Principal Engineer

Job Title:
Principal Engineer (HVAC)

Location:
Portsmouth – We offer a range of hybrid and flexible working arrangements – please speak to your recruiter about the options for this particular role

Salary:
up to £54000 depending on skills and experience

What You'll Be Doing

• Works with a high degree of technical autonomy, using expertise to provide advice and guidance to other professionals within project/team.
• Using the programme delivery plan, prioritise team activities to ensure schedule and cost-effective working is delivered alongside quality expectations
• Act as a project focal point for discipline specific tasks, championing continuous improvement, ensuring best practices are adopted, and ensuring overall compliance to the discipline strategy
• Deploying high expertise in engineering toolsets including CAD and information management tools to deliver complex design activities through to completion
• Use knowledge and experience of the discipline to make decisions and facilitate problem-solving guided by policies, procedures and business plan
• Able to effectively escalate where appropriate complex design issues and advise Detail Design Delivery Team Lead on proposed technical resolutions where there is an impact to predicted programme delivery plan
• Advise Detail Design Team Lead and Technical Specialist of capability gaps and development needs of team so they can be addressed using training and development plans
• May act as an informal or indirect leadership resource, supporting activities such as skills coaching, mentoring and contributing to management reporting

Your Skills And Experiences

• Experience of large-scale engineering projects or technical roles
• Leadership experience
• Requires a breadth and depth of specialist technical knowledge and a broad experience of processes, data, systems and the business environment
• HVAC experience or Auxiliary Systems preferred, Considerable experience in engineering or technical role
• Preferred Ship Building experience

Benefits
As well as a competitive pension scheme, BAE Systems also offers employee share plans, an extensive range of flexible discounted health, wellbeing and lifestyle benefits, including a green car scheme, private health plans and shopping discounts – you may also be eligible for an annual incentive.

The Systems Design Services HVAC Team
The BAE Systems Design Services HVAC Team consists of 27 engineers, that develop and delivering HVAC design guidance's, testing, commissioning and fault finding for all current naval platforms based in Portsmouth Naval Base.

Principal Engineer HVAC, you will have the skills and experience for your primary role of leading a defined range of detail design activities in line with all relevant processes and quality requirements, supplying advice and support to operations and other functions and ensuring defined objectives are achieved whilst continually maintaining quality and service requirements.

This is an exciting new opportunity, with opportunities of progression and growth within the business. It is also an opportunity to be a part of a dynamic team with varied work and different challenges.

Why BAE Systems?
This is a place where you'll be able to make a real difference. You'll be part of an inclusive culture that values diversity of thought, rewards integrity, and merit, and where you'll be empowered to fulfil your potential. We welcome people from all backgrounds and want to make sure that our recruitment processes are as inclusive as possible. If you have a disability or health condition (for example dyslexia, autism, an anxiety disorder etc.) that may affect your performance in certain assessment types, please speak to your recruiter about potential reasonable adjustments.

Please be aware that many roles at BAE Systems are subject to both security and export control restrictions. These restrictions mean that factors such as your nationality, any nationalities you may have previously held, and your place of birth can restrict the roles you are eligible to perform within the organisation. All applicants must as a minimum achieve Baseline Personnel Security Standard. Many roles also require higher levels of National Security Vetting where applicants must typically have 5 to 10 years of continuous residency in the UK depending on the vetting level required for the role, to allow for meaningful security vetting checks.

Closing Date
21st November 2025

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.