UWS Head Of Safety Engineering

Head Of Safety Engineering – Underwater Systems

Thales Underwater Systems (UWS) cover a broad portfolio of engineering challenges, working at the forefront of the exciting area of remotely operated unmanned vehicles for maritime/naval operations, the introduction into service of new sonar capabilities to surface and submarine platforms in the UK and around the world, and the support for all Thales in-service sonar systems.

The Safety and Environmental Engineering team carry out engineering activities covering the full engineering lifecycle across the UWS project portfolio, supporting the safe delivery into service of our systems, and maintaining that safety throughout their operational life.

We are currently recruiting for a Head of Safety Engineering to manage the growing Safety Engineering team in the delivery of safety engineering tasks across Thales UWS and support provide support to the Safety Assurance Function to improve safety governance across the business.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Safety Engineering Team, providing Line Management for members of the team to support their ongoing development.
• Working with the Safety Authority, allocate resources to support projects, and ensure sufficient resources are available to meet the business need.
• Act as a key safety point of contact within the business, providing a point of escalation, ensuring safety is adequately considered in project bid, and throughout the project lifecycle.
• Support the Safety Assurance Function in the delivery of their duties, and act as a liaison between the Delivery and Assurance teams, supporting Governance and Process Improvement activities and improving the safety culture of the business
• Support the Safety Engineering Team in acting as the main source of Safety Expertise to bids and projects, supporting the Project Design Authority and other engineering functions in the delivery of their responsibilities.
• Liaise with the customer and other stakeholder representatives for all safety related activities.
• Ensure that the safety management approach for all our projects is in accordance with Thales processes, in addition to customer requirements such as Def Stan 00-056 or MIL STD 882.
• Immediately raise any concerns regarding the safety of a product, or the application of policies and processes, and support the Safety Assurance Function in Product Safety Occurrence Investigations, taking the lead where required, to resolve these issues.

Experience and Skill Required

• Qualified to degree level in an engineering/STEM subject. Qualified to post-graduate level and holding Chartered Engineer status is desirable.
• Experience leading and empowering teams, providing clear guidance and objectives to foster successful delivery from the team.
• Good people management skills, including experience developing others, engaging with and managing customer expectations, liaising with stakeholders across the supply chain and working in a multi-disciplined engineering environment.
• Experience with resource management, including recruitment activities, to ensure appropriate safety engineering expertise is available to allocate to bids and projects.
• In depth knowledge of Safety Management Processes, including the development of Safety Management Plans, and experienced in the implementation and delivery of Safety Engineering activities.
• Knowledge and experience of formal hazard identification and assessment techniques and methods (e.g. HAZID/HAZAN, SWIFT, FTA/ETA, FMECA, GSN, Bow-Tie), and IT based Hazard Log management systems.
• Knowledgeable with respect to product environmental, material and safety related Legislation, Regulation and Standards.
• Experience within the Defence Domain and working with associated Defence Standards is desirable, or knowledge of equivalent safety management processes from similar safety critical domains.
• Experience of Functional and/or Software Safety, and knowledge of Def Stan 00-055 or IEC 61508 is desirable.
• Knowledge of engineering lifecycle management, its requirements and application, including assessing the impact of engineering change on safety and ensuring that all product safety artefacts are delivered and appropriate to ensure key design milestones can be met and certifications can be signed off (Test Readiness Reviews, Design Reviews, Certificates of Conformity, Certificates of Design, etc.).
• Broad experience in project management related skills – such as estimating, scheduling, monitoring, budgeting.

Security Clearance Statement

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. 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.

What We Can Offer

We are committed to giving you opportunities to be your best. We believe in embracing the passion and potential of our people, and to achieve this we offer market leading training, development and experiences, along with the opportunity to be mentored and coached by some of the smartest minds in the industry. We hire from within as our first priority, so you'll have a myriad of opportunities within our diverse, global organisation.

Our packages will include significant bonus, car allowance, a strong pension contribute, private healthcare, development focused targets and relocation support can be provided if required along with a variety of learning, development and career enhancement opportunities. Further support can be provided towards academic and membership attainments.

Thales is an equal opportunities employer and diversity and inclusion are integral to the success of Thales.