Job Title: Principal Quality Engineer
Location: Ashton Vale, Bristol, Ashchurch, Gloucestershire or Devonport, Plymouth + Hybrid Working Arrangements
Compensation: Competitive Salary + Benefits
Role Type: Full time / Permanent
Role ID: SF
Shape Quality. Strengthen Defence. Make a Lasting Impact.
At Babcock we’re working to create a safe and secure world, together, and if you join us, you can play your part as a Principal Quality Engineerat our Ashton Vale, Bristol or Ashchurch, Gloucestershire, Devonport site.
The role
As a Principal Quality Engineer, you’ll have a role that’s out of the ordinary. You'll play a pivotal role in supporting complex and exciting defence programmes that help protect national security. Working across the project lifecycle, you'll provide expert quality leadership, ensuring the highest standards of quality, safety and performance are embedded in everything we deliver.
This is a highly influential role where you'll collaborate with programme managers, engineering teams and customers, helping to drive continuous improvement and deliver successful project outcomes. You'll have the opportunity to shape quality strategy, influence organisational culture and further develop your expertise within a leading international engineering organisation.
Day-to-day, you’ll be required to
- Partner with Programme Managers and Engineering leads
- Develop and implement Project Quality Plans
- Establish and monitor KPIs
- Drive best-practice quality approach
- Manage and implement quality risk-based assurance activities
This is a full-time, 37-hour per week role based at Ashton Vale, Bristol, Tewksbury or Devonport, Plymouth. Hybrid working patterns are available.
Essential experience of the Principal Quality Engineer
- Considerable practical, hands-on experience in a related industry and be familiar with how Quality applies throughout a product or service delivery lifecycle.
- Experience of implementing quality improvements and encouraging culture change within an organisation.
- Experience writing and implementing quality processes
- Knowledge across product lifecycle quality disciplines
- Problem-solving tools (FMEA, 8D, 5 Whys) and experience with leading investigations
Qualifications for the Principal Quality Engineer
- ONC, HNC or NVQ Level 3 qualification in a Quality, science, engineering discipline,
- Experience working in a Quality or Engineering Leadership role.
- Chartered Membership of an applicable body, CQI is preferred.
- ISO / AS lead auditor
Security Clearance
The successful candidate must be a sole UK National who is able to achieve and maintain Security Check (SC) Developed Vetting (DV) (required to gain in the post) security clearance for this role.
Many of the positions within our company are subject to national security clearance and Trade Control restrictions. This means that your eligibility for certain roles may be affected by your place of birth, nationality, current or former citizenship, and any residency you hold or have held. Further details are available at