Systems Engineer - Undergraduate Placement 2027

MBDA UK; Stevenage; On-site; GBP 22,000 - 27,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

1 year placement starting Sept 2027

Graduate path potential

Company bonus

Pension up to 14%

Overtime opportunities

Healthcare Cash Plan

Annual Leave 25 days (+)

Flexi Leave up to 15 days

Site facilities incl. subsidised meals

Job summary

MBDA UK in Stevenage is offering a Systems Engineer undergraduate placement for 2027, starting September. You’ll engage with real-world projects on complex weapons systems and gain exposure to the full product lifecycle, including concepting, design, and verification.

The role requires an undergraduate in a STEM field and offers a clear path to a graduate role, with benefits such as a company bonus and a competitive pension. Security requirements apply.

Qualifications

• Currently an undergraduate pursuing a degree in a STEM field.
• Interest in systems engineering for defence technologies.
• Willingness to undergo BPSS checks and security requirements.

Responsibilities

• Assist in concepting, designing, and delivering systems in Stevenage.
• Work across the Systems Design function on missile/weapon system projects.
• Learn the Systems Engineering lifecycle and the V-model across product development.

Education

Undergraduate studying for a degree in Physics, Mathematical Sciences, Engineering, Physical Sciences, Chemistry, Technology or Computing discipline

Job description

Systems Engineer - Undergraduate Placement 2027

Salary: £24,460

Dynamic working: Up to 5 days per week on-site dependant on workload and/or classification

Security clearance: British Citizen or a Dual UK national with British citizenship. Restrictions and/or limitations relating to nationality and/or rights to work may apply. As a minimum and after offer stage, all successful candidates will need to undergo HMG Basic Personnel Security Standard checks (BPSS), which are managed by the MBDA Personnel Security Team. This role is scheduled to close for applications at midnight on Monday 4th January 2027 but may close earlier depending on application volumes.

What we can offer you

• 1 year placement: starting September 2027, that allows you to apply your university learning to real-world projects and technologies
• Perform well on your placement and you could secure a graduate role before your final year
• Company bonus: based on company performance and will vary year to year
• Pension: maximum total (employer and employee) contribution of up to 14%
• Overtime: opportunity for paid overtime
• Healthcare Cash Plan: provides support with everyday health related costs - including medical, dental, optical, physio and health & wellbeing
• Annual Leave: 25 days plus option to purchase extra holiday
• Flexi Leave: up to 15 additional days
• Facilities: fantastic site facilities including subsidised meals, free car parking and much more...

The opportunity

Working within one of our Systems Design functions in Stevenage, you will be involved in concepting, designing, delivering and supporting the latest Complex Weapons capabilities for the UK and partner nation Armed Forces in response to advanced threats in all domains (Air, Land, Sea). You’ll complete a placement based on a project that could be at any stage in a range of areas, from future capabilities to in-service products. Through the placement, we’ll help you understand the make-up of a missile or a weapon system; from the warhead to the seeker in the missile to the wider weapon system components. These placements will enable you to understand the Systems Engineering ‘V’ model across the whole product lifecycle - including: Researching future technologies and novel domains; Developing requirements and functional architectures ; Creating concept solutions Analysing performance and supporting trade-off studies; Managing interfaces and integration of systems and sub-systems Proving and certification activities at Weapon and Missile system level Learning about technologies and customer needs associated with specific products or capabilities. Across the Systems Engineering domain, we offer exposure to a wide variety of different technologies, engineering methodologies, and customer needs associated with specific products or capabilities. This also offers a great opportunity to engage with internal and external customers. This role is suited to those that enjoy the creativity and practicality of working with problems to arrive at logical solutions. Our Systems Design function will support you to become a fully integrated member of the team with the opportunity to assume an increasing level of responsibility. We offer varied roles with scope to choose placements based on interests and skills. Our people are adaptable and the role is varied and fast paced - Innovation is a company value that we practice the most. Systems Engineers work with people across all engineering fields and business teams, meeting suppliers and customers and engaging with international MBDA colleagues. There is also Opportunity to travel both within the UK and potentially internationally.

What we’re looking for from you

Current undergraduate studying for a degree in Physics, Mathematical Sciences, Engineering, Physical Sciences, Chemistry, Technology or Computing discipline.

Our company

Peace is not a given, Freedom is not a given, Sovereignty is not a given. MBDA is a leading defence organisation. We are proud of the role we play in supporting the Armed Forces who protect our nations. We partner with governments to work together towards a common goal, defending our freedom. We are proud of our employee-led networks, examples include: Gender Equality, Pride, Menopause Matters, Parents and Carers, Armed Forces, Ethnic Diversity, Neurodiversity, Disability and more... We recognise that everyone is unique, and we encourage you to speak to us should you require any advice, support or adjustments throughout our recruitment process. Follow us on LinkedIn (MBDA), X (@MBDA_UK), Instagram (MBDA_UK) and Glassdoor or visit our MBDA Careers website for more information. What we do matters. Because defence matters. As a leading company in the defence industry we support our nations by delivering essential military capabilities, both for today and the future. We are proud to be an award-winning employer and are proud of the growing diversity of our workforce. Our people are the ones who drive our constant innovation and deliver against challenging targets. Whatever your background, we welcome your application to MBDA UK and look forward to speaking with you soon.