AWE gives you extraordinary opportunities to develop and grow your skills whilst studying for your degree by offering Year in Industry placements and via the Defence Undergraduate Scholarship Scheme.
You’ll add experience you won’t find anywhere else in the UK onto your CV, undertake exciting and challenging work and be part of keeping the nation safe.
Year in Industry
Our 12-month year in industry placements offer an exciting and unique opportunity to join a company working towards a shared mission of keeping the nation safe and secure. To complete this placement we are offering you a competitive total reward package including:
- A salary of £22,250 per annum
- Generous holiday entitlement (270 hours of leave annually)
- Excellent work/life balance
- Nine-day working fortnight
- Access to savings on a wide range of everyday spending across retail, hospitality and leisure
- A competitive pension contribution scheme
We offer Year in Industry placements across a vast array of teams at AWE, including within Engineering, Materials & Analytical Sciences, Physics, Nuclear Threat Reduction, Environment, Safety and Quality Management, Project Management and Cyber Security.
Sorry, applications are now closed for our 2024 intake. You can register your interest and we will reach out when we reopen.
Defence Undergraduate Scholarship Scheme
AWE’s Defence Undergraduate Scholarship Scheme offers students enrolled in university the chance to improve their financial and work experience prospects by providing a scholarship for the length of their degree course.
Upon successful joining of the scholarship scheme as an engineer or a scientist, you will receive:
- Your Tuition Fees paid for up to 3 years of your course
- An annual lump sum financial bursary
- A 45-day paid summer placement with AWE (£22,250 pro rata)
- Place yourself in a prime position for consideration of graduate roles at AWE as well as expanding your skillset and knowledge within the Defence and Nuclear sectors.
Summer placements take place each July and August, and AWE will be opening Summer 2024 for applications for next year.
We are welcoming applications from all year groups at University, and those studying across Engineering disciplines and Sciences including Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Materials Science, Forensic Science, Radiation Science, Computer Science and Environmental Science.
Sorry, applications are now closed for our 2024 intake. You can register your interest and we will reach out when we reopen.
Explore our wide range of exciting placement opportunities
Engineering
We are offering a unique and exciting one-year placement within our Engineering function. You’ll join a truly unique and diverse function of AWE, with no two days the same as you make a genuine contribution to keeping the UK safe and secure. If you have a background in manufacturing, mechanical, aerospace, general, automotive, electrical, electronic, mechatronics or systems engineering we’d particularly welcome your applications.
Science
Our Science placements range from Radiochemistry, to data science, environmental monitoring to materials physics. There are a range of placement roles to apply for, all with unique and engaging work to be completing in your 12 months at AWE. We welcome applications from across science disciplines, but if you have a strong Physics, Maths, Chemistry, Computer Science or Materials Science background, we strongly advise you apply!
Cyber Security
Be at the forefront of keeping AWE individuals, data and systems secure working within the core of our Cyber Security team at AWE. If you have a strong Computer Science or Cyber Security background and are keen to make a difference and contribute to AWE’s core mission of keeping all safe and secure, apply when we open for applications this September.
Project Management
Projects and Programmes are core to AWE and the vast array of interesting and engaging work that happens across the company. Join for your 12-month placement within our Programme and Project Management team and you will be working on real life projects and gaining knowledge and insights from your Project Manager colleagues. We welcome candidates from all backgrounds to apply for these positions.
Operations & Logistics
New for 2025, we will be taking on a small number of year in industry placements within our Operations division. You will be working closely on planning, production processes, criticality safety, logistics, materials inventory and quality control and following and working on legislative requirements across the company, linking in closely with external suppliers, customers and stakeholders.
If you are undertaking a degree in Nuclear Engineering, Nuclear Science, Chemistry, Physics, Maths or Chemical Engineering these placements may well be of interest to you.
Environment & Safety
New for 2025, we are now offering 12-month placements in Environment and Sustainability, Nuclear Safety and Conventional Safety. If you are keen to support environmental legislations, environmental management and sustainability at AWE, are keen to understand and contribute to how we keep everyone and everything we do safe and secure within a safety based role, apply when our roles open. We encourage applications from across STEM disciplines for these roles.
Please note that our applications are now closed for our 2024 intake.
You can register your interest and we will reach out when we reopen.