Human Factors Engineer Placement 2027

Role Details

• Contract type: Full time
• Discipline: Early Careers / Students
• Location: Stevenage | Bristol

The future represents an increasingly dynamic, complex and challenging environment for our military operators. As a Human Factors Engineer, you will apply User Centred Design and Human Factors Integration to effectively identify and resolve human related risks, issues and opportunities, throughout the product lifecycle. The aim of the Human Factors Team is to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of our products as well as the health, safety, and comfort of our operators.

Salary: £24,460

Dynamic working: 3 to 4 days per week. The team operates a flexible working model allowing you to work at home where it is possible, however the nature of the job will often require you to be onsite to access specific facilities, personnel or data.

Security clearance: British Citizen or a Dual UK national with British citizenship. Restrictions and/or limitations relating to nationality and/or rights to work may apply. As a minimum and after offer stage, all successful candidates will need to undergo HMG Basic Personnel Security Standard checks (BPSS), which are managed by the MBDA Personnel Security Team.

This role is scheduled to close for applications at midnight on Monday 4th January 2027 but may close earlier depending on application volumes.

What we can offer you

• 1 year placement: Starting September 2027, that allows you to apply your university learning to real-world projects and technologies
• Perform well on your placement and you could secure a graduate role before your final year
• Company bonus: Based on company performance and will vary year to year
• Pension: Maximum total (employer and employee) contribution of up to 14%
• Overtime: Opportunity for paid overtime
• Annual Leave: 25 days plus option to purchase extra holiday
• Flexi Leave: Up to 15 additional days
• Facilities: Fantastic site facilities including subsidised meals, free car parking and much more…
• Healthcare Cash Plan: The Healthcare Cash Plan benefit provides the option to claim cash back on everyday healthcare expenses such as optical, dental, health and wellbeing and more.

The opportunity

The placement is an opportunity for you to develop an appreciation for how people interact with complex equipment and systems from a physical, cognitive and physiological perspective. This will involve conducting research tasks and identifying new technologies that will shape the way military personnel use their equipment in the future. There is the potential opportunity to get "hands on" with kit and work with military users.

Examples of day-to-day activities are provided below. As long as you have a passion to learn and are able to use your integrity and intuition to work out the most suitable course of action, on the job training and guidance will be provided to support you in developing within these areas throughout your placement:

• Taking a Human Centred Design approach to the development of complex systems
• Supporting the planning and conduct of User Experimentation and trials with military users on prototype through to real weapon system equipment and software.
• Carrying out individual research tasks, to provide recommendations and solve problems.
• Conducting workspace assessments and anthropometric modelling tasks.
• Designing and prototyping Human Computer Interface / Human Machine Interface concepts.
• Supporting the development and application of technologies, such as Virtual Reality and Artificial Intelligence, in future systems.
• Writing reports and creating presentations on areas you've been working on.

What we're looking for from you

• Current undergraduate studying towards a degree in Psychology, Engineering, User Centred Design, User Experience Design, Ergonomics/Human Factors, Product Design, Systems Engineering, Cognitive Science or Human Sciences discipline.

Our company:

Peace is not a given, Freedom is not a given, Sovereignty is not a given

MBDA is a leading defence organisation. We are proud of the role we play in supporting the Armed Forces who protect our nations. We partner with governments to work together towards a common goal, defending our freedom.

We are proud of our employee-led networks, examples include: Gender Equality, Pride, Menopause Matters, Parents and Carers, Armed Forces, Ethnic Diversity, Neurodiversity, Disability and more…

Follow us on LinkedIn (MBDA), X (@MBDA_UK), Instagram (MBDA_UK) and Glassdoor or visit our MBDA Careers website for more information.

Application Process

We recognise that everyone is unique, and we encourage you to speak to us should you require any advice, support or adjustments throughout our recruitment process.

1. Submit an application: Our application form contains a few factual questions, some questions relating to the role you have applied for and a section for you to tell us all about you!
2. Online assessment - Part One: Next in our process is part one of our online strengths assessment, completely tailored to our business and early careers schemes. After completing our assessment you'll receive a personalised report.
3. Online assessment - Part Two: Part two of our online assessments include three video recorded tasks which are authentic work scenario based activities which you could be doing on your programme - we refer to these as job simulations.
4. Assessment centre: Our strength based assessment centre is a half day virtual experience! You’ll get to work on a range of tasks, meet current programme members and people from the department you have applied for. All candidates receive feedback on their performance.
5. Offer: We’ll call you within a week of your assessment day to talk through your feedback and the finer details of your offer, as well as next steps.

Information

Training and Development

You’ll be able to choose between a variety of online learning platforms such as Percipio, YouLearn, Career Builder and Video Gateway. Each one is tailored to a specific type of learning. Speak to your line manager to find out more.

We encourage new learning and will provide up to £150 in financial support per year if you wish to participate in further study in your own time. You’ll have access to our Learning Gateway, which hosts the formal course catalogue and is where you can select the right training for your role and future development. The catalogue displays which courses are being delivered virtually or are classroom based. If you want to lead a team, you might be interested in our management training, designed for people of all experience levels.

Dynamic Working

The way we work is changing and your schedule will reflect that. For non-executive employees, we have a flexi-time scheme that allows you to choose, within certain parameters, when you start and finish each day and how you can use time you have accrued. If you have worked the time, you are also able to accrue and take up to 15 days of Flexi-leave per annum, in addition to the 25 days of annual leave provided and bank holidays.

Security Clearance

All employees at MBDA are required to hold UK Security or BPSS Clearance.

How to apply

To apply for this role and to find out more, please click on the apply button. Please note that applications may close before the application deadline, so apply early to avoid disappointment.