Radar Engineer - Trials

Location: Wells, United Kingdom

Thales people provide armed forces customers with operational advantage at every decisive moment throughout the mission. Defence and armed forces customers rely on us to deliver the full range of defence mission systems solutions at land, sea, and air. Our platforms extend across the battlespace including Above and Sonar, Electronic Combat, and Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance systems.

Working within a small team of engineers primarily at the Thales Underwood Quarry site in Wells to supply Radar Cross-section (RCS) measurement services to the UK Ministry of Defence and industry partners. The team is responsible for conducting both indoor and outdoor RCS measurement tasks to enable characterisation of customer-supplied targets of varying size and expected RCS level.

The Radar Engineer will be looking to develop their expertise in the design, build and operate radar systems to match the requirements of individual measurement tasks as part of a radar cross section measurement range, learning alongside the Radar Engineering Lead.

The Radar Engineer covers the following activities:

• Design, construction, test, calibration and range checks of the radar range.
• Assisting with the measurement and processing of the measurement data.
• Communication/reporting of outputs to customers.

Key Development Responsibilities

• Operation of Radar during measurement programmes.
• Setup and configuration of the radar to meet individual measurement task requirements.
• Setup and configuration of the measurement range to meet measurement task requirements.
• Mechanical and electrical configuration of the radar and antenna farm to meet individual measurement tasks.
• Radar fault analysis and repair.
• Initial processing and interpretation of the data results to ensure a valid measurement.
• As part of the RSM team investigate/identify target/range anomalous returns.
• Liaising with customers both directly and within meetings, to properly identify target measurement requirements aiding identification of optimal radar setup to meet their requirement.

Supporting Role

• Support the Mechanical Engineer in preparation of the target.
• Support the Mechanical Engineer in the design and manufacture of the Target Support structure.
• Support the RSM Engineer in the preparation of the Task Measurement Plan.
• Support the RSM Engineer in the processing of measurement data.
• Support the RCS Trials Team Leader in the preparation of Bids.
• Support the RCS Trials Team Leader in the preparation OFCOM registration.
• Support the Service Delivery Manager in the safe running of the Underwood Quarry site.
• General support activities.

Behaviours

• Creative problem solver, with a hands-on mentality.
• Team player – keen to contribute to making the project and every task a success.
• Able to change easily and adapt to different conditions and circumstances as the current task requires.
• Care and conscientiousness in one's work or duties.
• Self-motivated.
• Keeping abreast of future signature measurement and disruptive technologies.
• Willing to undertake additional roles and responsibilities to ensure the smooth running of a small satellite Thales facility.

Skills, Qualifications and Experience

• Holder or able to achieve security clearance to Developed Vetting (DV) Status.
• Holder or able to achieve Working at Height accreditation.
• Holder or able to achieve IPAF.
• Hold or be able to achieve Forklift accreditation.
• Hold or be able to achieve Overhead Crane and Slinging accreditation.
• Qualified to degree level (or qualified by experience) in Physics or Electrical/Electronic Engineering ideally with a specialisation in Electromagnetic theory.
• Desirable or willingness to learn MATLAB.
• Desirable – Python, Delphi programming languages.
• Technical competence in the planning and Execution of Technical Measurement Trials Activity and associated responsibilities.
• Effective stakeholder management and communication skills.

Security Clearance Requirement

Due to the nature of the work that we do at Thales, many of our roles are subject to security restrictions. This role requires you to be a sole British National from birth and achieve Security Clearance (SC) without any caveats. It would be advantageous if currently held, however, if not currently held, it is a requirement that the successful applicant undergo, achieve, and maintain SC Clearance prior to commencing employment. Please visit the UKSV website for further guidance. To be eligible for full SC, you generally need to have resided in the UK for the last 5 years. In some circumstances, a minimum of 3 years’ residence in the UK over the last 5 years may be accepted, with additional overseas checks.

In line with Thales' Baseline Security requirements, candidates will be asked to provide evidence of identity, eligibility to work in the UK and employment and/or education history for up to three years. Some vacancies may require full Security Clearance which can require further evidence to be provided.

At Thales we provide CAREERS and not only jobs. With Thales employing 80,000 employees in 68 countries our mobility policy enables thousands of employees each year to develop their careers at home and abroad, in their existing areas of expertise or by branching out into new fields. Together we believe that embracing flexibility is a smarter way of working. Thales UK is committed to providing an inclusive and barrier-free recruitment process. We will provide reasonable adjustments and support to ensure neuro-diverse applicants or those with a disability or long-term condition can be their best during the recruitment process.

To request an adjustment, if you need this job advert in an alternative format or if you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact Resourcing Ops for mid to senior roles, or the Early Careers Team for graduate and apprentice roles. Great journeys start here, apply now!