Software Engineer (Maritime Autonomy)

Job Title – Software Engineer (Maritime Autonomy)

Job Location – Portchester, UK

Job ID – 44199

About this opportunity and L3Harris UK

Operating at 11 sites in the United Kingdom, L3Harris supports Britain's mission to secure and strengthen the country by delivering sovereign innovation across the space, air, land, sea and cyber domains.

L3Harris in Portchester are part of our Maritime UK business - a leading global supplier of integrated marine control systems and simulation products for warships, submarines and high-end commercial marine vessels worldwide. Our Maritime UK business has four UK location and together we are powering the Royal Navy’s adoption of autonomous surface vehicle technology as well as delivering autonomous capability to UK ports, harbours and offshore energy service providers.

Working at the forefront of maritime autonomy, you'll play a key role in delivering technologies that enable vessels to operate safely, intelligently, and with increasing levels of independence. From autonomous navigation and vessel control systems to integrated communications, sensor technologies, and remote operations capability, you'll help develop innovative solutions that are transforming the way maritime organisations operate.

As a Software Engineer, you'll work across a diverse portfolio of projects supporting customer programmes, research and development initiatives, and future business opportunities. Collaborating with multidisciplinary teams, you'll be involved throughout the project lifecycle, from concept development and prototyping through to integration, testing, deployment, and operational support.

This is an exciting opportunity for an engineer who enjoys solving complex technical challenges, working with emerging technologies, and seeing their work deployed in real-world environments. Whether supporting the Royal Navy's adoption of autonomous surface vehicle technology or delivering advanced capabilities for commercial ports, harbours, and offshore energy providers, you'll be part of a team driving innovation in one of the most rapidly evolving areas of the maritime industry.

A few of our employee benefits are:

• Hybrid working where possible, three days onsite per week
• Half day finish on a Friday
• 25 days holiday per year (plus bank holidays), increasing with long service and with the opportunity to buy/sell up to 5 days
• Private medical insurance with optional family cover
• Pension scheme of up to 8% employer contribution
• Life Assurance 4x salary (flexible up to 10x)
• Group income protection
• Flexible opt-in extras such as a health care cash plan, dental insurance, gym membership, critical illness cover, cycle to work scheme, travel insurance and electric car scheme
• Employee Family Assistance Program providing mental health and wellbeing support
• Professional membership reimbursement (discretionary)

What the role will involve

The responsibilities of your role will include the following:

• Design, develop, integrate, and maintain software solutions for industrial control and maritime systems.
• Develop and support interfaces between programmable logic controllers (PLCs), power management systems, communication systems, and higher-level software applications.
• Perform software integration, verification, validation, troubleshooting, and system testing activities throughout the project lifecycle.
• Support laboratory integration, factory acceptance testing, harbour trials, sea trials, commissioning, and customer acceptance activities.
• Collaborate with multidisciplinary engineering teams including software, systems, hardware, electrical, and test engineers to deliver integrated solutions.
• Support Internal Research and Development (IRAD) initiatives, technology demonstrations, and Business Development (BID) activities through technical investigations, prototyping, and proof-of-concept development.
• Produce and maintain technical documentation, integration procedures, test specifications, and engineering records in accordance with company processes and industry standards.

What you’ll bring

The role requires the following experience and skills:

• Bachelor’s degree in software engineering, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related engineering discipline.
• Experience developing and maintaining software solutions using C++.
• Experience working within Linux-based development and deployment environments.
• Experience integrating software with industrial control systems, operational technology platforms, or programmable logic controllers (PLCs).
• Experience supporting software testing, verification, validation, and troubleshooting activities.
• Experience working within multidisciplinary engineering teams across the software development lifecycle.

Preferred Additional Skills:

• Experience with maritime systems, vessel control systems, or marine automation environments.
• Familiarity with maritime communication protocols, including National Marine Electronics Association (NMEA) standards.
• Experience with embedded, real-time, or mission-critical software systems.
• Experience integrating software with power management, monitoring, or industrial control systems.
• Familiarity with commissioning, harbour trials, sea trials, or site acceptance testing activities.
• Experience working within multidisciplinary engineering teams delivering complex integrated systems.
• Familiarity with source control, configuration management, and software release processes.

Important to know

Due to the nature of our work many our roles require a UK nationality and the ability to obtain a security clearance. Applicants who accept a conditional offer of employment must meet the requirement of right to work in the UK and must meet eligibility requirements for access to classified information and will be subject to government security checks.

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