Systems Engineering Degree Apprentice - Level 6 Applied Professional Engineering - Cheadle

Thales; Cheadle Hulme; Hybrid; GBP 22,000 - 26,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary £24,000 p.a.

Holiday entitlement 201 hours + bank &

Contributory Pension

Healthcare cash plan

Hybrid/flexible working

Learning and development support

Employee discounts and wellbeing

Life Cover

Volunteering 80 hours p.a.

Job summary

Thales in the United Kingdom offers a Systems Engineering Apprenticeship combining on-the-job training with a BEng Applied Professional Engineering Degree Apprenticeship through the University of Warwick.

The programme blends campus teaching, virtual coaching and online resources, leading to Chartered Engineer status and a permanent role upon completion. Applicants must meet A Level and GCSE entry requirements and can expect hybrid working options.

Qualifications

• Progression to a BEng degree via Warwick Apprenticeship.
• Eligibility requires A Levels and GCSEs as specified.

Responsibilities

• Supporting systems requirements and design activities
• Contributing to project reviews
• Participating in system testing and validation activities
• Assisting with engineering investigations and problem solving
• Visiting customer sites, platforms and installations to support surveys, trials and system deployment
• Working with experienced engineers on live projects

Education

A Levels

GCSEs

Job description

Turn your curiosity into a career.

If you're passionate about engineering, eager to learn, and looking for a degree apprenticeship that combines academic study with exciting on-the-job experience, we'd love to hear from you.

Benefits of the programme

• Earn a salary while studying for your degree
• Gain hands-on experience in a real engineering environment
• Receive job-specific training and development
• Achieve a recognised engineering qualification
• Secure a permanent role from the start of your apprenticeship
• Have your university tuition fees fully paid

About the Role

As a Systems Engineering Apprentice, you will develop the technical knowledge, practical skills and professional behaviours needed to become a confident and capable engineer.

Working as part of our Systems Engineering team, you will support the delivery of systems and equipment solutions, ensuring projects are completed on time and within budget.

Your responsibilities may include:

• Supporting systems requirements and design activities
• Contributing to project reviews
• Participating in system testing and validation activities
• Assisting with engineering investigations and problem solving
• Visiting customer sites, platforms and installations to support surveys, trials and system deployment where required
• Working with experienced engineers on live projects

What You Will Learn

Throughout the apprenticeship, you will gain experience and knowledge in:

• Professional engineering behaviours and industry best practice
• Understanding and working with complex engineering systems
• Different engineering roles and activities across live projects
• The Systems Engineering Lifecycle and key engineering processes
• Requirements capture, requirements management and system design techniques
• Systems engineering tools and methods
• Testing, integration, verification, validation and qualification (IVVQ) activities
• Structured and methodical approaches to problem solving and investigation

Degree Apprenticeship Programme

You will study towards the BEng Applied Professional Engineering Degree Apprenticeship with The University of Warwick, following the Product Design and Development Engineer pathway.

The programme is delivered through a blended learning approach, combining:

• On-campus teaching (approximately 12 blocks of 3 days)
• Virtual coaching sessions
• Online learning resources

Programme structure:

This is a broad programme, designed to provide a strong multi-disciplinary engineering foundation prior to moving onto a more specialist pathway.

Years 1 and 2

• Mechanical Engineering
• Electrical and Electronic Engineering
• Materials and Design
• Computational skills

Years 3 and 4

• Progress onto the Design and Development Engineer specialist pathway
• Work based project

Throughout the four-year programme, you will combine university study with practical workplace experience, developing both academic knowledge and professional engineering skills. Aligned to the IET accreditation requirements, this degree will support those looking to become a Chartered Engineer in future.

Entry Requirements

To apply, you will need:

A Levels

• Minimum 112 UCAS Tariff points at A Level, including a grade B in Maths and at least one further STEM or engineering subject

GCSEs

• Minimum of five GCSEs at Grade 4/C or above
• Must include: English Language, Mathematics, Additional STEM subject

Please note that applicants who already hold a relevant degree will not be eligible for this programme.

Benefits

• Competitive salary of £24,000 per annum
• Performance-related pay uplifts
• Holiday entitlement of 201 hours a year (plus a company day and bank holidays)
• Contributory Company Pension
• Health Care Cash Plan
• Hybrid/flexible working options
• Employee assistance programme
• Learning and development support
• Employee discounts and wellbeing initiatives
• Life Cover
• 80 Hours Volunteering per year (first two years)

Because of the work we do at Thales, all roles are subject to security requirements.

To be considered for this position, you must have the permanent right to work in the UK and be able to successfully complete and maintain UK Government security checks, including Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) screening and Security Clearance (SC), which is a government background check, before starting employment.

To be eligible for SC clearance, you will typically need to have lived in the UK continuously for the last five years. As part of the vetting process, you will be asked to provide evidence of your identity, right to work in the UK, any time spent overseas during the last five years, and your employment and/or education history.

In addition, this role supports a UK Eyes Only programme and is therefore subject to government-mandated nationality restrictions. To satisfy the security clearance requirements for access to highly sensitive information, applicants must have been British citizens from birth and must not hold any other nationality. This requirement is determined by the UK Government and is a condition of programme access rather than an employment preference.

About the Company

Thales is an equal opportunities employer and diversity, and inclusion are integral to the success of Thales.

Closing date: Our applications will close at 11.59pm on Wednesday 17 February 2027, this is the only time we will be accepting applications this year. Please note, we will be in contact by the end of February 2027 with details of next steps.

PLEASE NOTE THAT ROLES MAY CLOSE EARLIER THAN THE ADVERTISED DEADLINE IF WE RECEIVE A HIGH NUMER OF APPLICATIONS. WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO APPLY AS SOON AS POSSIBLE TO AVOID MISSING OUT ON THIS OPPORTUNITY.

Because of the work we do at Thales, all roles are subject to security requirements.