AUV Software and Systems Engineer

AUV Software and Systems Engineer

National Oceanography Centre, Southampton

Permanent

Full time (37 hours per week)

£35,360 plus up to £8000 additional seagoing allowance

Who Are We?

The National Oceanography Centre (NOC) is the United Kingdom’s centre of excellence for oceanographic sciences, with the remit to provide national capability and leadership for big ocean science. As part of the MARS group, you will be joining a team of enthusiastic multi-disciplinary researchers and engineers who are developing and operating the largest fleet of Marine Autonomous Systems in Europe to further the study of marine science.  The NOC deploys the fleet in challenging environments around the world to address global marine science questions, including beneath glacial ice tongues in the Antarctic and sea ice in the Arctic.

The NOC has entered a truly exciting time, moving to independent & charitable status as of 1 November 2019.

We are made up of a dynamic and vibrant community of staff covering a range of specialist fields, backgrounds and experience. A community where each employee adopts a crucial role in furthering the aspirations, advancing the frontiers of science and knowledge through our excellent scientific research, knowledge sharing and contribution to the health of the oceans, with a focus in improving the world in which we live. Our work is balanced by our strong sense of purpose, values and behaviours and an unwavering commitment to a ‘one NOC’ approach.

About the role

Through development and adoption of new technologies, the overall aim of the Marine Autonomous and Robotic Systems (MARS) group is to enable world leading oceanographic science through the provision of cutting edge marine robotic systems. These systems massively broaden the scope for the study of some of the most inaccessible environments on Earth, helping scientists in their efforts to understand major issues such as global climate change, the sequestration of carbon, and monitoring of ocean resources.

The MARS group operates the largest scientific fleet of marine autonomous robots in Europe, and provide equipment for Oceanographic studies conducted around the world.

We are looking for a systems and software engineer to work within the AUV (autonomous underwater vehicle) operations team providing software/systems engineering support both at sea and on shore. This will include the integration of new and novel sensors, development of on-board and support software, and operation of the vehicle at sea around the world.

You will join the Autosub Operations team working closely with a small team of specialist engineers in a multidisciplinary environment. Day to day activities will include, talking to scientists to harvest data requirements, integration of additional sensors into existing vehicle control systems and working on incremental improvement programs to increase overall vehicle reliability to deliver a first class service for the scientific community.

About you

The ideal candidate would come from a background of offshore survey or hands on experience with robotic systems or oceanographic sensors and should have practical software programming experience. Experience with network and serial communication protocols is highly desirable, along with experience of GIS.

You should enjoy working both independently and as part of a multidisciplinary team, enjoying the challenges of pushing the boundaries of field robotics.  You must have a close attention to detail and be confident with software and computer systems and enjoy applying these skills to tangible real world systems.

This is a seagoing role, therefore the successful candidate must be able to obtain necessary seagoing medical certificate (application process provided by NOC). You could spend up to 90 days at sea annually in this position.

Why NOC?

We offer a generous set of benefits, flexible working conditions and an inclusive and supportive environment where our people can meet their full potential.

Some of the benefits we offer include 28 days annual leave, plus 3.5 local closure days and 8 public bank holidays, a competitive basic salary and a contributory Group Personal Pension Plan.

The centre is well connected by public transport and has ample cycle parking in addition to free onsite car-parking. We support opportunities for further training and development.

Our Commitment as an Employer

The NOC is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all sections of the community. There is a guaranteed interview scheme for suitable candidates with a disability and we welcome applications from ethnic minorities currently under-represented. The NOC is an Investors in People organisation, and has signed up to the Athena SWAN charter principles to take action to address gender equality.

How to apply: 

Please click ‘Apply for this job’ and submit an up-to-date CV and cover letter. If you are unable to apply online, please contact the NOC recruitment team on 02380 596420.

Closing date: Sunday 19^th April. 

We welcome applications from candidates outside of the EU for this position.