Industrial Process Engineer Apprentice - Level 5 Mechatronics Higher Level Apprenticeship

Location: Belfast, United Kingdom

Thales is a global technology leader with more than 83,000 employees on five continents. With over 7,500 people in the UK, operating across defence, space, aerospace, and digital security, we help build a future we can all trust. Thales supports the security and stability of our nation by providing extraordinary technology to our customers, as well as delivering social value to the UK with our products and services.

2027 Industrial Process Engineer Apprentice - Level 5 Mechatronics Higher Level Apprenticeship (NI)

Start Date: 06 September 2027

Salary: £24,000 per annum

Employee type: Permanent

Location: Belfast

Working Schedule: Monday – Friday, 37 hours a week (8 hours Monday – Thursday, 5 hours Friday)

Turn your curiosity into a career. If you're passionate about engineering, eager to learn, and looking for a degree apprenticeship that combines academic study with exciting on-the-job experience, we'd love to hear from you.

Benefits of the programme:

• Earn a salary while studying
• Gain hands-on experience in a real engineering environment
• Receive job-specific training and development
• Achieve a recognised qualification
• Secure a permanent role from the start of your apprenticeship
• Have your university tuition fees fully paid

About the Role

The role will develop your engineering skills to become a confident, positive and flexible Industrial Process engineer with well-honed technical knowledge gained from both the academic commitments and on the job training. You will be part of a team that provides manufacturing solutions in support of our customers’ requirements. This will provide many opportunities to experience the various aspects of engineering such as, defining and optimising manufacturing documentation, tools and workflows for manufacturing, performing manufacturing readiness reviews, contributing to the technological innovation to reduce costs and workflows, whilst guaranteeing the feasibility and reproducibility of the process.

What You Will Learn

·       Develop an understanding of the required behaviours and codes of practice of a professional Industrial Process engineer

·       Understanding complex systems by working on different tasks on on-going projects

·       Assessing Manufacturing Readiness Level (MRL) of products by reviewing the product maturity with project teams to identify and minimise risk

·       Define, set up, prepare and optimise manufacturing processes and tooling for a defined area or product line

·       Contribute to Health, Safety and Environment processes

·       Define and optimise manufacturing documentation, tools, workflows for manufacturing and inspection based on the information supplied by upstream R&D engineering departments

·       Contribute to the technological innovation to reduce costs and workflows, whilst guaranteeing the feasibility and reproducibility of the process

·       Attend Material Review Boards and Configuration Control Boards on behalf of manufacturing, actively manage failures and changes

·       Implement test & control plans for manufacturing equipment

Apprenticeship Programme

You will be studying towards a Level 5 Higher Level Apprenticeship, Foundation Engineering Degree (FdEng) in Mechatronics with our partners at the South Eastern Regional College in Bangor.

During the 3-year programme you will follow an initial rotation plan and then specialise in a particular engineering function.

You will be given 1 day per week to attend college lessons, lectures and tutorials on campus. The other 4 days you will be working in engineering departments, embedding your college learning in a real-life engineering environment.

On successful completion of the Higher-Level Apprenticeship, there will be scope to progress onto the BEng in Mechatronic Engineering at Ulster University.

Entry Requirements

•            56 UCAS tariff points including: A Levels (A2): Typical grade profile CC (to include 1 from Mathematics, Further Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Design & Technology, Engineering, Electronics or Double Award Science/Applied Science) or BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma in Engineering with overall award profile MPP or Diploma in Engineering with overall award profile MM

•            5 GCSEs at grade A-C (4-9) or above including English and Maths

We are looking for enthusiastic individuals who are motivated, committed and keen to learn.  You will be a self-starter, able to demonstrate time management skills, working on your own, using your initiative and have a genuine interest in Engineering and Thales. Successful candidates will show self-discipline and an aspiration to achieve a degree qualification.

Please Note: due to funding obligations (i) applicants who already hold a relevant degree will not be eligible for this programme (ii) this opportunity is available in Belfast and open to all Northern Ireland residents.

Benefits

·       Competitive salary of £24,000 per annum

·       Performance-related pay uplifts

·       Holiday entitlement of 201 hours a year (plus a company day and bank holidays)

·       Contributory Company Pension

·       Health Care Cash Plan

·       Hybrid/flexible working options

·       Employee assistance programme

·       Learning and development support

·       Employee discounts and wellbeing initiatives

·       Life Cover

·       80 Hours Volunteering per year (first two years)

Thales Apprentice Recruitment Process

1.      Apply Online - submit your application online to register your interest.  You only need to register for one role as you will have the opportunity to apply for additional roles at the full application stage.

2.      Upload Your CV

3.      Check your emails for the invitation to apply – this will come from [email protected]

4.      Complete Your Application – follow the link provided in the email to complete your application.  You can apply for one primary role and up to 3 additional roles.

5.      Complete Online Tests - undertake the online assessments designed to evaluate your suitability for the role.

6.      Virtual Assessment Centre - candidates who progress from the online assessment stage will attend a virtual assessment centre, which will include group exercises, and competency-based interviews.

7.      Job Offer – successful candidates who perform well throughout the recruitment process will receive a job offer from Thales.

For further information about our Future Talent recruitment process, including hints and tips, or to connect with a member of the Future Talent Team, a Graduate, or an Apprentice, please visit Thales Future Talent - Connectr.

 Please note, assessment centres for shortlisted candidates will be held between February - May 2027.  Induction week for all Graduate and Apprentices will take place from Monday 6 September - Friday 10 September 2027.

Closing date: Our applications will close at 11.59pm on Wednesday 17 February 2027, this is the only time we will be accepting applications this year. Please note, we will be in contact by the end of February 2027 with details of next steps.

 PLEASE NOTE THAT ROLES MAY CLOSE EARLIER THAN THE ADVERTISED DEADLINE IF WE RECEIVE A HIGH NUMER OF APPLICATIONS.  WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO APPLY AS SOON AS POSSIBLE TO AVOID MISSING OUT ON THIS OPPORTUNITY.

Due to the nature of the work that we do at Thales, all our roles are subject to security restrictions. 

Because of the work we do at Thales, all roles are subject to security requirements.

To be considered for this position, you must have the permanent right to work in the UK and be able to successfully complete and maintain UK Government security checks, including Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) screening and Security Clearance (SC), which is a government background check, before starting employment.

To be eligible for SC clearance, you will typically need to have lived in the UK continuously for the last five years. As part of the vetting process, you will be asked to provide evidence of your identity, right to work in the UK, any time spent overseas during the last five years, and your employment and/or education history.

For further details of the evidence required to apply for security clearance please follow this link - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/united-kingdom-security-vetting-clearance-levels/national-security-vetting-clearance-levels.

Thales is an equal opportunities employer and diversity, and inclusion are integral to the success of Thales.

At Thales, we ensure equal opportunities, pay and working conditions for all. The benefits we offer include private medical insurance, buying or selling annual leave, cycle to work schemes, employee discounts, paid volunteering day, stocks and shares, annual bonus and much more depending on the role. Read more about our benefits here.
 

We are committed to creating a workplace where everyone feels valued for who they are and the unique strengths they bring. Discover more about our programmes, employee networks, wellbeing policies, and inclusive features here.

If this role isn’t quite right for you, we encourage you to join our talent community where your details will be shared with our recruitment teams for other potential opportunities. Join the Talent Community here.

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