Principal Naval Architect

Job Title

Principal Naval Architect

Location

Devonport, Plymouth, Rosyth, Fife or Bristol

Role Type

Full time / Permanent

Shape the Future of Naval Engineering

At Babcock, we're working to create a safe and secure world, together. If you join us, you can play your part as a Principal Naval Architect at Devonport, Rosyth or Bristol, near their respective local commutable areas.

The role

As a Principal Naval Architect, you'll take on a role that's truly out of the ordinary. This is an opportunity to help shape the next generation of naval platforms - from concept design through early stage development, all the way to vessel acceptance. You'll play a key part in delivering complex shipbuilding programmes and in service support that protect national security and enable safer oceans.

Your expertise will influence major international defence programmes, contributing to a safer world while accelerating your own professional growth. You'll join a fast growing engineering community, with meaningful opportunities to lead teams, innovate new solutions and diversify your experience across projects in naval architecture and nuclear infrastructure.

Day to day responsibilities

• Lead multidisciplinary design teams throughout the full design lifecycle, ensuring technical excellence and coordination.
• Develop innovative naval architecture solutions, including concept designs, stability assessments and technical substantiation.
• Produce high quality technical reports and documentation, ensuring consistency and continual improvement of engineering outputs.
• Support and mentor team members, fostering capability growth across the engineering discipline.
• Collaborate with wider engineering groups, contributing your expertise to other projects that support long term career development.

This is a full time position. The role can be based at Devonport, Rosyth or Bristol. Hybrid working patterns are available.

Essential experience of the Principal Naval Architect

• Demonstrated experience within the naval or marine industry, ideally across both surface ships and submarine platforms.
• Proficiency using recognised naval architecture design tools (e.g., Paramarine, Maxsurf, Aveva).
• Experience leading technical delivery across concept and early stage design phases.
• Experience producing robust technical substantiation and reporting.

Qualifications for the Principal Naval Architect

• Degree in Naval Architecture or an Engineering discipline; HNC/HND applicants with substantial relevant experience will also be considered.
• Chartered Engineer status and membership of a relevant professional institution (e.g., RINA, IMechE, IET, IMarEST).

Security Clearance

The successful candidate must be a sole UK National who is 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

• Matched contribution pension scheme, with life assurance
• Access to a Digital GP, annual health check, and nutritional consultations through Aviva DigiCare+
• Employee share scheme
• Employee shopping savings portal
• Payment of Professional Fees
• Reservists in the armed forces receive 10 days special paid leave
• Holiday Trading is a benefit that allows UK Babcock employees to buy additional leave or to sell up to one working week of annual leave from their annual entitlement. There is an annual Window to request this benefit. 'Be Kind Day' enables employees to take one working day's paid leave a year (or equivalent hours) to undertake volunteering work with their chosen organisation or registered charity
• Excellent development opportunities and benefits package including an employee assistance programme supporting physical, mental and financial wellbeing.

Babcock

We're Babcock - a global FTSE 100 organisation with over 26,000 people working together to make a difference.

Here, you'll be part of something bigger. From initial design to final decommissioning, your work will contribute to products and services that are essential to national security and public infrastructure. Together, we're building a future that lasts - not just through the impact we make, but through meaningful careers that respect your work life balance.

We call that lifetime engineering.

Join us and see how far we can go, together.

We are a disability confident committed employer. If you have a disability or need any reasonable adjustments during the application and selection stages, please email with the subject header 'Reasonable adjustments requirement'. We're committed to building an inclusive culture where everyone's free to thrive. We are happy to talk about flexible working - please ask about alternative patterns of work at interview.