Do you have the technical authority and systems safety expertise to support some of the UK's most advanced naval and defence technologies?

We are looking for a Principal Safety Engineer to join the Safety & Environmental Protection team at TKMS ATLAS UK, based at Winfrith, Dorset. This role has been created to strengthen safety leadership across existing and future programmes supporting the UK Ministry of Defence and major UK prime contractors.

As a Principal Safety Engineer, you will provide senior technical leadership in the application of safety and environmental protection principles across the full product lifecycle. You will act as a technical authority, championing best practice, ensuring regulatory and legislative compliance, and supporting the delivery of robust, safe, and compliant defence systems.

You will work closely with engineering, systems, ILS, and project teams to ensure safety and environmental considerations are embedded from concept through to in-service support. You will also support the development and capability growth of the wider Safety & Environmental Protection Engineering team.

Key responsibilities include:

• Providing senior technical leadership in product safety and environmental protection activities
• Managing and reporting safety and environmental tasks across multiple programmes
• Supporting bids by estimating costs, timescales, and safety effort
• Implementing and maintaining safety engineering policies and processes in line with legislation and customer requirements
• Supporting the development, implementation, and maintenance of the Safety & Environmental Management System (SEMS)
• Ensuring compliance with applicable defence standards, legislation, and best practice
• Working with system experts to identify, assess, and manage safety and environmental risks
• Supporting the production of safety cases, technical construction files, and declarations of conformity
• Mentoring and supporting the development of safety and environmental engineers
• Acting as a delegate for the Safety & Environmental Protection Team Leader when required

You will report to the Safety & Environmental Protection Team Leader and work as part of a collaborative, technically focused team operating within a dynamic defence environment.

The ideal candidate will have:

• A degree in an engineering-related discipline or significant equivalent experience in a marine or defence engineering environment
• Experience working in a safety-critical or regulated engineering environment, ideally defence or maritime
• Strong systems safety engineering experience across the product lifecycle
• Knowledge of MOD safety and environmental frameworks and defence standards
• Professional membership with a recognised institution (IEng/CEng or working towards)
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to influence technical and non-technical stakeholders
• A proactive, analytical approach with the ability to manage multiple priorities
• Functional Safety certification (e.g. TÜV) is desirable but not essential

TKMS ATLAS UK provides innovative underwater systems for the Royal Navy and international customers. Based on the Jurassic Coast, they combine science, engineering, and R&D to deliver world-class sonar, autonomous, and maritime systems. Their collaborative culture values technical excellence, integrity, and continuous improvement.

They offer:

• Competitive salary
• Career development and funded training opportunities
• Pension with up to 1.5x employer contributions
• 25 days annual leave (increasing to 28 after 5 years and 30 after 10 years)
• Dental cover & Employee Assistance Programme
• Flexible, hybrid, and condensed working options

The successful candidate must be eligible for full Security Clearance (SC). xbpsjku

At TKMS ATLAS UK, we support our staff to create work-life balance and encourage applications from individuals seeking part-time, condensed, or full-time opportunities.