Core Talent Recruitment
Senior Safety Engineer
United Kingdom
Posted 1 day ago
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Defence Senior Safety Engineer
Job Purpose
The Defence Safety Engineer is responsible for applying systems safety engineering principles to the development, integration, operation, and support of defence systems and equipment. The role focuses on identifying and managing safety risks throughout the system lifecycle, ensuring that products and services meet applicable safety, regulatory, contractual, and organisational requirements.
The role works closely with engineering, project management, design, test, quality, assurance, and operational teams to ensure that safety risks are systematically identified, assessed, controlled, and documented.
Key Responsibilities
- Develop and implement safety engineering activities across the system lifecycle.
- Identify, assess, and manage hazards and safety risks associated with defence systems, equipment, software, infrastructure, and operations.
- Produce and maintain safety cases, safety management plans, hazard logs, risk assessments, and supporting safety documentation.
- Conduct and/or support structured safety analyses, such as:
- Hazard Analysis
- Preliminary Hazard Analysis (PHA)
- Functional Hazard Assessment (FHA)
- Failure Modes, Effects and Criticality Analysis (FMECA/FMEA)
- Fault Tree Analysis (FTA)
- Event Tree Analysis (ETA)
- Functional Failure Analysis
- Operating and Support Hazard Analysis
- Define and verify safety requirements and safety-related design constraints.
- Assess design proposals, engineering changes, system architectures, and technical solutions for safety implications.
- Provide safety input to requirements definition, design reviews, integration, verification, validation, and acceptance activities.
- Support the development of safety arguments and demonstrate that identified risks have been reduced to an acceptable level.
- Maintain effective configuration control and traceability of safety requirements, assumptions, hazards, mitigations, and evidence.
- Review engineering documentation, specifications, test procedures, technical reports, and change proposals from a safety perspective.
- Provide safety advice to project teams, engineers, managers, and other stakeholders.
- Participate in design reviews, technical meetings, safety working groups, trials, testing, and assurance activities.
- Support incident, accident, and near-miss investigations where required, identifying root causes and recommending corrective actions.
- Monitor safety performance and identify opportunities for continuous improvement.
- Ensure safety activities are aligned with applicable defence standards, legislation, contractual requirements, and company procedures.
- Liaise with customers, suppliers, regulators, assurance organisations, and other stakeholders on safety matters.
- Provide technical input to bids, proposals, estimates, project plans, and safety management strategies.
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Essential Qualifications & Experience
- Degree or equivalent qualification in engineering, science, systems engineering, safety engineering, or a related discipline.
- Experience working in a safety engineering, systems engineering, assurance, or risk management environment.
- Understanding of systems safety engineering principles and lifecycle safety management.
- Experience identifying hazards and assessing and controlling safety risks.
- Knowledge of safety analysis techniques and their practical application.
- Ability to produce clear, structured technical and safety documentation.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
- Good understanding of systems engineering principles and the relationship between requirements, design, verification, validation, and safety assurance.
- Ability to communicate effectively with technical and non-technical stakeholders.
- Strong attention to detail and the ability to work effectively within multidisciplinary engineering teams.
Desirable Experience
- Previous experience within the defence, aerospace, maritime, land systems, or other safety-critical industries.
- Experience working with complex integrated systems involving hardware, software, people, and operational processes.
- Familiarity with defence safety standards, guidance, and regulatory frameworks.
- Experience developing or reviewing safety cases and safety arguments.
- Experience with hazard management and safety management databases/tools.
- Knowledge of requirements and configuration management processes.
- Experience supporting system integration, trials, testing, commissioning, or operational acceptance.
- Professional registration or membership of a relevant engineering or safety professional body.
- Formal qualifications in functional safety, systems safety, risk management, or safety engineering.
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Key Competencies
- Systems thinking: Ability to understand complex systems and the interactions between people, equipment, software, environment, and operating procedures.
- Risk management: Ability to identify, evaluate, communicate, and manage safety risks proportionately.
- Technical analysis: Ability to apply appropriate qualitative and quantitative safety analysis techniques.
- Communication: Able to present complex safety issues clearly and objectively.
- Influencing: Able to constructively challenge engineering and project decisions where safety may be affected.
- Teamwork: Effective collaboration across multidisciplinary engineering and project teams.
- Organisation: Able to manage multiple safety activities, priorities, and deliverables.
- Professional judgement: Able to make evidence-based recommendations and escalate significant safety concerns appropriately.
- Continuous improvement: Commitment to improving safety processes, engineering practices, and organisational learning.
Typical Deliverables
The Defence Safety Engineer may be responsible for producing or contributing to:
- Safety Management Plans
- Safety Cases and Safety Case Reports
- Hazard Logs
- Risk Assessments
- Hazard Analysis Reports
- FMEA/FMECA Reports
- Fault Tree Analyses
- Safety Requirements
- Safety Assessment Reports
- Safety Verification and Validation Evidence
- Safety-related engineering change assessments
- Safety Review documentation
- Incident and accident investigation reports
- Safety compliance and assurance evidence
Overall Objective
The Defence Safety Engineer will help ensure that defence systems are safe to develop, test, operate, maintain, modify, and dispose of, with safety risks identified and controlled through a structured, evidence-based engineering approach throughout the system lifecycle.
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Skills
Systems Safety Engineering
Hazard Analysis
Risk Management
Safety Case Development
FMECA
Fault Tree Analysis
Functional Hazard Assessment
Safety Requirements Definition
Technical Documentation
Systems Engineering
Configuration Control
Incident Investigation
Safety Assurance
Regulatory Compliance
Stakeholder Management
Analytical Problem Solving
Location