Graduate Engineering Programme in Bristol

Department: Engineering

Location: Bristol, UK

Compensation: £31,500 / year

About Rowden

Founded in 2017, Rowden is a UK engineering company that builds mission‑critical technology for defence, intelligence, and emergency response. It specialises in designing and building systems intended for use in edge environments, where communications, situational awareness, and resilience must be maintained despite limited connectivity. Rowden designs, builds, and deploys edge systems end‑to‑end, bringing together mission systems engineering, manufacture of sensing capabilities, and the infrastructure required to network, provision, and manage large fleets of devices at scale. Now one of the fastest growing technology companies in the UK, Rowden employs more than 140 people, operates over 20,000 square feet of facilities, and exports its products globally.

Engineering Graduates at Rowden

This is not a traditional graduate scheme built around a narrow role or a long, segmented programme. The Applied Graduate Programme is designed for engineers who want broad systems and product exposure, with real responsibility early and close engagement with end users and operational constraints. Engineering graduates work on deployable systems supporting defence, emergency services, and national security organisations, alongside engineers from multiple disciplines. You will join a rotational engineering programme designed to build technical breadth fast, supported by experienced mentors, structured feedback, and clear milestones. From the outset, you will be trusted with meaningful work and increasing ownership as your capability develops.

What you’ll work on:

• Integrating sensor and data feeds into geospatial and situational awareness applications, working across software, systems, and interfaces.
• Designing and testing system behaviour under degraded communications, including store‑and‑forward, prioritisation, and security controls.
• Deploying and evaluating machine learning models for edge use cases such as computer vision or signal processing, with a focus on measurable performance and operational constraints.
• Building future variants of deployable sensing and communications products, influencing how those systems evolve through hands‑on engineering, integration work, and performance data.
• Shipping software that enables edge devices to be deployed, configured, and sustained at scale.

How the Graduate Programme works

You will complete several rotations before specialising within one of Rowden’s core engineering disciplines. The exact path isn’t rigid, we’ll shape it around your strengths, interests, and the needs of the business. Possible rotations include:

• Software Engineering: mobile applications, geospatial tools, systems integration, and test evidence.
• Machine Learning Engineering: deployable models for edge CV and SIGINT, with measurable performance.
• Systems Engineering: user need through requirements, architecture, integration, verification, and fielding.
• Safety Engineering: hazard analysis, mitigations, and safety evidence to support delivery.
• Radio Frequency Engineering: spectrum monitoring and insight to improve operational awareness.
• Infrastructure Engineering / DevOps: cloud platforms, portable on‑prem systems, automation, and reliability.

Key skills, experience and behaviours

What we’re looking for:

• A STEM degree or equivalent experience, with strong fundamentals in areas such as Engineering, Computer Science, Maths, Physics, Electronics, Data Science, or Cyber Security.
• Curiosity and learning agility, with the ability to pick up new concepts and apply them quickly.
• A collaborative mindset, with the confidence to take ownership where needed.
• Evidence of problem solving through projects, labs, hackathons, societies, or work experience.

Eligibility

All applicants must be eligible to pass BPSS security checks. Some roles on the graduate scheme require UK nationality and a minimum of five years’ UK residency to meet security clearance and customer requirements. Other roles within the scheme are open to candidates with the right to work in the UK on a Graduate or other eligible visa.

Recruitment process

Our recruitment process is short, practical, and focused on how you think and work.

• Short tech test: A time‑bound task designed to see how you approach a representative engineering challenge.
• Alignment call: A chat with someone from our Talent team or the hiring manager to explore cultural alignment, values, and what you’re looking for from your first role.
• Assessment day (either on 23 or 30 April): Spend time at Rowden, see our facilities, learn more about what we build and get hands‑on with an engineering challenge. Designed to focus on reasoning, communication, and collaboration.

We care less about polished CVs and more about how you approach problems. Applications open in January 2026 for a September 2026 start. As part of your application, you will be asked to indicate two preferred focus (i.e. technical) areas so that we can shape your initial rotations.

Working at Rowden

We are committed to building a flexible, inclusive, and enabling company. Our aim is to create a diverse team of talented people with unique skills, experience, and backgrounds, so please apply and come as you are! We also recognise the importance of flexible working and support this wherever we can. We typically operate a flexible, hybrid‑working model, with an average 3 days in the office each week (dependent on the role). We welcome the opportunity to discuss flexibility, part‑time working requirements and/or workplace adjustments with all our applicants. Rowden is a Disability Confident Committed company, and we actively encourage people with disabilities and health conditions to apply for our roles. Please let us know your requirements early on so that we can make sure you have everything you need up front to help make the recruitment process and experience as easy as possible. Finally, if you feel that you don’t meet all the criteria included above but have transferable skills and relevant experience, we’d still love to hear from you!