Principal Safety Engineer

Nuclearinst; West Devon; Hybrid; GBP 61,000 - 69,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Holiday allowance

Pension with life assurance

Digital GP

Job summary

Babcock is seeking a Principal Safety Engineer to oversee safety aspects across major infrastructure projects at Devonport Royal Dockyard. The role emphasizes ensuring regulatory compliance, safety case development, and design integrity for complex dock, berth and building facilities.

The successful candidate will review safety designs, validate safety claims, and provide expert guidance to engineering teams, with hybrid working and a requirement for SC-level security clearance.

Qualifications

• Strong background in safety engineering within complex projects and high-hazard industries (minimum Senior Safety Engineer level).
• Experience reviewing or managing safety cases and assessing design intent.
• Dockyard, defence, or nuclear industry experience (oil and gas, rail, aerospace also considered).
• Experience as a Design Authority or supporting DA processes - Desirable
• Ability to evaluate technical issues and guide engineering teams toward compliant solutions.

Responsibilities

• Review safety engineering designs to assess compliance against relevant engineering and HSE standards.
• Provide subject matter expertise to support technical problem-solving across design and construction teams.
• Guide and review safety design packages, ensuring integration with other engineering disciplines.
• Ensure safety case claims can be substantiated through compliant, complete and accurate design documentation.
• Provide onsite advice for design changes or defect rectification, ensuring quality assurance and adherence to engineering.

Skills

Safety engineering

Design Authority

Safety cases

Regulatory compliance

Education

Engineering degree

Job description

Job Title: Principal Safety Engineer

Location: Plymouth, Devon + Hybrid Working Arrangements

Compensation: £61,474 - £68,754 Depending on Experience + Benefits

Role Type: Full time / Permanent

Role ID: SF70724

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

The role

As a Principal Safety Engineer, you’ll play a vital role in the safe delivery of major infrastructure projects that support the Royal Navy’s ship and submarine sustainment programmes. Working within the Major Infrastructure Projects (MIP) directorate, you’ll support the design and upgrade of complex dock, berth and building facilities, ensuring these critical systems can be accepted into service and meet all regulatory and operational requirements.

Day-to-day, your expertise in safety engineering will influence design intent, validate safety claims and ensure that engineered solutions meet stringent technical and functional safety requirements.

• Review safety engineering designs to assess compliance against relevant engineering and HSE standards.
• Provide subject matter expertise to support technical problem‑solving across design and construction teams.
• Guide and review safety design packages, ensuring integration with other engineering disciplines.
• Ensure safety case claims can be substantiated through compliant, complete and accurate design documentation.
• Provide onsite advice for design changes or defect rectification, ensuring quality assurance and adherence to engineering.

This role is full time, 35 hours per week and provides hybrid working arrangements with a minimum of 2 days in the office/onsite.

Essential experience of the Principal Safety Engineer

• Strong background in safety engineering within complex projects and high‑hazard industries (minimum Senior Safety Engineer level).
• Experience reviewing or managing safety cases and assessing design intent.
• Dockyard, defence, or nuclear industry experience (oil and gas, rail, aerospace also considered).
• Experience as a Design Authority or supporting DA processes - Desirable
• Ability to evaluate technical issues and guide engineering teams toward compliant solutions.

Qualifications for the Principal Safety Engineer

• Degree in an Engineering or STEM discipline.

• Additional qualifications or experience in nuclear or safety‑critical systems - Desirable

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’re Babcock — a global FTSE 100 organisation with over 26,000 people working together to make a difference.

Here, you’ll 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’re 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’re 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: 08/09/2026