Job description for Quality Assurance Engineer

Are you passionate about ensuring the highest standards in quality assurance? Do you want to play a crucial role in supporting the UK’s nuclear deterrent? If so, we are looking for a Quality Assurance Engineer to join our team and enhance the quality and reliability of our critical defence systems.

Joining our Trident Systems Project Team (TSPT), you will be deployed in delivering effective through-life support for the Trident Strategic Weapon System, Strategic Weapons Support System, Dreadnought build programme, and the Continuous At Sea Deterrent. The TSPT ensures that these critical systems are maintained, upgraded, and operated to the highest standards, ensuring the UK’s strategic defence capabilities remain robust and reliable.

As one of our Quality Assurance Engineers, you will work across multiple submarine programmes supporting the audit programme, ensuring conformance with TSPT’s policies and procedures. You will collaborate with senior managers and stakeholders on quality assurance and improvement interventions, developing and delivering quality assurance to industry standards. Our more senior engineers will also be on hand to mentor and develop you, helping you to improve your skills and progress your career.

The successful applicant may be eligible for a Trident Specialist Allowance (TSA) or Trident Chartership (TCA) if eligibility criteria are satisfied. TSA and TCA are non-contractual, non-consolidated, discretionary payments which may be withdrawn at any time.

At the SDA, we champion flexible ways of working. Regular in-person attendance is required (this is expected to be a minimum of 40%) to promote the benefits of face-to-face collaboration alongside flexibility of hours to support work-life balance. Initially, you may be expected to attend more frequently to familiarise yourselves with the site, the team, and your role.

You will be required to travel to various UK locations, including, dockyards, suppliers’ sites and submarines. You may also be involved in trials, international engagement, and collaboration as part of your role. At SDA, we are passionate about professional development and welcome applications from those who hold or are currently working towards their professional membership of Quality Organizations (CQI, IRCA). If you have not yet had the opportunity to pursue this, we are keen to support you in your continued professional development.

What you’ll be doing

In this role you will be responsible for developing and delivering quality assurance through audit, inspection and quality improvement initiatives.

Key responsibilities will include:

• Conducting audits of the quality management system to establish compliance with JSP 940 – Policy for Quality. Coordinating the activities of internal auditors and providing stewardship for their training and development
• Conducting external audits at defence establishments in the UK and overseas as required, including participating in deep maintenance period inspection activities as required
• Ensuring quality-related risks and opportunities are captured and managed, including communicating technical risks to the Lead Quality Assurance Engineer
• Assisting the quality group with delivering quality assurance surveillance in support of risk management, supplier assurance, verification, validation, and acceptance
• Conducting quality investigations, root cause analysis, internal process performance improvement activities, and supplier escalation or intervention. Developing quality assurance supporting tools and desk instructions
• Undertaking Government Quality Assurance by endorsing quality requirements in MOD contracts

Person specification

To be successful with your application, you’ll need to show that you meet the following essential criteria:

• Hold a relevant HNC (i.e., Level 4 or higher) qualification in an engineering discipline, OR demonstrate equivalent experience
• Hold an ISO 9001:2015 qualification or have ISO 9001/AS9100 experience, OR equivalent experience
• Have experience in quality assurance engineering gained from involvement with multiple projects and domains

In addition to the responsibilities above, the following technical competences and behaviours will be assessed at interview:

• Technical Requirements, Evaluation & Acceptance (Supervised Practitioner)
• Technical Risk Management (Practitioner)
• Communicating and Influencing
• Changing and Improving

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £37,100, Ministry of Defence contributes £10,747 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

• 25 days’ annual leave +1 day a year up to 30 days, 8 bank holidays and a day off for the King’s birthday.
• Flexible and hybrid working options.
• Market-leading average employer pension contribution of 27%.
• Annual performance-based bonus and recognition awards.
• Access to specialist training and funded qualifications.
• Support for progression.
• Huge range of discounts.
• Volunteering days.
• Enhanced parental leave schemes.

Improving innovation and enriching our culture, diversity of thought is vital to our success. So whether you’re looking for a new opportunity, a next step, or a helping hand as you return from a career break, bring your experiences and help deliver for the defence of tomorrow. Here you’ll find a supportive, family-friendly organisation to be a part of – and if you need any assistance with your application, just let us know.

Further Information

• Candidate Information Pack: https://bit.ly/SDA-Candidate-Information-Pack
• Terms and Conditions: https://bit.ly/DES-SDA-Terms-and-Conditions

Selection process details

Your application will go through the following stages of assessment:

1. Pre-sift – We will check that you meet any essential or eligibility criteria that are listed in the Person Specification section of this advert. On your CV, please clearly show how you meet the essential criteria.
2. Sift – Your CV will be assessed against the following categories, using a simple numerical scoring system: Key Achievements; Relevant Experience; Applied Knowledge and Skills. Please follow our guidance on CV writing for best chance of success.
3. Interview – If you’re invited to interview, you’ll be assessed against the Sift categories listed above, as well as the Technical Competences and Behaviours listed in the Person Specification section of this advert. When two (or more) candidates are on equal interview scores, positions will be offered based on the scores assessed at interview, in this order – 1st) Technical competence, 2nd) CV Review, 3rd) Behaviour one, 4th) Behaviour two.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.