DE&S Mechanical Engineer Manager - Senior Workshop and Airfield Support Equipment

Ministry of Defence

Stoke Gifford, Bristol BS34 8JH, UK

Hybrid

Expires: Expiring in less than 2 weeks

Engineering

Flexible

£46,400 per year

Job summary

At Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S), we supply and maintain vital equipment and services for the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force. Together, we deliver a vast range of essential defence programmes and strive for what's next. Because it helps keep our military at the top of their game and our nation safe – for today, and tomorrow.

We offer 25+ days’ holiday, flexible and hybrid working, enhanced parental leave schemes, shopping discounts, and an exceptional employer pension contribution of 28.97%, to help make work work for you.

Nationality, Visas, and Vetting: We're unable to offer visa sponsorship.

This role requires you to have lived in the UK for the last 5 years and obtain Security Check (SC) security clearance. Clearance must be obtained without any caveats that prevent you from carrying out the role for which you’ve been recruited. If it isn’t obtained or is obtained but with caveats that prevent you from carrying out the role, any conditional offer made to you will be withdrawn. Obtaining SC security clearance can be a lengthy process, and we reserve the right to withdraw any conditional offer made if the necessary security clearance isn’t obtained within 12 months.

Job description

As the Mechanical Engineering Manager, you will lead on the safe, compliant, and effective management of complex engineering systems across Airfield workshops, Airfield Support Equipment (ASE), Working at Height equipment, Gases/Cryogenics systems and deployed support environments. This role provides technical authority, leadership, and assurance within Defence engineering, ensuring that all equipment, facilities, and processes meet statutory, military and air safety requirements.

You’ll lead multi‑disciplinary teams of Subject Matter Experts, technicians, and contractors, delivering engineering governance and through‑life equipment support. Your focal points include producing and maintaining Safety Assessment Reports (SARs), chairing Hazard Review Boards and Local Technical Committees, and providing authoritative engineering decisions.

You’ll have oversight of engineering defects trend analysis and root cause investigations using formal quality systems and directing corrective or preventive actions. The Engineering Lead produces and approves Special Technical Instructions in collaboration with OEMs and fleet managers, ensuring the Defence user community receives clear and actionable guidance.

You’ll also provide specialist support to tri‑service airfield operations, offering SME advice on ASE configuration, modification control, asset management and deployed operational support. It includes planning and delivering engineering solutions to austere or operational environments, such as deployable workshops, Temporary Working Environments, and portable aircraft arrestor systems.

As a leader and trainer, you will manage workshop and training facility staff, oversees instruction in advanced workshop, sheet metal, and welding skills, and ensures training delivery meets regulatory and quality assurance standards. This extends to personnel development, welfare oversight, data protection compliance, and performance management across military and civilian teams.

We champion flexible working, with regular on-site attendance (around 60%) to foster collaboration, alongside flexibility to support work-life balance. Initially, you may be expected to attend more frequently to familiarise yourselves with the site, the team, and your role. Occasional travel to operational bases or manufacturer sites may be required.

Ready to take your career to new heights? Apply today and help shape the future of aerospace innovation.

What you’ll be doing

Requirements - Owning the generation of technical requirements, defining technical deliverables/artifacts, and updating other documentation for systems, including the considerations to in-service support and associated costs.

Technical Data - Authorising technical data input and changes to support the management and maturity of engineering documentation, focusing on successful technical outcomes.

Legislation/Policy - Working in a highly regulated area, educating others with relevant legislation, regulation, policy, processes, and standards to deliver technical documentation for a system. This includes the essential relation to quality, safety, security, and sustainability, of the system, and the interoperability with other sub-systems.

Stakeholder Management - Collaborating and managing trade-offs with other sub-system teams and specialists, over technical requirements, and design compromises, to maximise successful system implementation and delivery.

Technical Discipline - Authorising recommendations in relation to your technical area of knowledge.

People Coaching - You will assist in the management responsibility of internal staff, through tasking. and assisting in mentoring Entry Talent and lower grades.

Person specification

To be successful with your application, you'll need to show that you meet the following essential criteria:

Demonstrable, wide ranging depth and breadth experience of providing technical advice and delivery of successful Mechanical or Airfield Support outcomes (Lead criterion)

Professionally registered as an Incorporated Engineer (IEng) as a minimum or demonstrate equivalent experience with an expectation that IEng (or alternative) will be achieved within 12 months of joining permanently. This will be monitored via objectives & capability-based pay pilots as appropriate.

In addition to the responsibilities above, the following technical competences and behaviours will be assessed at interview:

Making Effective Decisions - CSBC 3
Leadership - CSBC 3
ECF_02 Safety Management – Awareness Level
ECF_03 Supportable Technical Solutions - Practitioner Level

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £46,400, Ministry of Defence contributes £13,442 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

25 days’ annual leave +1 day a year up to 30 days, 8 bank holidays and a day off for the King’s birthday
Flexible and hybrid working options
Market-leading average employer pension contribution of 28.97%
Annual performance-based bonus and recognition awards
Access to specialist training and funded qualifications
Support for progression
Huge range of discounts
Volunteering days
Enhanced parental leave schemes

Improving innovation and enriching our culture, diversity of thought is vital to our success. So, whether you’re looking for a new opportunity, a next step, or a helping hand as you return from a career break, bring your experiences and help deliver for the defence of tomorrow. Here you’ll find a supportive, family-friendly organisation to be a part of - and if you need any assistance with your application, just let us know.

#LI-Hybrid

Further Information

Civil Service Recruitment Principles: Recruitment Principles - Civil Service Commission
Candidate Information Pack: https://bit.ly/DES-Candidate-Information-Pack
Terms and Conditions: https://bit.ly/DES-Terms-and-Conditions
Civil Service Code: The Code - Civil Service Commission

Any personal data that you provide during the Recruitment process will be treated in accordance with the MOD Privacy Notice which can be accessed here.

Disability Confident:

Please note as a Disability Confident Leader we want to ensure you receive any reasonable adjustments that you need throughout the recruitment process. If you do require any reasonable adjustments, you can let us know on your online application under the section ‘Please indicate and give details of any reasonable adjustments you may require during the recruitment process.’

Conflicts of Interest:

The Ministry of Defence requires all candidates who are successful at interview to declare any outside interests. These declarations will be discussed with successful candidates following the interview process and before a formal offer of employment is made, as some outside interests may not be compatible with MOD civilian roles. This will not, in the majority of cases, prevent employment in MOD, but it is a measure that must be taken to ensure that appropriate mitigations can be put in place to manage any potential, perceived or actual conflicts of interest from the first day of employment.

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

Your application will go through the following stages of assessment:

Pre-sift - We will check that you meet any essential or eligibility criteria that are listed in the Person Specification section of this advert. On your CV, please clearly show how you meet the essential criteria.
Sift - Your CV will be assessed against the following categories, using a simple numerical scoring system: Key Achievements; Relevant Experience; Applied Knowledge and Skills. Please follow our guidance on CV writing for best chance of success.
Interview - If you're invited to interview, you'll be assessed against the Sift categories listed above, as well as the Technical Competences and Behaviours listed in the Person Specification section of this advert.

Please Note: In the event of a tied score at interview, the Order of Merit will be distinguished based on the ranking of the assessed behaviours and competencies below:

1st: Core Behaviour 1

2nd: Core Behaviour 2

3rd: Technical Competencies

4th: CV Review

In the event of a further tie using the method above, we reserve the right to use the Lead criterion, and/or and additional assessment.

If you feel that your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance you should contact department via email: DESHR-WSC-PMOCOMPLAINTS@mod.gov.uk. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission: Recruitment Complaints - Civil Service Commission

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

UK nationals
nationals of the Republic of Ireland
nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Salary range

£46,400 per year