Location: Templecombe, United Kingdom

Thales people provide armed forces customers with operational advantage at every decisive moment throughout the mission. Defence and armed forces customers rely on us to deliver the full range of defence mission systems solutions at land, sea, and air. Our platforms extend across the battlespace including Above and Sonar, Electronic Combat, and Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance systems.

Together we offer fantastic opportunities for committed employees to learn and develop their career with us. At Thales UK, we research, develop, and supply technology and services that impact the lives of millions of people each day to make life better, and keep us safer. We innovate across five major industries; Aerospace, Defence, Ground Transportation, Security and Space. Your health and well-being matters to us and that’s why we offer you the flexibility to do what’s important to you; whether that’s part time hours, job sharing, home working, or the ability to flex your start and finish times. Where possible, we support a working pattern that suits your lifestyle and helps you reach your ambitions.

We are happy for this role to be based in Cheadle or Templecombe.

Purpose of the Role:

Are you looking for your next challenge? Do you have an interest in working on cutting-edge next generation products? Do you enjoy being able to generate or initiate innovative solutions? Do you want to be part of a team of leading specialists that are designing solutions that make tomorrow possible, today? Then look no further…

We have a fantastic opportunity to join a growing area of the business within Defence Mission Systems, as a Independent Design Authority you are accountable for the overall fitness-for-purpose of the Sonar solution for the submarine class. You are a technical leader within Thales Underwater Systems UK, influencing the engineering approach of the Sonar delivery team, and interfacing with the customer base to inform the strategic direction of the UK’s Submarine Sonar Spiral Development Programme.

This role is critical to ensure Thales Sonar Systems can deliver the full capability to the end user as part of an integrated and coherent Combat System. This role acts as a customer interface and ensures that the development team are working in the best interests of the customer; Holding our internal delivery teams to account ensuring they provide key submarine functions and performance, and working collaboratively across the wider Submarine enterprise to ensure the end to end system enables the sonar system to deliver the maximum operational benefit to the Navy.

Experience Required:

• Have broad and deep knowledge of submarine sonar systems, including outboard array technologies, signal processing chains, data processing chains, and operator interactions

• Have the ability to critically appraise sonar system specification (Solution / Hardware / Software / Firmware), assessment, design, and qualification artefacts to judge their suitability and completeness within the context of the overall engineering process

• Have the ability to understand and apply rigorous systems engineering processes to the development of a complex system at an Enterprise and solution level.

• Sound understanding of safety and cybersecurity requirements to assure appropriate coverage in the design.

• Experience of working in an environment where on time and on budget delivery is critical to success.

Key Responsibilities and Tasks:

• Critically appraise and assess the maturity of the Sonar system and subsystems design with respect to the lifecycle stage, and influence the delivery team’s approach to ensure appropriate outcomes

• Ensure coherence of the sonar systems at a combat system level, including 3rd party suppliers.

• Work in close co-operation with the customer community to provide assurance of the progression of Sonar development activities

• Work in close co-operation with the customer community, and partners to influence the strategic direction of the UK’s Submarine Sonar Spiral Development Programme

• Ensure coherence between the various UK submarine programmes from an integrated sonar perspective.

• Work in close co-operation with sonar and acoustics experts to independently confirm the suitability of the Sonar design with respect to acoustic performance

• Work in close co-operation with transversal engineering functions including safety, operability, cyber security, integrated logistics support to confirm the suitability of the Sonar design with respect to transversal aspects

• Perform and organise studies on behalf of the customer pertaining to sonar performance analysis, providing reports on status.

• Manage the technical baseline of the Contract by chairing and minuting the “Engineering Control Board” of the Joint Project Office.

• Identify and mitigate technical risk associated with the overall fitness-for-purpose of the Sonar design

• Understand and work effectively within the commercial and technical constraints of the programme

• Provide technical leadership within Thales Underwater Systems and provide mentoring, coaching, peer review, and knowledge transfer to developing engineers

Qualifications Required:

• Degree qualified in a related subject

• Chartered Engineer (preferable)

Flexibility

Your health and well-being matters to us and that’s why we offer you the flexibility to do what’s important to you; whether that’s part time hours, job sharing, home working, or the ability to flex your start and finish times. Where possible, we support a working pattern that suits your lifestyle and helps you reach your ambitions.

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In line with Thales' Baseline Security requirements, candidates will be asked to provide evidence of identity, eligibility to work in the UK and employment and/or education history for up to three years. Some vacancies may require full Security Clearance which can require further evidence to be provided. For further details of the evidence required to apply for Baseline and Security Clearance please refer to the Defence Business Services National Security Vetting (DBS NSV) Agency.

At Thales we provide CAREERS and not only jobs. With Thales employing 80,000 employees in 68 countries our mobility policy enables thousands of employees each year to develop their careers at home and abroad, in their existing areas of expertise or by branching out into new fields. Together we believe that embracing flexibility is a smarter way of working.

Thales UK is committed to providing an inclusive and barrier-free recruitment process. We will provide reasonable adjustments and support to ensure neuro-diverse applicants or those with a disability or long-term condition can be their best during the recruitment process. To request an adjustment, if you need this job advert in an alternative format or if you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact Resourcing Ops for mid to senior roles, or the Early Careers Team for graduate and apprentice roles.

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