Mechanical Engineering

About the programme

Mechanical Engineering is not one area, but many. Over the course of two years, you’ll get to experience the breadth of our work. You might be tackling submarine design projects or warship refits. Equally, you might be working on complex marine projects, military or emergency services fleet maintenance, vehicle development, rail engineering or nuclear programmes. The possibilities are incredibly varied.

As part of this programme, we encourage mobility across our sectors to give you a broader experience and wider exposure to our business.

Mechanical Engineering at Babcock

You could work in anything from conceptual mechanical design right through to manufacture, installation and decommissioning. Equally, you could work on analysis and problem-solving for existing equipment or systems.

There will be plenty of onsite work, such as implementing designs, diagnosing problems, finding solutions to issues, and liaising with designers, engineers and on-site technicians. You’ll also get involved in project management, engaging with stakeholders, planning delivery and ensuring projects run to budget and programme.

What you'll need

We accept a wide range of Mechanical based engineering degrees due to the varied nature of the work we undertake. Our preference is that your degree is also accredited by the relevant institution.
Many of our early careers roles are subject to Security Clearance and Trade Control restrictions which mean that your place of birth, nationality, citizenship, or residency you hold or have held may impact which roles you are eligible for. Further details are available at United Kingdom Security Vetting: clearance levels – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). For our early careers roles, you must be able to achieve BPSS and many of them require you to be eligible for Security Clearance.

What you'll get

We’ll provide you with a supportive and engaging environment where you can grow your career.

In addition, you’ll benefit from:

A minimum of 25 days of holiday plus bank holidays, with agile working options subject to discussion with your manager
Generous pension and employee share schemes
Flexible benefits, including cycle to work scheme, discounts
Employee assistance programme supporting physical, mental and financial wellbeing

You’ll also have the chance to get involved in our STEM outreach activities and volunteering opportunities.

Your career development

It’s hard to beat the variety of fantastic opportunities and business experiences you’ll receive. You can expect real world encounters and exposure to exciting projects that will really help you navigate where you want to take your career.

Plus, when you join us, you’ll be automatically enrolled onto our Graduate Development Programme. Through a series of digital and face to face sessions, presented by wellbeing and performance experts and our external partner Gen Healthy Minds, we will equip you with the knowledge and tools you need to thrive and perform at your very best on your programme and beyond.

Where you'll be based

See below to find out more about the areas of our business that are offering places on our Mechanical Engineering programme for Autumn 2025. But no matter which team you join, you could be based anywhere in the UK. That’s why we ask all our graduates to be flexible and willing to move during their programme.

Marine – Mission Systems – Bristol or Plymouth

Babcock’s Mission Systems business designs and delivers complex solutions for our customers, and in areas such as High Frequency Communications we are world leaders. Our circa 2,000 employees are involved in everything from maintaining satellites in space as part of our Skynet contract, to electronic warfare, advanced manufacturing and technology solutions as well as services in and around disruptive technologies.

We operate from several sites across the UK and internationally, ensuring our global customer portfolio is always supported. Your home base will be Bristol or Plymouth, but some of your placements may be at other Babcock locations.

Nuclear – Bristol

Our business in Bristol is a key strategic partner to our customers — the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and the Royal Navy. We ensure the UK Royal Navy goes to sea safely by sustaining the submarines with updates, design and documentation, upgrades and overhauls. We are developing innovative Operations Centres, technology insertion programmes, predictive data analytics and visualisation and training aids using games engine technologies.

Your home base will be the Bristol office, but some of your placements may be at other sites.

Nuclear - Plymouth

Our business in Plymouth works in partnership with the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and Royal Navy at HM Naval Base Devonport. We provide through-life support for submarines, surface ships and associated systems and equipment as part of our continuing commitment to support our nation’s naval capability.

Depending on your programme, your home base could be Devonport Royal Dockyard, Plymouth. However, some of your placements may be at other sites.

HM Naval Base Clyde

As part of our Nuclear sector, Babcock’s HM Naval Base Clyde operation provides highly specialist engineering support services, including the management of critical infrastructure and nuclear facilities. We also deliver operational maintenance, upgrades and repairs to support Royal Navy vessels, including the Vanguard and Astute-Class nuclear submarines based in Scotland.

Your home base will be HM Naval Base Clyde, but some of your placements may be at other sites.

Cavendish Nuclear

Cavendish Nuclear is a core part of Babcock International Group’s Nuclear Sector. We provide a comprehensive range of critical nuclear solutions across the markets of Clean Energy, Defence and Civil Decommissioning, both in the UK and internationally. From decommissioning redundant nuclear facilities, through supporting the Continuous at Sea Deterrent, to supporting the operation and build of nuclear power plants, our role in Cavendish Nuclear is to clean up the nuclear legacy and create a world where nuclear plays a key contribution in protecting our nation, ensuring security of energy supply and meeting our net zero commitments.

We’re looking for graduates with a wide range of qualities, including high technical skills, good interpersonal skills and a willingness to learn and adapt to new circumstances.

You could be based in a number of locations. You’ll probably call Warrington, Bristol, Leicester or Cumbria home, but you could also work from client sites (including nuclear power stations, or Sellafield in Cumbria and Dounreay in Scotland).

Land

Our Land sector employs close to 6,000 skilled personnel who deliver complex and critical services to civil and military organisations worldwide. This includes the fleet management and maintenance of equipment for the British Army, London Fire Brigade and Metropolitan Police; training for submariners, pilots, engineers, army personnel, drivers, operators, maintainers, police officers and firefighters; the manufacturing of over 1,000 armoured vehicles; and playing a key role in decarbonising the railway and delivering national critical rail infrastructure.

While we have locations across the UK, graduates tend to be based in our Greater London, Midlands, or South West locations. We ask that you are ready and willing to relocate to other sites throughout your programme.

Rosyth    

At the heart of our Marine business is our 320-acre Rosyth facility, which is home to one of the largest and most modern waterside advanced manufacturing and repair facilities in the UK. At Rosyth, we specialise in the design, build and through-life support of complex naval and commercial marine assets – developing innovative solutions for our customers’ projects with our integrated approach.

Your home base will be our Rosyth facility, however, some of your placements may be at other locations, therefore you will need to be ready and willing to move to other sites throughout your programme.

Current openings in
Mechanical Engineering

Application guidance

Check out our helpful advice on how to prepare for our application process.

Please be aware that if there is a high level of interest in this programme, applications may close earlier than advertised. To give yourself the best chance of being considered for a place on this programme, please submit your application as early as possible. 