Employee shopping savings portal
• Payment of Professional Fees
• Reservists in the armed forces receive 10-days special paid leave
• Holiday Trading is a benefit that allows UK Babcock employees to buy additional leave or to sell up to one working week of annual leave from their annual entitlement. There is an annual Window to request this benefit. 'Be Kind Day' enables employees to take one working day's paid leave a year (or equivalent hours) to undertake volunteering work with their chosen organisation or registered charity
• Excellent development opportunities and benefits package including an employee assistance programme supporting physical, mental and financial wellbeing.

Babcock

We are Babcock - a global FTSE 100 organisation with over 29,000 people working together to make a difference.

Here, you will be part of something bigger. From initial design to final decommissioning, your work will contribute to products and services that are essential to national security and public infrastructure. Together, we are building a future that lasts - not just through the impact we make, but through meaningful careers that respect your work-life balance.

We call that lifetime engineering.

Join us and see how far we can go, together.

We are a disability confident, committed employer. If you have a disability or need any reasonable adjustments during the application and selection stages, please email [e-mail] with the subject header 'Reasonable adjustments requirement'. We are committed to building an inclusive culture where everyone's free to thrive. We are happy to talk about flexible working - please ask about alternative patterns of work at interview.

Closing date: 04/11/2026

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