Principal Engineer (Training)
| Posting date: | 29 July 2025 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | £44,198 per year |
| Additional salary information: | Starting Salary of £44,198 - £50,321 with an additional engineering skills allowance of £4,500 increasing to £9,000 after 3 years. |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 17 August 2025 |
| Location: | Nuneaton |
| Company: | Government Recruitment Service |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Job reference: | 414194/1 |
Summary
Do you enjoy the challenge of leading technical teams and developing others through structured training and mentoring?
Can you adapt to change and lead the delivery of new ideas, practices, and learning strategies?
Are you passionate about building capability and ensuring technical excellence across a growing engineering community?
We are looking for a Principal Engineer (Training) to join our team at the Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA). This is a unique opportunity to shape the future of our engineering workforce by designing and delivering high-quality training programmes, supporting professional development, and maintaining your own technical expertise.
If you're ready for your next challenge—and a role that offers travel, career progression, and a wide range of benefits—we’d love to hear from you.
Joining our department comes with many benefits, including:
- Employer pension contribution of 28.97% of your salary. Read more about Civil Service Pensions here
- 25 days annual leave, increasing by 1 day each year of service (up to a maximum of 30 days annual leave), plus 8 bank holidays a privilege day for the King’s birthday
- Flexible working options where we encourage a great work-life balance.
Read more in the Benefits section below!
Find out more about what it's like working at the Department for Transport and its agencies:
Vehicle Certification Agency - Department for Transport Careers
We have an exciting opportunity for a Senior Executive Officer (SEO) to join the Vehicle Certification Agency’s International Operations Team as a Principal Engineer (Training). This role offers the chance to work at the forefront of vehicle certification while playing a pivotal role in developing the next generation of technical experts.
We’re looking for someone who:
- Brings enthusiasm and drive, working collaboratively with colleagues, stakeholders, and customers to deliver results.
- Enjoys the challenges of leadership and management in a technically complex environment, with a strong focus on developing others through structured training and mentoring.
- Thrives on variety and flexibility, adapting to shifting priorities and contributing across a broad range of technical, operational, and training activities.
- Is proactive and organised, with strong attention to detail and excellent communication skills—both written and verbal.
As a Principal Engineer (Training), you will lead the design, delivery, and continuous improvement of training programmes for engineers across the global organisation. You will oversee competence assessments, support professional development, and ensure that our engineering teams are equipped with the knowledge and skills to deliver high-quality certification services.
In addition to your training responsibilities, you will act as the technical lead for assigned vehicle categories and customers—for example, as the O1/O2 Technical Lead—delivering type approval testing and witnessing. These activities will also serve as valuable opportunities to provide hands-on training and mentoring to engineers in real-world certification scenarios.
Our team is constantly evolving, with colleagues developing new skills and progressing into diverse roles across the Agency. This growth creates exciting new opportunities—like this one—for talented individuals to join us and make a lasting impact.
Your main duties will include, but are not limited to:
- Design, Deliver, and Maintain Training Programmes
Develop and deliver high-quality training materials and sessions—both in-person and remotely—for UK and overseas teams. Coordinate training requests, manage the training budget, and ensure content is aligned with operational needs and technical standards. - Lead and Develop a Skilled and Competent Engineering Workforce
Oversee the training and competence of Type Approval Engineers and Technical Support Officers across multiple grades (EO to SEO). Conduct initial and ongoing assessments, provide structured feedback, and support professional development through mentoring, coaching, and tailored learning plans. - Act as Technical Lead for Assigned Vehicle Categories
Manage assigned vehicle categories and customer accounts, acting as Technical Lead (e.g., O1/O2). Deliver type approval testing and witnessing, using these activities as real-time training opportunities to build capability across the team. - Oversee and Assure Certification Activities
Support engineers in the planning, coordination, and delivery of complex Type Approval and Conformity of Production (CoP) programmes. Ensure technical accuracy, regulatory compliance, and commercial completeness of all certification work. - Drive Operational Excellence and Stakeholder Engagement
Act as a senior point of contact for internal and external stakeholders. Promote effective communication, ensure alignment with ISO17020 and ISO17025 standards, and contribute to the continuous improvement of training and certification processes. - Line Management and Technical Governance
Line manage HEO-level engineers, supporting their performance and development. Serve as Deputy Technical Manager for VCA Operations under ISO17020, contributing to the Agency’s technical governance and quality assurance framework.
Great line management is important to us as an organisation, and we will equip and support line managers to develop the skills they need. We aim to empower line managers to create teams where people can flourish and deliver excellent outcomes for the public.
For further information on the role, please read the role profile. Please note that the role profile is for information purposes only - whilst all elements are relevant to the role, they may not all be assessed during the recruitment process. This job advert will detail exactly what will be assessed during the recruitment process.
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