Undergraduate Airframe Engineer
About this role
Job Advertisement: Undergraduate Airframe Engineer
Agency Partner: Supportive Bridge Staffing Agency
Client: BAE Systems
Location: Prestwick, Ayrshire, United Kingdom (Hybrid/Flexible, with site attendance expected 4–5 days per week)
Position Type: 12-Month Undergraduate Industrial Placement
Salary: £25,900 per annum
Start Date: 21st June 2027
Placement End Date: 16th June 2028
About the Opportunity
Supportive Bridge Staffing Agency is proud to partner with BAE Systems—a global leader in defence, aerospace, and security—to source an aspiring and driven Undergraduate Airframe Engineer for a 12-month industrial placement in Prestwick.
As part of the world-renowned Air Team, you will contribute to the development, manufacture, upgrade, and support of world-leading combat and fast jet trainer aircraft, including the Typhoon, F-35, and Tempest programs. This placement offers an extraordinary hands-on platform to bridge your academic studies with real-world aerospace engineering.
Role Overview
Airframe Engineering at BAE Systems spans four core disciplines: Aerodynamics, Design, Materials, and Structures. Depending on your placement focus, you will help develop aerodynamic capabilities via computational methods and wind tunnel testing, produce integrated airframe design definitions using CAD datasets, support advanced materials development and testing, or perform rigorous structural calculations to ensure lifetime platform integrity.
Core Duties & Responsibilities
Aerodynamics: Apply wind tunnel testing and computational techniques to optimize aircraft design and ensure safe operation across the flight envelope.
Design Engineering: Manage product bills of materials, coordinate stakeholder liaison, and deliver optimized, manufacturable CAD product designs.
Materials Engineering: Analyse, qualify, and test materials, investigate material properties and failures, and help develop novel materials for airborne platforms.
Structures Engineering: Perform critical structural analysis calculations to validate the strength, stiffness, and structural life of BAE Systems platforms.
Key Requirements & Qualifications
Academic Background: Must be on track to obtain a 2:2 Bachelor’s degree or a pass at Master’s level in one of the following subjects: Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace/Aeronautical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, Physics, or Mathematics.
Working Arrangement: On-site presence in Prestwick 4 to 5 days per week under hybrid working guidelines.
Security Clearance: All applicants must achieve, as a minimum, the Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS). Note: Due to security and export control restrictions, candidates must meet national identity, birthplace, and residency criteria (typically requiring continuous UK residency of 5 to 10 years for higher-level national security vetting).
Why Join BAE Systems?
Meaningful Impact: Build a career with purpose, contributing to advanced technology-led solutions that protect what matters most and shape a safer future.
Professional Growth: Access first-class training, coaching, and mentoring programs designed to stretch your potential and foster lifelong learning.
Wellbeing & Rewards: Enjoy a competitive salary of £25,900 alongside flexible benefits tailored to support your financial and personal wellbeing.
Inclusive Culture: Thrive in an environment that champions diversity, sustainable working practices, and a strong sense of shared purpose within a global workforce of over 110,000 colleagues.