The award of the DragonFire contract marks a turning point in UK naval warfare. MBDA is now tasked with a historic goal: deliver the first-ever Laser Directed Energy Weapon (LDEW) onto Royal Navy warships within the next two years. MBDA is looking for LDEW engineers to work on one of the most talked-about project in the UK defence sector.

Salary: Circa £53,000 depending on experience

Dynamic (hybrid) working: 3 days per week on-site due to workload classification

Security Clearance: British Citizen or a Dual UK national with British citizenship.

Restrictions and/or limitations relating to nationality and/or rights to work may apply. As a minimum and after offer stage, all successful candidates will need to undergo HMG Basic Personnel Security Standard checks (BPSS), which are managed by the MBDA Personnel Security Team.

What we can offer you:

• Company bonus: Up to £2,500 (based on company performance and will vary year to year)
• Pension: maximum total (employer and employee) contribution of up to 14%
• Overtime: opportunity for paid overtime
• Flexi Leave: Up to 15 additional days
• Flexible working: We welcome applicants who are looking for flexible working arrangements
• Enhanced parental leave: offers up to 26 weeks for maternity, adoption and shared parental leave -enhancements are available for paternity leave, neonatal leave and fertility testing and treatments
• Facilities: Fantastic site facilities including subsidised meals, free car parking and much more…
• Healthcare Cash Plan: The Healthcare Cash Plan benefit provides the option to claim cash back on everyday healthcare expenses such as optical, dental, health and wellbeing and more.

The opportunity:

DragonFire isn't a long-term research project, it is a race to deployment. We are looking for technically astute, driven engineers to help transform DragonFire from a successful prototype into a world-class, deployable air defence system. If you want to see your work move from the lab to the deck of a warship in record time, this is where you belong.

You will sit at the critical intersection of laser physics and systems engineering, not just analysing data, but helping to architect the future of Naval air defence. The immediate challenge of this role will be to ensure that the cutting-edge science of LDEW is translated into a rugged, reliable, and certified weapon system. Its focus will span the full lifecycle: from refining requirements and performance analysis to overseeing design certification and final system integration and you’d be joining a dedicated team of LDEW specialist scientists and engineers, ready to play a key role in a project with immense strategic importance to the Royal Navy and the MoD.