Senior Communications Engineer

QinetiQ Limited; Portsmouth; On-site; GBP 62,000 - 69,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Matched pension and life assurance

Generous holiday allowance

Private Medical Insurance

Job summary

QinetiQ Limited in Portsmouth is seeking a Senior Communications Engineer to lead maritime underwater communications projects. You’ll shape technical solutions, oversee design, integration, testing and trials, and deliver high‑quality documentation for complex bids.

You will mentor engineers and coordinate with multidisciplinary teams, ensuring projects meet technical, cost and schedule targets whiletravelling to customer and trial locations as required. 37 hours per week onsite at Portsmouth.

Qualifications

• Experience delivering communications engineering projects across the full system lifecycle
• Experience in maritime/underwater or defence communications environments
• Experience leading technical activities and guiding multidisciplinary teams
• Strong understanding of comms systems engineering (analysis, design, integration, test)
• Proven ability to create high‑quality technical documentation and customer deliverables
• Ability to engage with customers, extract requirements and develop practical solutions

Responsibilities

• Provide technical leadership across maritime underwater communications projects and bids
• Lead design, development, integration and testing of communications systems
• Manage technical assurance activities and ensure compliance with standards
• Support trials, experimentation and technology demonstration activities
• Produce and review technical reports, presentations and delivery plans
• Mentor engineers and scientists, supporting team capability and resource planning

Skills

Maritime communications

Systems engineering

Technical leadership

Customer engagement

Documentation & reports

Trials & testing

Education

STEM degree

Job description

Location:

Location

Portsmouth, England, United Kingdom

Role Type: Permanent – Full Time

Package: £62100 - £69000. (salary dependent on experience) + Benefits

Role ID: SF20398

Are you ready to be part of the future? At QinetiQ, we’re not just imagining tomorrow we are creating it. From cutting-edge defence technology to ground-breaking innovations our mission is to empower and protect lives. Join us as a Senior Communications Engineer at our Portsmouth site, where you will have the opportunity to work with cutting-edge technology in partnership with some of the most brilliant minds.

The Role

As a Senior Communications Engineer, you'll provide technical leadership in the development and delivery of innovative underwater maritime communications capabilities, helping to solve complex customer challenges and shape future communication technologies.

Day-to-day, you'll lead the design, development, integration and evaluation of maritime communications systems, working closely with project managers, customers and multidisciplinary engineering teams to deliver technical solutions and support winning bids. You'll provide technical guidance and assurance, oversee trials, testing and experimentation activities, contribute to the development of new communications concepts and technologies, and produce high-quality technical documentation, reports and presentations while ensuring projects are delivered to the required technical, cost and schedule expectations.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Providing technical leadership and guidance across maritime underwater communications projects and bids
• Leading the design, development, integration and testing of communications systems and capabilities
• Managing technical assurance activities and ensuring compliance with relevant standards, processes and procedures
• Supporting the planning and execution of trials, experimentation and technology demonstration activities
• Producing and reviewing technical reports, presentations, delivery plans and design documentation
• Mentoring and developing engineers and scientists while supporting team capability growth and resource planning

Essential experience of the Senior Communications Engineer:

• Experience delivering communications engineering projects across the full system lifecycle, from concept and design through to integration, testing and acceptance
• Demonstrable experience within maritime communications, underwater communications or a related defence communications environment
• Experience leading technical activities and providing guidance to engineers, scientists or multidisciplinary project teams
• Strong understanding of communications systems engineering, including analysis, design, integration, test and evaluation activities
• Experience producing high-quality technical documentation, reports, presentations and customer-facing deliverables
• Proven ability to engage with customers and stakeholders, interpret requirements and develop practical solutions to complex technical challenges

Essential qualifications for the Senior Communications Engineer:

• Degree in Engineering, Physics, Mathematics or another relevant STEM discipline
• Full UK driving licence and willingness to travel to customer, laboratory and maritime trial locations as required

We value difference and we don’t have a fixed idea when it comes to background or education, provided you can show the required level of experience and willingness to learn then we would like to hear from you.

This role is 37 hours per week based at onsite at our Portsmouth site. Travel to other QinetiQ and customer sites will be expected.

PTP

Portsmouth Technology Park (PTP) is one of QinetiQ’s key facilities, focusing on advanced technology development and engineering services. It is dedicated to research and development, ensuring that complex systems are designed, integrated, and tested effectively to meet operational requirements. The facility utilises sophisticated modelling and simulation techniques to analyse and predict performance.

Why Join QinetiQ?

As we continue to grow into new markets around the world, there’s never been a more exciting time to join QinetiQ. The formula for success is our appetite for innovation and having the courage to take on a wide variety of complex challenges.

As a QinetiQ employee, you’ll experience a unique working environment where teams from different backgrounds, disciplines and experiences enjoy collaborating widely and openly as we undertake this exciting and rewarding journey. Through effective teamwork, and pulling together, you’ll get to experience what happens when we all share different perspectives, blend disciplines, and link technologies; constantly discovering new ways of solving complex problems in a diverse and inclusive environment where you can be authentic, feel valued and realise your full potential. Visit our website to read more about our diverse and inclusive workplace culture. www.qinetiq.com/en/careers/life-at-qinetiq

• Matched contribution pension scheme, with life assurance
• Generous holiday allowance, with the option to purchase additional days
• Options to join Health Cash Plan, Private Medical Insurance and Dental Insurance
• Employee discount portal: Personal Accident Insurance, Travel Insurance, Restaurants, Cinema Tickets and much more
• We are proud to support the Armed Forces community by honouring the Armed Forces Covenant and maintaining our Gold Award standard in the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme
• Volunteering Opportunities - helping charities and local community

Our recruitment Process:

We want to make sure that our recruitment process is as inclusive as possible and we aspire to bring out the best in our candidates by creating an environment where everyone feels valued, heard and supported. If you have a disability or health condition that may affect your performance in certain assessment types, please speak to your Recruiter about potential reasonable adjustments.

Many roles in QinetiQ are subject to national security vetting being completed, applicants who already hold the appropriate level of vetting may be able to transfer it upon appointment. A number of roles are also subject to additional restrictions, which means factors such as nationality or previous nationalities may affect the roles that you can be employed in.

Please note that all applicants for this role must be willing to go through DV Clearance.