Summer Placement Software Engineer

Leonardo UK Ltd; Easter Howgate; On-site; GBP 20,000 - 25,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading aerospace and defense company is offering a Summer Placement for Software Engineers in Edinburgh. This 13-week programme will provide hands-on experience with real-world engineering projects, helping students apply their academic knowledge while developing technical skills in a collaborative environment. Predicted 2:1 in a relevant degree is required. Join to enhance your career prospects through valuable industry exposure.

Benefits

25 days annual leave plus bank holidays

Pension scheme with up to 15% employer contribution

Access to mental health support & financial advice

Free access to 4,000+ online courses via Coursera and LinkedIn Learning

Qualifications

• Predicted 2:1 in Software Engineering, Computer Science, Physics, Mathematics or Electronic Engineering.
• Experience in real-time development for avionic systems is preferred.
• Knowledge of UML is an advantage.

Responsibilities

• Support real projects and apply knowledge from studies.
• Collaborate within teams on project targets.

Skills

Interest in Software Engineering

Computer programming experience

Object-oriented programming (C++)

Education

Predicted 2:1 grade in relevant degree

Job description

Job Description

Are you ready to make an impact and gain hands‑on experience working on real‑world projects from day one?

At Leonardo, we’re looking for summer placement students who want to be part of something bigger—shaping innovation, advancing technology, and enhancing global safety.

Our placements are designed to help you apply your studies in a practical setting, develop your technical skills, and gain valuable insight into how our business operates.

Leonardo’s Summer Placement Programme offers you a paid opportunity to develop your current skillset in an innovative and practical environment that can lead to a place on our award‑winning Graduate Development programme.

Come and join one of our multi‑disciplinary integrated project teams in Edinburgh and contribute to the solving of real‑life engineering problems on state‑of‑the‑art avionics sensor systems, such as the radar for the Typhoon fighter jet, the radar for the SAAB Gripen fighter, one of our family of Surveillance AESA Radars, an IRCM (Infra‑Red Counter‑Measures) system, or perhaps on one of our laser target designator or laser ranging systems.

The 13‑week Summer Placement Programme

We have created a programme across our UK sites that not only increases your technical skills, but gives you the opportunity to work on meaningful real life projects, alongside experienced engineers and graduates across our business.

You will receive coaching and support to achieve your personal goals and work in multidisciplinary teams to gain as much experience across the product lifecycle from your time in industry as possible. Our ultimate aim is to see you through your undergrad years and successful placements may result in an offer to return for further placements or for an offer on our Graduate Development programme.

The programme will run from 1st June 2026 to 28th August 2026.

As Summer Placement Software Engineer you will:

1. Provide support to real projects.

2. Be required to apply knowledge gained while studying in a practical way.

3. Undertake activities including designing, testing, qualifying and supporting technology across our range of products. The challenging tasks will involve communicating with other team members to gain information before completing objectives and examining outcomes.

4. Working as part of an established engineering community, and supported by a team of experienced engineers, you will be responsible for:

• Delivering small packages of work to time, cost and quality.
• Working within a team to achieve project targets, collaborate across multiple disciplines and solve problems.
• Communicating with team members to share knowledge.
• Completing tasks to a high standard in accordance with appropriate processes and procedures.
• Using the opportunity to develop engineering skills. A supervisor will be available to provide mentoring whilst working as a fully integrated member of the team.
• At the start of your placement, prepare a short presentation to introduce yourself and discuss what you will be working on to the Head of Software and the wider team.
• At the end of your placement, showcase what you have learned and achieved during your time at Leonardo to the Head of Software and the wider team.

Particular emphasis will be placed on learning practical skills that may not be easily gained or experienced in the academic environment of a university.

What you will bring

All of our Placement roles require a minimum of a predicted 2:1 grade in a relevant degree discipline e.g. Software Engineering, Computer Science, Physics, Mathematics or Electronic Engineering (BSc (Hon) / BEng (Hon) / MEng) to have the opportunity to experience a 13‑week paid industrial placement working as a Software Engineer within Leonardo.

Competencies we look for

• You should demonstrate an interest in Software Engineering in the area of real time development for avionic systems
• You should have some experience of computer programming and be enthusiastic and passionate about designing software and writing code
• Experience of an object‑oriented programming language such as C++ and knowledge of UML (Unified Modelling Language) is an advantage but not essential.

A full statement of courses and projects studied at university and corresponding grades/marks/percentage should be included in your CV.

Applications are also welcomed from candidates who have completed a first degree and are looking to gain industrial experience prior to commencing a relevant higher degree (i.e. PhD, MSc).

Personal Attributes

• Self‑motivated with lots of drive and enthusiasm
• Able to use own initiative to achieve overall objectives
• Able to work under pressure and achieve challenging deadlines within an environment of changing priorities
• Highly responsive with strong customer focus
• Thorough, seeing job through to completion while maintaining high standards
• Able to work flexibly and be readily adaptable to situational changes, in keeping with our custom working policy.

Security Clearance

This role is subject to pre‑employment screening in line with the UK Government’s Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS). An additional range of Personnel Security Controls referred to as National Security Vetting (NSV) may apply, this could include meeting the eligibility requirements for The Security Check (SC). For more information and guidance please visit: https://careers.uk.leonardo.com/gb/en/security-and-vetting

Why join us

At Leonardo, our people are at the heart of everything we do, key contributors in shaping innovation, advancing technology, and enhancing global safety.

Benefits

• Time to recharge: Our employees are entitled to 25 days of annual leave plus bank holidays. As a Summer Placement student you will receive this allowance pro rata.
• Secure your future: Award‑winning pension scheme with up to 15% employer contribution.
• Your wellbeing matters: Free access to mental health support, financial advice, and employee‑led networks championing inclusion and diversity (Enable, Pride, Equalise, Armed Forces, Carers, Wellbeing and Ethnicity).
• Never stop learning: Free access to 4,000+ online courses via Coursera and LinkedIn learning.

For a full list of our company benefits please visit: https://careers.uk.leonardo.com/gb/en/company-benefits

We are committed to building an inclusive, accessible, and welcoming workplace. We believe that a diverse workforce sparks creativity, drives innovation, and leads to better outcomes for our people, communities, and customers. If you have any accessibility requirements to support you during the recruitment process, just let us know.

Be part of something bigger – apply now!

Primary Location: GB – Edinburgh

Contract Type: Fixed term

Hybrid Working: Onsite