Research Engineer - Digital & Simulation

Fantastic challenges. Amazing opportunities.

GKN Aerospace is reimagining air travel: going further, faster and greener! Fuelled by great people whose expertise and creativity sets the standards in our industry, we’re inspired by the opportunities to innovate and break boundaries. We’re proud to play a part in protecting the world’s democracies. And we’re committed to putting sustainability at the centre of everything we do, opening up and protecting our planet. With over 16,000 employees across 32 manufacturing sites in 12 countries we serve over 90% of the world’s aircraft and engine manufacturers and achieved sales of £3.6bn in 2025. There are no limits to where you can take your career.

Job Summary

Working at our Global Technology Centre, Bristol, within our Aerospace Research and Development team, you will help develop and deploy AI-powered solutions, including AI agents, copilots, and decision-support tools, that solve real manufacturing and engineering challenges. You will collaborate with engineers, manufacturing specialists, and technology experts to explore how AI can improve productivity, decision-making, and operational performance. This role is ideal for someone with strong technical aptitude, curiosity, and a passion for emerging AI technologies, regardless of whether their experience comes from academic, personal, or early-career projects.

How You'll Contribute

The Research Engineer will be responsible for the following:

• Develop AI agents, copilots, and intelligent automation solutions.
• Build AI applications using LLMs, APIs, and enterprise data sources.
• Prototype and evaluate new AI technologies for manufacturing and engineering use cases.
• Collaborate with engineering, operations, and IT teams to solve business challenges.
• Support the deployment and adoption of AI and digital transformation initiatives.

What You'll Bring

To help us make a difference, you'll bring your passion and expertise/talent for what you do along with the following skills, experience, qualifications and attributes:

Essential:

• Degree in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Engineering, Data Science, or a related STEM discipline or equivalent practical experience
• Understanding of AI, machine learning, Large Language Models (LLMs), and AI agents.
• Experience with Python or other software development languages.
• Industrial project experience with clear solution deployment.
• Ability to learn quickly and work independently.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills.

Desirable

• 3+ years’ experience deploying solutions in an industrial environment
• Recent graduates and early-career professionals are encouraged to apply. Relevant academic, internship, personal, or open-source project experience is valued over years of industry experience.
• Experience developing AI agents, chatbots, or AI-powered applications through academic, personal, or professional projects.
• Familiarity with agent frameworks, prompt engineering, and RAG architectures.
• Experience with cloud platforms, APIs, and databases.
• Understanding of Industry 4.0, digital manufacturing, or Industrial IoT.
• Knowledge of Git, Docker, or modern software development practices.

What We'll Offer

Once you’re on board you’ll get the following perks and benefits:

• Competitive salary dependent on experience
• Access to a salary sacrifice EV scheme giving tax and national insurance savings
• Industry Leading Pension Scheme = we’ll match your contributions up to 8% on a 1 : 1.5 basis
• Life Assurance 8 x salary
• 25 days annual leave + bank holidays
• Income protection
• Shopping discounts
• Cycle To Work Scheme
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Virtual GP Clinic for you and immediate family
• A collaborative, dynamic working environment with significant opportunity to upskill

As well as a competitive package we’ll offer you a world of opportunity. We want to see your career fly! We’ll support your career progression by providing you with learning and development opportunities. That’s the beauty of being part of a global business, once you’re on board you never know where you career journey may take you!

We’ll offer you fantastic challenges and amazing opportunities. This is your chance to be part of an organisation that has proven itself to be at the cutting edge of our industry; and is committed to pushing the boundaries even further. And with some of the best training on offer in the industry, who knows how far you can go?

A Great Place to work needs a Great Way of Working

Everyone is welcome to apply to GKN. We believe that we can only achieve our ambitions through a coming together of diverse minds who enjoy collaborating in an inspirational environment. Through our commitment to diversity, inclusion and belonging and by living our five powerful principles we’ve created a culture where everyone feels welcome to contribute. It’s a culture that won us ‘The Best Workplace Culture Award’. By embracing and celebrating what makes us unique we encourage everyone to bring their full self to work.

We’re also committed to providing an accessible recruitment process, so if you require reasonable adjustments at any stage during our recruitment process please get in touch and let us know.

We are the place where human dreams, plus human endeavour, shape the future of aerospace innovation and technology.