Weapons Systems Safety Engineer

6 contract – Inside IR35

Hybrid working

£70 per hour umbrella / £53.05 per hour PAYE / £60.76 per hour PAYE (inc. holiday pay)

A vacancy has arisen for a professional Product Safety Engineer to work within the Weapon Systems UK Product Integrity team.

As part of the Platforms and Services organisation in the USA, Weapon Systems UK designs, develops, and supports artillery systems, naval guns, small and medium calibre barrels (i.e. M777 towed howitzer, 4.5” MK.8 MOD 1 Naval Gun, AS90 self-propelled howitzer & 105 Light Gun) and provides engineering capability to the wider business. Our global reach brings our customers a depth and breadth of expertise that meet critical needs in the air, on land and at sea. 

Our UK site is based in Barrow-in-Furness and is supported by a design team which includes Electrical, Mechanical, Support, and Software engineering disciplines.

Key Responsibilities:

• Definition and analysis of product safety targets to satisfy both customer and legal requirements.
• Setting and monitoring safety guidelines for use by project/design teams.
• Undertaking safety hazard analysis, using recognised tools and techniques, such as PHI, FMECA, HAZOP, FTA, etc.
• The generation, update and maintenance of hazard databases, as required by each contract (such as eCassandra).

Preparation of Safety Documentation such as :-

• System Safety Product Plan (SSPP).
• Safety and Environmental Case Reports (SECR).
• Environmental Reports.
• Hazard Logs.
• Disposal Plans.
• Specific Safety documents required by individual contracts.
• Risk assessments for safety related tasks.

Provision of technical expertise and general safety advise to project/design teams on operational and environmental aspects, including:

• The processes used to ensure the safety performance of our products.
• The identification of safety hazard risk areas.
• Where required attend safety review meetings both in-house and with the customer.
• Providing minutes of design review and customer safety meetings.
• Schedule own work to meet target timescales and budget demands.
• Liaison with project/design teams, the customer and agencies thereof, sub-contractors and suppliers on safety matters as appropriate.
• Attending design/process reviews with the customer and agencies thereof, and providing expert technical/programme advice and presentations where appropriate.
• The establishment and maintenance of safety reporting, analysis and corrective action systems as required by the project.

• Foster relationships with customers by:

• The interpretation of the safety requirements, including environmental, from MoD and other customer specifications and the subsequent development of qualitative and quantitative requirements for inclusion in equipment specifications.

• Act as a safety assessor within own specialist area or support the planning of and carrying out of safety reviews or to assist other parts of Weapon Systems.

Educational Background:

The candidate will have ideally been educated to degree level or equivalent in an engineering discipline with at least 5 years postgraduate experience within an engineering environment.

Essential Experience / Skills:

• Excellent understanding of Safety requirements.
• Familiar with JSP’s and Def Stan’s.
• Excellent report writing skills.
• Effective team-worker.
• Highly creative and focussed on achieving objectives.
• Very good analytical skills.

Desirable Experience / Skills:

• Engineering background in a weapons system or design for military use.
• Structural / Stress analysis.
• Good understanding of EU standards and Legislation and can perform gap analysis.
• Product Security / Cyber knowledge.
• Very flexible and ability to adapt.
• Highly responsible with a strong commitment.
• Willingness to travel if required.

2 - 3 days per week on site

£70 per hour umbrella / £53.05 per hour PAYE / £60.76 per hour PAYE (inc. holiday pay)