Market Surveillance Unit Engineer
| Posting date: | 11 February 2026 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | £37,138 per year |
| Additional salary information: | Your salary will be £35,663 (per annum/pro rata), plus an additional allowance of £1,475 (non-pensionable) If based at Hayes (Yeading) your salary will be £39533 (per annum/pro rata), plus an additional allowance of £1,475 (non-pensionable) |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 01 March 2026 |
| Location: | Chadderton |
| Company: | Government Recruitment Service |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Job reference: | 446612/3 |
Summary
Have you got excellent problem-solving skills?
Are you inquisitive?
If so, we’d love to hear from you!
The Market Surveillance Unit (MSU) within the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is the United Kingdom’s Market Surveillance Authority for automotive products. We make sure vehicles, trailers, automotive parts and accessories sold in the UK are safe for people to buy and comply with regulatory requirements.
We do this by:
- Working with the distribution industry and manufacturers to ensure they have a sound understanding of their obligations and promote best practice.
- Carrying out both overt and covert surveillance of the UK market and conducting investigations where potential non-compliance is detected.
- Conducting technical examinations, field testing and mechanical and environmental laboratory assessments to gather evidence.
- Publishing our findings and enforcement outcomes to deter non-compliance and influence market behaviour.
- Working alongside and influencing domestic and international partners to ensure the sharing of intelligence and information on new and evolving technologies.
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 Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency - Department for Transport Careers
A Market Surveillance Unit (MSU) Engineer plays a critical role in protecting the public by ensuring that vehicles, systems and components placed on the UK market comply with safety and regulatory requirements.
Your responsibilities will include, but aren’t limited to:
- Lead technical investigations into safety‑related non‑compliance by analysing data, evidence and intelligence from the public, manufacturers, distributors and international authorities.
- Assess reported defects, determine whether they pose a serious safety risk, and ensure manufacturers take appropriate remedial action in line with DVSA Safety Defects and Recalls Codes of Practice.
- Investigate regulatory non‑compliance that does not pose an immediate safety risk, including planning and overseeing physical testing of vehicles and components.
- Coordinate laboratory activities and conduct field‑based inspections to support compliance assessments.
- Act as project manager for external technical assessments, ensuring testing is commissioned, delivered and interpreted to professional standards.
- Engage confidently with manufacturers, aftermarket producers, technical services and other stakeholders, providing authoritative engineering advice and negotiating compliance outcomes.
- Contribute to technical reports, enforcement recommendations and case files, including supporting legal proceedings as an expert witness if required.
- Prepare high‑quality written outputs such as Ministerial submissions, briefings and correspondence on safety defects, compliance investigations and regulatory matters.
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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