Marine Surveyor / Naval Architect in Wallingford

Other suitable backgrounds: Marine Engineer, Design Engineer, Compliance Specialist, Technical Project Managers, Marine Technician, Boat Builder. Roles available from junior through to senior and management level, depending on experience.

Salary: £38,000 to £58,000+ (€45,000 to €68,000+) depending on experience and role.

Location: UK or Europe.

Working arrangement: Hybrid or remote, depending on location, experience and business needs.

Department: Marine Services.

Expected Travel: UK & Europe, with occasional international travel.

We’re looking for the right person, not the right job title. Most companies advertise a specific vacancy. We’re taking a slightly different approach. We know the work that needs doing. What we don’t yet know is exactly where the edges of the role should sit until we’ve met the right person. Rather than recruiting to a fixed job description, we’re looking for someone whose experience, judgement and enthusiasm will strengthen our Marine Services team. If your experience is relevant and you can bring something to the team, we’d be pleased to hear from you. Likewise, if you’re earlier in your career but have the right aptitude, attitude and ambition, we’ll invest in your development and help you build the technical knowledge. For the right person, we’ll shape the role around your strengths.

About you

We’re far more interested in finding the right person than someone who ticks every box. Ideally you’ll have current, practical experience within the design, construction, certification, survey or operation of recreational craft or other small vessels, typically up to 24 metres in length. You may have worked for a boat builder, design office, survey company, certification body, Flag Administration or coding authority. Equally, you may have gained your experience through commercial vessels, marine manufacturing or a related technical environment. Professional registration or chartership is encouraged but certainly isn’t essential. No one joins us knowing everything. If you’re the right person, we’ll help develop your knowledge of the standards, our systems and our processes. What’s much harder to teach is curiosity, sound judgement, excellent written communication, strong report writing, good organisation, time management and the ability to build lasting relationships with clients and colleagues. Those qualities are what we’re really looking for. We’re looking for practical engineers and surveyors. People who can combine sound technical judgement with common sense, communicate their conclusions clearly and aren’t afraid to ask questions when they don’t know the answer. Strong IT skills are essential, particularly Microsoft Office, especially Excel. We also occasionally work with Rhino, Maxsurf and AutoCAD but these are not essential as other team members can help out. If you’re naturally inquisitive, personable, dependable and take genuine pride in producing high quality work, we’ll provide the training and support to help you develop the rest.

The role

Depending on your experience and qualifications, your responsibilities may include:

• Technical assessments against the EU Recreational Craft Directive and equivalent UK regulations.
• Factory inspections, sea trials and commissioning visits throughout the UK, Europe and internationally.
• Working directly with boat builders, naval architects, designers and manufacturers.
• Coordinating our worldwide network of Authorised Inspectors and reviewing their assessment work and contributing to their ongoing development and training.
• Design reviews, engineering support and voluntary compliance assessments for products outside the scope of mandatory legislation.
• Supporting the continued development, promotion and implementation of our CEproof and Rulefinder compliance software platforms.
• Promoting and delivering technical training to clients and the wider marine industry.
• Contributing to our collective effort with standards development and industry working groups.

No two weeks are ever the same. One day you might be reviewing a novel foiling craft or stability assessment, the next carrying out sea trials, supporting a manufacturer with a new product, developing compliance software or contributing to future industry guidance. As the business grows, your role will evolve with it.

What we offer

Salary typically £38,000 to £58,000+, (€45,000 to €68,000+) depending on experience and the role ultimately created. An exceptional candidate capable of taking on a broader leadership role would be considered outside this range.

• Company profit share scheme.
• Employer pension contribution.
• Private healthcare.
• Flexible and Hybrid working.
• Continuous professional development opportunities and ongoing support from SLT.
• Opportunities to influence both the future direction of HPiVS and the wider marine industry.

About HPiVS

HPi Verification Services is an independent UK Approved Body and EU Notified Body providing certification and compliance services across both the marine and industrial sectors. We’re large enough to work on some of the industry’s most interesting projects, yet small enough that every member of the team genuinely makes a difference. Within our Marine Services division we work with many of the world’s leading boat builders, designers and manufacturers, helping bring both innovative and traditional recreational craft to market through technical assessments, inspections and certification. Our work ranges from drawings and document reviews, structural and stability assessments through to factory inspections, sea trials, software development, technical training and participation in the development of international standards. We don’t simply apply standards. We actively contribute to their development through industry working groups and technical committees. Alongside our Marine Services division, our Industrial Services team delivers certification and conformity assessment across a range of industrial sectors, providing a diverse and resilient business. Although modestly sized, we have an international reputation, offices in the UK, Ireland and Italy, and a worldwide network of Authorised Inspectors. You’ll have genuine influence, work directly with industry leaders and see the impact of your work. We’re a close knit team with a good sense of humour. We work hard, support one another and enjoy what we do.

Location and working arrangements

Our head office is in Wallingford, Oxfordshire, with additional offices in Ireland and, shortly, Italy. Applicants may be based in the UK or elsewhere in Europe, provided they have the unrestricted right to live, work and travel within both the UK and Europe. During your initial training and induction, we’d typically expect you to spend at least three days each week working alongside the team, around client visits and inspections. Building relationships, sharing knowledge and learning from one another is crucial to the success of our business. After that, we’ll agree a working arrangement that makes sense for both you and the business. If you’re based in an area where you’re regularly supporting clients or projects, it makes little sense to ask you to commute unnecessarily. Our approach is based on trust, common sense and delivering a great service to our clients while working as a team, not presenteeism.

Interested? If you’d like to find out more, let’s have a conversation. Please send your CV together with a few honest paragraphs telling me a little about yourself, what you’ve worked on, what you’re proud of and why this role caught your attention. No AI generated covering letters, please. I’d much rather hear your own voice. Every application will be reviewed personally, and we’ll respond to every applicant. Email Application: marine@hpivs.com with the subject heading "Job Opportunity". Or apply direct through LinkedIn. Do you know someone who’d be perfect? Please share this advert or introduce us. If we employ someone you’ve recommended and they successfully complete their probation, we’ll happily send you £100 as a thank you!

Closing date: Early August 2026. We’ll review applications as they’re received, so early applications are encouraged. We may close the advert sooner if we find the right person.