Principal Systems Engineer

Role Type: Full time / Permanent

Role ID: SF70683

Lead the Future of Engineering Excellence

At Babcock we're working to create a safe and secure world, together, and if you join us, you can play your part as a Principal Systems Engineer at our Devonport Royal Dockyard site.

The role

As a Principal Systems Engineer, you'll have a unique opportunity to influence strategic objectives, mentor future engineering talent, and embed systems engineering principles that strengthen organisational capability.

Day-to-day, you'll be the technical authority driving world-class engineering practices across complex projects. You'll define, implement, and oversee processes that span requirements management, design, integration, verification, and validation, ensuring compliance with international standards and reducing risk throughout the project lifecycle.

• Defining and governing engineering processes across full project lifecycles.
• Applying systems engineering principles to reduce risk and improve predictability.
• Acting as a bridge between strategic intent and practical execution.
• Day to day management, mentoring and developing engineers to build organisational capability
• Influencing stakeholders and driving engineering excellence across teams.

This role is full time, 35, hours per week and provides hybrid working arrangements with 2 days per week on site.

Essential experience of the Principal Systems Engineer

• Extensive experience applying systems engineering across all project lifecycle phases.
• Proven ability to implement and govern processes in line with international standards.
• Expertise in early-stage risk identification and mitigation to improve predictability.
• Strong leadership in translating strategy into practical engineering solutions.
• Demonstrated success in mentoring and developing engineering talent.

Qualifications for the Principal Systems Engineer

• Degree in a STEM discipline or equivalent professional experience.
• Formal Systems Engineering certification (e.g., INCOSE CSEP/ESEP or equivalent).

Security Clearance

The successful candidate must be able to achieve and maintain Security Check (SC) security clearance for this role.

Many of the positions within our company are subject to national security clearance and Trade Control restrictions. This means that your eligibility for certain roles may be affected by your place of birth, nationality, current or former citizenship, and any residency you hold or have held. Further details are available at United Kingdom Security Vetting: clearance levels - GOV.UK () .

What we offer

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