Graduate Development Framework

It’s our principal route into Engineering – which includes Systems, Software, Support, Electrical and Electronic, Mechanical, Structures, Project Management and Manufacturing – and also into Business functions – which include Project Management, Procurement, Commercial, Human Resources and Sales & Marketing.

Whether you’re helping develop the next generation of submarines or working out how best to train our Typhoon teams, you’ll be gaining involvement and developing your skills within a tested and common structure. This will speed your initial development and support your transition into our business and its many challenging projects.

During this important and formative two-year period, you can expect a valuable mix of on-the-job training and external learning that will build your technical knowledge and behavioural skills tailored to your individual needs.

You can also expect to attend our Graduate Conference – an event run every year by our graduates, for our graduates. The Graduate Conference is an opportunity for the graduate community at BAE Systems to get together: to exchange ideas, build a network and share knowledge. It’s also the perfect opportunity to meet with senior managers, hear about the different projects that are happening throughout BAE Systems and find out a little more about what your peers are working on.

 

Engineering & Business roles

Engineering

Engineering excellence is the foundation and future of our business. We have over 18,000 engineers in the UK and more than 30,000 in total, responsible for the design, development, testing, production, delivery, commissioning and maintenance of our products.

And what products they are. Imagine working on projects that could involve thousands of people. Perhaps you’ll be helping to provide ongoing support for our existing products in service? Maybe you’ll be part of the team helping to develop the next generation of unmanned air vehicles, or the naval ships of the future.

With BAE Systems, you can become a renowned engineering expert in a whole range of important functions.

• Systems Engineers: an essential discipline in the lifespan of products that include land, sea and air platforms, as well as large-scale communications, training and operational systems and development of operational capability.
• Support Engineers: involved in all aspects of in-service support, including designing support services, support systems or test equipment. There’s much more to it as well. Remember, after all, that our contracts often run for decades, employ thousands of people and are valued in £hundreds of millions.

In the early stages of a project, support engineers work closely with design engineers to ensure that aspects such as reliability, ease of maintenance, parts commonality, failure modes and condition monitoring are considered. When equipment enters service, it requires the right number of spares, appropriate test equipment, detailed user manuals and training courses. Support Engineers are involved in producing these support products and analysing data received from the vehicles as well as the design and operation of support services, support systems and test equipment. Our equipment is often in service for many years, and our support contracts often run for decades, employing thousands of people and are valued in £hundreds of millions - a mistake in the early years can have huge implications to both the business and the customer!

• Software Engineers: involved in the full lifecycle of our many electronic products, from identifying initial requirements through to design, implementation, test phases and product qualification. Just so that you know, many of our large scale or distributed systems use Operating Systems such as Microsoft Windows.
• Electrical and Electronic Engineers: make decisions about electronic product content, optimising hardware and software design concepts and synthesising design from a range of components and advanced technology options. There are other aspects to these roles as well, from developing sophisticated design processes through to developing and testing complex and intelligent products. Aerodynamics and hydrodynamics are all part of the fun here too!
• Manufacturing and Production: a diverse part of our organisation that spans most of BAE Systems’ business units and offers graduates exposure to all sorts of areas that could include Enterprise Management, IT, Control and Logistics, Direct Material Procurement and many others besides.
• Mechanics and Structures: covers Physical, Structural and Mechanical Systems through analysis, design, development and test of complex and intelligent products. It includes aerodynamics and hydrodynamics.
• Manufacturing Engineers: help ensure that our products can actually be manufactured by participating in the early stages of a product’s lifecycle. Then, once all the development phases are complete, they turn our world-leading design capability into physical products.
• Research Scientists/Engineers: are the people who undertake research, assist with winning business and acquiring technology. You’ll already be producing outputs which will demonstrate systematic research methods and original thought – imagine putting these to work in a business where you can see these ideas come alive. You may even find yourself presenting your results at technical seminars.

As you can see, we really do have a vast range of opportunities for graduates from all engineering, numerate and scientific subjects, so if you’re studying for a qualification in another engineering discipline, we’d still like to hear from you.

Business roles

Don’t think for a moment that opportunities here are only engineering-related. The delivery of £multi-billion projects means we need experts in a wide range of important business functions. These include:

• Project Management: takes place right across our business units, including land, sea, air, support and electronic systems. Take the groundbreaking work we’re doing on the Typhoon, Type 45 destroyers or Astute submarines, for example. Although, in reality, most of these programmes are broken down into a series of smaller, integrated work packages, they all need outstanding project management skills.
• Procurement: we spend over £5 billion a year with some 15,000 suppliers. So, whether you choose air, land or sea projects, be in no doubt that this function is of vital importance and just the place for a varied and exciting career.
• Commercial: we’re partners in some of the highest profile defence projects in the world, and we’re continually winning new business. Our varied work includes estimating, bidding for, negotiating and managing complex contracts. Our mission is making sure our customers get the most innovative solutions, in a way that delivers both competitive advantage and profitability. click here
• Human Resources: It is our people that allow BAE Systems to produce such amazing work and it is Human Resources that adds real value to BAE Systems through the strategic management of our people agenda. Resourcing, learning and development, reward and recognition, employee communications, employee relations and many other important issues are the remit of Human Resources.
• Sales & Marketing: as a global leader, BAE Systems enjoys reach into markets worldwide. Managing and delivering the activity that initiates our bid activity and maintaining the best possible relationships with our customers, Sales & Marketing are key to the current and future success of the company. If you join this area, expect to be work in teams that lead integrated marketing campaigns, working with customer organisations as well as our central Marketing function.

Now you can see why we’d still like to hear from you even if you’re studying for a qualification in a non-engineering discipline. Ours is a big, big business, and that means opportunity in every area of business management.

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