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Job Title: Senior Mechanical Handling Engineer Location: Plymouth, Devon Compensation: £44,600 - £55,800 + Benefits Role Type: Full time / Permanent Role ID: SF74464 Help shape the future of nuclear engineering and national security At Babcock we’re working to create a safe and secure world, together, and if you join us, you can play your part as a Senior Mechanical Handling Engineer at our Devonport Royal Dockyard site. The role As a Senior Mechanical Handling Engineer, you’ll have an exciting opportunity to join the Submarine Defuel Delivery Project (SDDP), a major programme supporting critical national infrastructure. Working as part of a highly skilled engineering team, you'll contribute to the design, development and implementation of specialist mechanical handling and defuel tooling systems that support the safe defueling of submarines. Your expertise will help deliver complex engineering solutions that make a real difference, while offering excellent opportunities for career development within one of the UK's leading defence, aerospace and engineering organisations. Day-to-day, you’ll support the delivery of innovative engineering solutions within a technically challenging and rewarding environment. Working closely with the Design Manager and wider project teams, you'll be responsible for delivering mechanical handling and lifting equipment design activities, ensuring solutions meet the highest standards of safety, quality and performance. Deliver mechanical handling and defuel tooling engineering activities to agreed scope, schedule, cost and quality requirements. Update and review detailed design documentation (primarily design reports and OMM's) to as-built status. Ensure compliance with quality management processes, engineering standards and Babcock's Business Management System. Support configuration management, quality control activities and the maintenance of accurate project documentation. Promote safe working practices by identifying hazards, supporting risk assessments and communicating engineering risks effectively. Addressing and close-out of TQ's/CR's. This role is full time, 35 hours per week and requires regular travel to HMNB Devonport on a monthly basis alongside home working arrangements. Essential experience of the Senior Mechanical Handling Engineer Experience designing mechanical handling systems and lifting equipment, ideally within highly regulated industries such as nuclear and defence. Experience producing and supporting engineering design justifications. Demonstrable experience in technical design development and engineering problem-solving. Strong understanding of engineering design principles, safety requirements and quality standards. Working knowledge of relevant engineering software and computer-based engineering applications. Qualifications for the Senior Mechanical Handling Engineer Degree, or equivalent qualification, in Mechanical Engineering or a related engineering discipline. Security Clearance The successful candidate must be a sole UK National who is able to achieve and maintain Security Check (SC) security clearance for this role. Many of the positions within our company are subject to national security clearance and Trade Control restrictions. This means that your eligibility for certain roles may be affected by your place of birth, nationality, current or former citizenship, and any residency you hold or have held. Further details are available at United Kingdom Security Vetting: clearance levels - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) . What we offer Generous holiday allowance Matched contribution pension scheme, with life assurance Access to a Digital GP, annual health check, and nutritional consultations through Aviva DigiCare+ Employee share scheme Employee shopping savings portal Payment of Professional Fees Reservists in the armed forces receive 10-days special paid leave Holiday Trading is a benefit that allows UK Babcock employees to buy additional leave or to sell up to one working week of annual leave from their annual entitlement. There is an annual Window to request this benefit. ‘Be Kind Day’ enables employees to take one working day's paid leave a year (or equivalent hours) to undertake volunteering work with their chosen organisation or registered charity Excellent development opportunities and benefits package including an employee assistance programme supporting physical, mental and financial wellbeing. Babcock We’re Babcock — a global FTSE 100 organisation with over 26,000 people working together to make a difference. Here, you’ll be part of something bigger. From initial design to final decommissioning, your work will contribute to products and services that are essential to national security and public infrastructure. Together, we’re building a future that lasts — not just through the impact we make, but through meaningful careers that respect your work-life balance. We call that lifetime engineering. Join us and see how far we can go, together. We are a disability confident committed employer. If you have a disability or need any reasonable adjustments during the application and selection stages, please email careers@babcockinternational.com with the subject header ‘Reasonable adjustments requirement’. We’re committed to building an inclusive culture where everyone’s free to thrive. We are happy to talk about flexible working – please ask about alternative patterns of work at interview. Closing date: 26/08/2026 #BABDESTNUC
Here's how to pick the right one and stand out in your application.
144.883Jobs
31.687IN
81%EN
That number is real. WorkMundi's database shows 144,883 open engineer roles across the world. India has the most with 31,687 jobs, followed by the United States with 30,084. If you just finished reading one job ad and felt paralyzed by choice, you're not alone—but this scale is actually an advantage. It means you can afford to be selective.
Start by geography and language. The majority of engineer ads—117,837 of them—have the job posting text written in English. Use that as one filter, but remember: the ad text language tells you nothing about whether the role actually requires you to speak English day-to-day. Read the job description carefully. Then check which countries have the volume you're targeting. Singapore, Poland, and Australia round out the top five after India and the US.
Next, learn who's hiring. Accenture has posted 2,801 engineer roles. andurilindustries, speechify, and jobgether are also actively recruiting. If you're applying to one of these names, research their hiring patterns and interview style before you apply. That homework pays off.
When you interview, expect the question every engineer hears: 'Tell me about a time you had to debug a problem that wasn't in your job description.' Have a specific story ready—not a general one. Name the tools, the deadline pressure, and what you learned. Hiring managers listen for whether you see problem-solving as part of the role itself, not a favour.
