Senior Deck & Engineering Technician; BOSUN

Location:

Plymouth

Vacancy Type:
Open Ended Appointment

Final date to receive applications:
Friday, November 6, 2026

Salary: £30,991-£36,104 DOE

Job Eligible for Skilled Worker Visa:
No

Plymouth Marine Laboratory is looking for an experienced and practical Senior Deck & Engineer Technician (Bosun) to join its Marine Operations Group at an important point in the development of our marine capability.

Working primarily aboard RV Plymouth Quest, the Senior Deck & Engineer Technician (Bosun) will be the senior practical deck role within a small, multi-skilled team. You will lead day-to-day deck operations, supervise two Deckhands and coordinate the routine engineering and maintenance activity required to keep our vessels and equipment safe, serviceable and ready to operate.

This is not a narrow, deck-only Bosun role. Marine Operations supports scientific research, commercial projects, small-craft operations and an increasing range of marine technology and uncrewed systems. We are therefore looking for someone with strong maritime experience and practical engineering skills who is also comfortable working with scientists, clients, digital systems and emerging technology.

You might be preparing and deploying marine monitoring systems, seabed instruments or other scientific equipment from Plymouth Quest, coordinating planned maintenance with the Deckhand team, fault-finding a vessel system, supporting a commercial mobilisation through PML Applications, working with contractors during a repair period, or helping prepare and deploy an uncrewed marine system. Where appropriately qualified, you may also support operations using PML Explorer and other small craft.

PML Marine Operations is continuing to develop across traditional vessel operations, commercial marine work and emerging remote and autonomous systems.

For the right person, this is an opportunity to join that development early and help shape how we operate in the future, while remaining firmly rooted in the practical deck, engineering and maritime skills needed to deliver safe and effective marine operations.

• Leading and coordinating practical deck operations under the direction of the Skipper or Deputy Skipper.
• Supervising two Deckhands and allocating work according to competence, workload and operational priority.
• Leading and participating in the mobilisation, deployment and recovery of scientific, survey and commercial equipment, including buoys, moorings and seabed instrumentation.
• Coordinating lifting, rigging, mooring and other practical deck activities, including operation of cranes, winches and A-frames within appropriate competence and certification.
• Coordinating routine engineering and maintenance activity across the Bosun and Deckhand team, including planned maintenance, fault finding, defect management and engineering spares.
• Working with external engineering and maintenance contractors where specialist support is required.
• Supporting scientific and commercial projects, including work delivered through PML Applications and direct interaction with clients and project partners.
• Supporting the deployment and recovery of uncrewed and autonomous marine systems and contributing to future Remote Operations activity where training and operational requirements allow.

• Significant relevant professional maritime experience, typically 5 years or more, with strong practical deck and marine operational capability.
• Experience supervising or coordinating deck operations and the work of others.
• Practical experience of lifting, rigging and deploying or recovering equipment at sea.
• Good practical marine…