Marine Systems Technician Apprenticeship - Level 3

Job Reference metoffice/TP/537/1109

Fixed Term Contract

Working Hours: 37

Location (City/Town): Southampton

Closing Date: 08/03/2026

Profession:

Region / Division: UK Region

The Met Office is delighted to open our advertising for Apprenticeships 2026.

This is an exciting opportunity to join the Met Office as a Marine Systems Technician Apprentice for up to 52 months commencing at the start of August 2026. You will develop skills and workplace experience in this occupation which may lead to a permanent position on successful completion of your apprenticeship or the knowledge to gain employment within the wider industry.

As our Marine Systems Technician Apprentice, the job may be suitable for hybrid working, which is where an employee works part of the week in the office and part of the week from home. This is a voluntary, non‑contractual arrangement and the location advertised will be your contractual place of work. As apprentices are part of our Early Careers Programme, there is the expectation you attend the office once a week as a minimum in addition to your study day.

Our opportunity is full time, 37 hours per week, based in Southampton. Our people are at the heart of what we do, and we'll do our best to agree a working pattern that works for everyone.

World changing work

From science to technology, from meteorology to management, and from planning to communication, our expertise helps us stand out as the authority on weather accuracy and climate prediction. We help individuals, industries and government to make better decisions to stay safe and thrive. This is the Met Office. This is who we are.

• We’re a force for good – focusing on our environmental and social impact
• We’re experts by nature – always learning and developing to do things better
• We live and breathe it – putting our purpose at the heart of decision making
• We’re better together – understanding partnerships and inclusivity make us greater
• We keep evolving – pushing boundaries to make tomorrow better for our customers

Your world of expertise

This apprenticeship can offer you the support, training and industry recognised qualifications to get you on the path to a career in Engineering.

You will work with the Marine Systems Engineering (MSE) Team, which is a small team of 7 specialist engineers who have responsibility for ensuring our systems continue to supply the high‑quality data required to produce our weather forecast products and services.

Our Marine Observing Network collects environmental observations from a range of autonomous systems including moored buoys, light vessels, voluntary observing ships and Argo floats. You will be involved in maintaining the systems to keep the network running, with time in the office and offshore. You will help us to keep transforming our systems to ensure we continue to deliver high‑quality data across the marine network.

On joining MSE you will be given all the training required to work on new and existing systems as well as having the opportunity to use and develop your existing skills and knowledge. We have a clear framework for development within the Met Office's Engineering Profession, so you'll have the opportunity to grow your skills and make a real difference.

• Maintain automatic marine observation systems across our marine network, including working with systems on Met Ocean Data Buoys, light vessels and voluntary observation ships. Maintenance work is predominantly based at our facility at Southampton's National Oceanography Centre.
• Assemble, test and repair advanced weather observation instrumentation, data logging systems and satellite communication systems.
• Opportunities for UK and international travel to undertake servicing visits. This includes visiting offshore sites on a chartered buoy‑laying vessel for periods of 1–10 days several times a year, predominantly in the summer period. This work requires ENG1 seafarers and Working at Height medicals, Working at Height and Personal Survival Techniques training, all provided by the Met Office.
• Work within established health and safety systems, including working at height up to 10 metres.

Training delivery and support

The apprenticeship…