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.

Primary Purpose of the Role:

To support our development, we are seeking a Senior Naval Architect to join our team on a full time basis.

The Senior Naval Architect will be responsible for providing the specialist technical knowledge to a number of teams throughout Thales UK in support of maritime programmes across the lifecycle and spanning whole ship regeneration and reactivation; application, technical refresh and integration of sensor systems; and maritime autonomous systems.

Accordingly the Senior Naval Architect will be accountable to the MCM Principal Naval Architect for all activities relating to naval architecture and marine engineering discharged as part of the sector bids and programmes.

The role will involve completing assigned tasks to the required quality within time and cost constraints to meet the contracted Key Performance Indicators within the associated programme and in accordance with Thales established corporate governance and include responsibility for:

• Identification, definition, execution and acceptance of the naval architecture and marine engineering solution aspects of the operational projects ensuring their consistency and adherence with UWS Product and Project roadmaps

• Coordination with the Technical and Engineering Directorates in the definition of the strategies to best execute, accept and retire applicable system requirements. Contribute to the Innovation & Naval Architecture Strategy / Best Practices:

• Promotion of the associated naval architecture and marine engineering capability into UWS Product Lines through active participation Gate Reviews including the tailoring of processes and procedures that ensure the consistent application of best practice

• Deploying into operational team to direct or participate in the oversight or execution of the naval architecture and marine engineering activities which require the access to the specific knowledge, skills or SQEP experience of the job holder

The successful candidate will be required to work on a number of interesting and challenging projects, both in the UK and worldwide, working closely with our clients to ensure Thales deliver to our customer’s expectations and flexibility to travel and work at other locations is essential.

Principal Relationships:

• MMS Technical Director

• MCM Head of Engineering Delivery

• MCM Chief Engineer

• MCM Principal Naval Architect

• MCM Product Line Managers

• Engineering Delivery Managers (EDM)

• Design Authority (PDA / DAPL)

Key Responsibilities and Tasks:

• Providing specialist domain technical guidance and governance for all ship integration activities and product applications in a maritime environment including whole ship, hull, superstructure, propulsion systems, auxiliary systems, outfit and applicable shore-side infrastructure and facilities

• Contribute to the development of technical solutions for all aspects of ship modernisation, reactivation, regeneration, upgrades and update including the associated definition of work scope, assessment of programme risk and hazards, scheduling of activities, determination of sub-contract solutions, definition of required facilities and shore-side infrastructure, development of acceptance criteria

• Support reviews of all sector product applications including those related to maritime autonomous systems ensuring that the naval architectural and marine engineering aspects have been subject to an appropriate level of consideration and rigour

• Supporting sector and portfolio reviews and providing subject matter expertise across the portfolio ensuring that all technical solutions are under effective management control with the correct application of the skills required to deliver the contracted outcome

• Contribute to whole ship and/or systems level safety reviews across the whole application domain including, amongst others, HAZLOG, stability, working environment, safety afloat, provision of PPR, afloat risk assessments, treatment of hazardous material, and shore-side facilities to ensure any associated consequential risk is ALARP

• Providing guidance to the sector on those activities which should be addressed via the Maritime Ecosystem as a result of Make-Team-Buy analyses, supporting the engagement of potential ecosystem partners and assistance in the development of the subsequent scopes of work and associated acceptance criteria

• Supporting the Principal Naval Architect as the sector’s intelligent customer for the definition, review and acceptance of all naval architecture of marine engineering tasks which are either undertaken as part of a THALES maritime prime contract initiative or as part of that performed by the Maritime Ecosystem ensuring the readiness and capability of the work to be performed and the suitability of the subsequent delivery

• Identify, select and decide, with the company and projects the most suitable and robust solutions for our product roadmap and customer offerings

• Monitor the plans for R&T, SFR&Ds, Co-operations, Innovations and patents portfolio

• Technical management of platform upgrades and/or defects/problem reports on both deliverable and company MMCM vessels.

• To represent THALES in the field, ensuring that manufacture, commissioning and repair tasks are carried out to appropriate standards and design intent is well understood.

Key performance Indicators against Responsibilities and Tasks (professional only):

This role is continually monitored for performance and as such some of the following typical Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) will be used

• Application of associated naval architecture and marine engineering knowledge

• Maintenance and evolution of the maritime aspects of the MCM Sector product line

• Quality of work produced and performed against agreed industry standards

• Delivery to timescales and budget

• Performance against Thales key values

Expected Competence Level:

Skills

Essential skills include:

• Experience in engaging with clients and partners with deep naval architecture and marine engineering subject matter expertise and knowledge including, amongst others, Lloyds Classification Rules, SSMO and JSP 430

• Experience in overseeing and performing technical calculations, investigations and problem solving associated with the whole span of the naval architecture and marine engineering task

• Experience in coordinating internal and external resources to provide a timely and accurate technical service to the client and/or colleagues on the maritime aspects of complex defence projects

• Ability to conduct and oversee inclining experiments and interpret the results making recommendations to the business on the subsequent remedial activities

• Solid analytical skills and ability to interpret technical drawings, review mechanical designs, assess Finite Element Analysis (FEA) and manage simulation modelling

• Experience in supporting bid teams, providing technical input, identifying work packages, risk areas and costing technical activities;

• Experience in working internationally in a technical and customer facing environment with knowledge of both complex ship regeneration and new build programmes;

• Experience in providing technical and commercial leadership within the responsibilities assigned and familiar with working within multi-disciplinary teams to design, estimate and deliver technical solutions

• Good communication and inter-personal skills with a qualified ability to remain composed and focused under pressure

• Experienced and knowledgeable of engineering requirements, standards and processes for large complex systems and familiar with acting as a peer reviewer of engineering deliverables on projects

• Experience of requirements tracing from design through to development and acceptance

• Strong knowledge and proven application of Engineering Project Delivery and processes– across the full project lifecycle with cognisance of commercial acumen

• Good standard of technical writing skills and first class presentation skills.

• Customer and stakeholder management (internal & external) and negotiation

• Effective personal organisation and an ability to remain composed and focused under pressure.

• Ability to put skills and project based experience of the above listed areas into practice unaided whilst providing support and direction to less experienced colleagues and advice and direction to senior members of the organisation

• Sub Contract Management

Values & Behaviours:

• Focus on Customers

• Perform through teaming

• Innovate

• Develop our people

Financial / Budgetary Responsibility:

• Participate in regular reviews of performance on delivery of project work packages against project milestones and budgets proving an qualitative assessment of the value of work performed

Qualifications:

• Degree-qualified or equivalent.

• Chartered Naval Architect or equivalent with at least 5 years practical (hands on) experience.

• Driving License

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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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