Job Description
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 performance
No 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