Senior Mechanical Engineer

BAE Systems - UK; Barrow-in-Furness; Hybrid; GBP 39,000 - 46,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading defense contractor in the UK seeks a Senior Mechanical Engineer to contribute to submarine systems' design and development. The role entails leading design activities, producing necessary documentation, and collaborating with suppliers, all within a flexible working environment. Candidates should have significant hydraulic/mechanical systems experience, ideally in safety-critical contexts. A competitive salary and benefits, including a pension scheme and health plans, are offered. The closing date for applications is 9th January 2026.

Benefits

Competitive pension scheme

Employee share plans

Flexible health benefits

Qualifications

• Experience in designing hydraulic/mechanical systems in safety-critical environments.
• Familiarity with fluid mechanics and hydraulic control systems.
• Leadership experience through mentoring or project ownership.

Responsibilities

• Lead design activities of Hydraulic / Mechanical systems for submarines.
• Produce design documentation and safety justifications.
• Support procurement of components and collaborate with suppliers.

Skills

Design of hydraulic/mechanical systems

System lifecycle delivery

Project ownership

Chartered engineer

Education

Chartered engineer or working towards professional accreditation

Tools

Hydraulic power units (HPUs)

Variable frequency drives (VFDs)

Hydraulic actuators

Job description

Job Title: Senior Mechanical Engineer

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: Circa £46,000 dependent on experience

What you’ll be doing:

As a Senior Mechanical Engineer, you will play a pivotal role in the design and development of submarine systems. This includes system-level design, technical responsibility, supplier engagement, and the opportunity to steer design architecture across a major submarine programme.

• Lead design activities of Hydraulic / Mechanical systems, sub-systems and equipment for the next generation Royal Navy submarines.
• Undertake functional design activities, modelling and analysis.
• Produce design documentation, Verification & Validation evidence and safety justifications.
• Support specification qualification and procurement of components, working collaboratively with suppliers.
• Engaging with stakeholders across the cross-functional project team.
• Driving engineering governance through peer reviews and design reviews.

Your skills and experiences:

Essential:

• Strong experience in the design of hydraulic/mechanical systems – ideally in complex, safety-critical environments (e.g. maritime, aerospace, defence, nuclear, oil & gas and sub‑sea).
• Familiarity with systems and equipment involving; hydraulic power units (HPUs), variable frequency drives (VFDs), control cabinets, pumps, electric motors, hydraulic actuators, hydro‑static transmissions and fluid mechanics.
• Proven capability in system lifecycle delivery – from concept through to commissioning.
• Demonstrated leadership – either through technical direction, mentoring, or project ownership.
• Chartered engineer or working towards professional accreditation.

Desirable:

• Familiarity with design standards such as ASME, BS EN and other applicable standards.
• Previous engagement with suppliers or stakeholders on hydraulic / mechanical systems (inclusion of hydraulic control logic is desirable, e.g. Variable Frequency Drive solutions but not required)

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 Mechanical team:

Join a dynamic, multidisciplinary engineering team where your expertise will help drive the delivery of critical mechanical capability at the heart of a high‑profile programme. Through close collaboration with suppliers, systems engineers, and key stakeholders, you’ll play a pivotal role in shaping high‑integrity technical solutions, supporting team growth, and ensuring projects stay on course—both technically and financially. This is a role that grows with you: whether your passion lies in technical leadership—owning innovative design solutions and guiding others; people leadership—developing talented engineers and managing focused teams; or specialist technical delivery—diving deep into hydraulic and mechanical performance, analysis, and integration. Here, you’ll have the flexibility to shape your impact and help define the future of mechanical engineering excellence. 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.

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: 9th 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.