Naval Architect
Shape the future of maritime innovation.
Are you passionate about ship design, hydrodynamics, and solving complex engineering challenges? This is your opportunity to join a leading organisation working at the forefront of defence, research, and marine technology - helping to develop the next generation of naval and underwater systems.
You'll work alongside highly skilled engineers, scientists and specialists, using some of the most advanced hydrodynamic testing facilities in the UK, including an ocean basin rotating arm and marine towing tank.
About the Role
As a Naval Architect, you will play a key part in delivering specialist hydrodynamic testing and design consultancy for defence and commercial customers. This is a hands‑on, technically varied role involving both physical model testing and computational simulation.
You'll also contribute to a broad range of wider naval architecture activities including:
Ship and submarine stability
Seakeeping analysis
Manoeuvring performanceNo two days look the same - you'll be designing, testing, analysing, problem‑solving and collaborating with multi‑disciplinary experts.
What You'll Be Doing
Technical Delivery
Perform hydrodynamic simulations and experiments for ship and submarine designs
Break down complex engineering tasks into clear deliverables and work packages
Plan and manage technical schedules, working closely with Project Managers
Coordinate with CAD, structural, instrumentation and workshop teams
Design and manufacture hull and propeller models for testing
Conduct resistance, propulsion and cavitation experiments
Analyse test and simulation data and prepare high‑quality technical reports
Customer & Stakeholder Interaction
Engage with customers to understand their technical requirements
Develop engineering solutions with support from specialist teams
Present findings at customer meetings and technical conferences
Business Development
Support bid activity by producing technical plans, scopes of work and resource estimates
Team Support & Collaboration
Mentor junior team members and share technical expertise
Contribute to capability development within the Naval Architecture & Marine Engineering group
About You
Essential Experience
Strong background in naval architecture or the wider marine industry
Knowledge of data analysis and scientific programming (e.g. MATLAB)
Understanding of CFD and FEA methods
Able to communicate complex technical information clearly
Highly motivated, organised and detail‑focused
Strong team‑working and collaboration skills
Essential Qualifications
BEng/MEng in Naval Architecture or Mechanical Engineering
Equivalent experience will also be considered - capability is what matters most