Principal - Senior Safety Engineer in Plymouth

Location: Plymouth, Devon – hybrid working arrangements (minimum 2 days in office)

Compensation: £61,474 – £68,754 depending on experience, plus benefits

Role Type: Full time / Permanent, 35 hours per week

Overview: 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 Safety Engineer at our Devonport Royal Dockyard site.

Responsibilities: As a Principal Safety Engineer, you’ll play a vital role in the safe delivery of major infrastructure projects that support the Royal Navy’s ship and submarine sustainment programmes. Working within the Major Infrastructure Projects (MIP) directorate, you’ll support the design and upgrade of complex dock, berth and building facilities, ensuring these critical systems can be accepted into service and meet all regulatory and operational requirements. Day‑to‑day, your expertise in safety engineering will influence design intent, validate safety claims and ensure that engineered solutions meet stringent technical and functional safety requirements.

• Review safety engineering designs to assess compliance against relevant engineering and HSE standards.
• Provide subject matter expertise to support technical problem‑solving across design and construction teams.
• Guide and review safety design packages, ensuring integration with other engineering disciplines.
• Ensure safety case claims can be substantiated through compliant, complete and accurate design documentation.
• Provide onsite advice for design changes or defect rectification, ensuring quality assurance and adherence to engineering.

Essential Experience:

• Strong background in safety engineering within complex projects and high‑hazard industries (minimum Senior Safety Engineer level).
• Experience reviewing or managing safety cases and assessing design intent.
• Dockyard, defence, or nuclear industry experience (oil and gas, rail, aerospace also considered).
• Experience as a Design Authority or supporting DA processes – desirable.
• Ability to evaluate technical issues and guide engineering teams toward compliant solutions.

Qualifications:

• Degree in an Engineering or STEM discipline.
• Additional qualifications or experience in nuclear or safety‑critical systems – desirable.

Security Clearance: The successful candidate must be a sole UK National who is able to achieve and maintain Security Check (SC) 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.

Benefits:

• Generous holiday allowance
• Matched contribution pension scheme, with life assurance
• Access to a Digital GP, annual health check, and nutritional consultations through Aviva DigiCare+
• Employee share scheme
• Employee shopping savings portal
• Payment of Professional Fees
• Reservists in the armed forces receive 10‑day special paid leave
• Holiday Trading – buy additional leave or sell up to one working week of annual leave.
• ‘Be Kind Day’ – one working day’s paid leave a year to volunteer with chosen organisation.
• Excellent development opportunities and wellbeing support programme.

Company: We’re Babcock – a global FTSE 100 organisation with over 26,000 people working together to make a difference. From initial design to final decommissioning, your work will contribute to essential national security and public infrastructure. We call that lifetime engineering.

Flexibility & Inclusion: We are a disability confident committed employer. If you have a disability or need reasonable adjustments during the application and selection stages, please email careers@babcockinternational.com with subject ‘Reasonable adjustments requirement’. We’re committed to building an inclusive culture.

Closing date: 24/03/2026