Principal Naval Architect

Location: Barrow-in-Furness, Bristol, Portsmouth, or Frimley. We offer a variety of hybrid and flexible working arrangements—talk to your recruiter about the options available for this role.

Salary: Competitive

As a Senior/Principal Naval Architect, you will play a crucial role in shaping the future of submarine design and performance. Your responsibilities will include:

• Conducting analysis and evaluations of submarine platforms' maneuvering performances from concept design to in-service support.
• Developing, verifying, and validating mathematical maneuvering models using physical model test data.
• Managing the generation of safe maneuvering envelopes and supporting associated operator guidance.
• Collaborating with enterprise partners to enhance modeling capabilities, processes, and toolsets for major programs.
• Working alongside other naval architecture teams, systems teams, Active Vehicle Control system teams, propulsion engineers, customers, and suppliers to deliver innovative and safe submarine solutions.
• Supporting and conducting hydrodynamic sea trials, including depth and heading control, test form development, and post-trial data analysis.

Essential:

• Experience in generating ship or submarine maneuvering modeling.
• A strong understanding of hydrodynamic principles and methods.
• A degree in Naval Architecture, Aeronautical Engineering, Mathematics, Physics, or equivalent experience.

Desirable:

• Experience in hydrodynamic/aerodynamic design and evaluation.
• Physical testing experience.
• Chartered Engineer status or working towards it.

We offer more than just a competitive salary! Enjoy:

• A robust pension scheme.
• Employee share plans.
• An extensive range of flexible, discounted health, wellbeing, and lifestyle benefits, including a green car scheme, private health plans, and shopping discounts.
• Potential eligibility for an annual incentive.

As a Principal/Senior Naval Architect within the Vehicle Control team, you will collaborate with experts in Naval Architecture and the Whole Boat Design Team. Join one of the largest and fastest-growing Naval Architecture Departments in the UK, working on complex ship design and build programs to deliver cutting-edge submarines to the Royal Navy and Royal Australian Navy. We also offer relocation support packages for eligible candidates.

At BAE Systems, you’ll have the opportunity to make a real difference. We foster an inclusive culture that values diversity of thought, rewards integrity and merit, and empowers you to reach your full potential. We welcome individuals from all backgrounds and strive to make our recruitment processes as inclusive as possible. If you have a disability or health condition that may affect your performance in certain assessments, please discuss potential reasonable adjustments with your recruiter.

Please note that many roles at BAE Systems are subject to security and export control restrictions. Factors such as your nationality, any nationalities you may have previously held, and your place of birth may affect your eligibility for certain roles. All applicants must meet the Baseline Personnel Security Standard, with many roles requiring higher levels of National Security Vetting, typically necessitating 5 to 10 years of continuous residency in the UK.

17th March 2026

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications. If you’re interested, please submit your application as soon as possible!

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