2026 Algorithms Engineering Apprentice - Cheadle
THALES UK LIMITED
Stockport (SK3 0XB)
Closes on Thursday 12 February 2026
Posted on 4 November 2025
Contents
Summary
Are you passionate about engineering? Do you have an inquisitive mind? Do you want to be part of an Apprenticeship Programme that will develop and challenge you? If so, read on to see what Thales has on offer.
- Wage
-
£24,000 a year
Check minimum wage rates (opens in new tab)
Yearly performance, related pay uplifts
- Training course
- Digital and technology solutions professional (level 6)
- Hours
-
Monday- Thursday
8 hours per day and 5 hours on a Friday
Shifts to be confirmed
37 hours a week
- Start date
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Monday 7 September 2026
- Duration
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4 years
- Positions available
-
1
Work
Most of your apprenticeship is spent working. You’ll learn on the job by getting hands-on experience.
What you'll do at work
Join us as an Algorithm Engineering Apprentice where you'll have the opportunity to enhance your skills in designing the signal processing and AI algorithms that power the world's leading sonar systems. You will collaborate with a diverse team of experts to create complex systems for our customers. This role promises an exciting journey into the world of sonar technology!
As an Algorithm Engineering Apprentice, you will experience and develop crucial skills in the following areas:
- Problem-solving methods and approaches
- Effective communication skills in both writing reports and giving presentations
- Knowledge and application of the key digital technologies such as data science or AI/ML
- Signal processing (such as audio, image, video processing) and information processing (raw data or structured data)
- Effective algorithm design and implementations, and importance of verification and validation
- An understanding of foundational concepts in mathematics and physics that apply to underwater acoustic systems
- Conduct high level of systems analysis with supporting application of science and mathematics
- Scientific and numerical programming and scripting languages (e.g. MATLAB, Python)
Where you'll work
Dolphin House
Ashurst Drive
Stockport
SK3 0XB
Training
Apprenticeships include time away from working for specialist training. You’ll study to gain professional knowledge and skills.
Training provider
MANCHESTER METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY
Training course
Digital and technology solutions professional (level 6)
Understanding apprenticeship levels (opens in new tab)
What you'll learn
Course contents
- Analyse a business problem to identify the role of digital and technology solutions.
- Identify risks, determine mitigation strategies and opportunities for improvement in a digital and technology solutions project.
- Analyse a business problem in order to specify an appropriate digital and technology solution.
- Initiate, design, code, test and debug a software component for a digital and technology solution.
- Apply relevant standard processes, methods, techniques and tools. For example, ISO Standards, Waterfall, Agile in a digital and technology solution project.
- Manage digital and technology solutions projects. For example, identifying and resolving deviations from specification, applying appropriate Project Management methodologies.
- Work effectively within teams, leading on appropriate digital technology solution activities.
- Apply relevant organisational theories. For example, change management principles, marketing approaches, strategic practice, and IT service management to a digital and technology solutions project.
- Apply relevant security and resilience techniques to a digital and technology solution. For example, risk assessments, mitigation strategies.
- Initiate, design, implement and debug a data product for a digital and technology solution.
- Determine and use appropriate data analysis techniques. For example, Text, Statistical, Diagnostic or Predictive Analysis to assess a digital and technology solutions.
- Plan, design and manage simple computer networks with an overall focus on the services and capabilities that network infrastructure solutions enable in an organisational context.
- Report effectively to colleagues and stakeholders using the appropriate language and style, to meet the needs of the audience concerned.
- Research, investigate, and evaluate innovative technologies or approaches in the development of a digital and technology solution.
- Apply relevant legal, ethical, social and professional standards to a digital and technology solution.
- Identify and define software engineering problems that are non-routine and incompletely specified.
- Provide recommendations as to the most appropriate software engineering solution.
- Use appropriate analysis methods, approaches and techniques in software engineering projects to deliver an outcome that meets requirements.
- Implement software engineering projects using appropriate software engineering methods, approaches and techniques.
- Respond to changing priorities and problems arising within software engineering projects by making revised recommendations, and adapting plans as necessary, to fit the scenario being investigated.
- Determine, refine, adapt and use appropriate software engineering methods, approaches and techniques to evaluate software engineering project outcomes.
- Evaluate learning points arising from software engineering work undertaken on a project including use of methods, analysis undertaken, selection of approach and the outcome achieved, in order to identify both lessons learnt and recommendations for improvements to future projects.
- Extend and update software development knowledge with evidence from professional and academic sources by undertaking appropriate research to inform best practice and lead improvements in the organisation.
- Analyse client needs and determine how to advise them strategically through improved business processes, new ideas, or technology solutions.
- Effectively communicate value add to the client through a variety of media. For example, presentations, written reports, Storytelling in a professional setting through performing socio-technical process improvements in a range of environments.
- Make evidence based recommendations taking into account risks, costs, and benefits.
- Participate in walk-throughs for Information Technologies, to identify, document and evaluate key risks within a client’s organisation.
- Perform stakeholder analysis to identify, determine and deepen understanding of system requirements and develop client relationships.
- Effect change within an organisation through evaluation of a new system, process or initiative.
- Ensure legal and ethical requirements are accommodated in the development of digital and technology solutions.
- Evaluate the success of new systems, processes, or initiatives.
- Use requirements elicitation, analysis and documentation to produce an acceptable solution for business problems or further opportunities.
- Conduct Process Analysis, Definition, Mapping and Modelling within a business situation without supervision.
- Produce Use Cases which are of value to all stakeholders of a system.
- Use tools and benchmarking to support modelling and requirements gathering and recommend approaches to team members as required.
- Produce a business case to scope a proposed project including business benefits and recommendations.
- Use products of analysis in the design and development of a system.
- Evaluate the impacts of model selection and how they inter-relate with each other when generating business analytics.
- Recommend and use appropriate software tools to implement Business Analysis tasks and outcomes.
- Discover, identify and analyse security threats, attack techniques and vulnerabilities and recommend mitigation and security controls.
- Undertake security risk assessments for complex systems without direct supervision and propose a remediation strategy relevant to the context of the organisation.
- Recommend improvements to the cyber security approaches of an organisation based on research into future potential cyber threats and considering threat trends.
- Manage cyber security risk.
- Use appropriate cyber security technology, tools and techniques in relation to the risks identified.
- Lead cyber security awareness campaigns and evaluate their effectiveness.
- Analyse cyber security requirements against other design requirements for systems or products, identify conflicting requirements and recommend appropriate solutions with clear explanation of costs and benefits.
- Lead the design and build of systems in accordance with a security case to address organisational challenges.
- Define Data Requirements and perform Data Collection, Data Processing and Data Cleansing.
- Apply different types of Data Analysis, as appropriate, to drive improvements for specific business problems.
- Find, present, communicate and disseminate data analysis outputs effectively and with high impact through creative storytelling, tailoring the message for the audience. Visualise data to tell compelling and actionable narratives by using the best medium for each audience, such as charts, graphs and dashboards.
- Identify barriers to effective analysis encountered both by analysts and their stakeholders within data analysis projects.
- Apply a range of techniques for analysing quantitative data such as data mining, time series forecasting, algorithms, statistics and modelling techniques to identify and predict trends and patterns in data.
- Apply exploratory or confirmatory approaches to analysing data. Validate and and test stability of the results.
- Extract data from a range of sources. For example, databases, web services, open data.
- Analyse in detail large data sets, using a range of industry standard tools and data analysis methods.
- Identify and collate stakeholder needs in relation to computer network requirements, plans and designs.
- Plan, design, document, and develop the relevant elements of a computer network within an organisation or between organisations, taking into account customer requirements (performance, scale), constraints (budget, equipment availability), and define policies for their use.
- Monitor performance and ensure networks are configured correctly and perform as expected by designers or architects. Undertake capacity management and audit of IP addressing and hosted devices.
- Investigate, troubleshoot and resolve data network faults in local and wide area environments, using information from multiple sources, Physically or Remotely by console connection. Recommend and implement short term fixes to restore service and, or, quality of experience and recommend longer term changes to prevent recurrence or reduce impact of future occurrences.
- Implement computer networks from a design including testing and validation. This includes populating variables in configurations, for example, IP addresses and subsequent application of configuration to equipment such as routers, switches, firewalls.
- Secure network systems by establishing and enforcing policies, and defining and monitoring access. Support and administer firewall environments in line with IT security policy.
- Research and evaluate emerging network technologies and assess relevance to current network requirements. Provide an objective opinion on how new features and technologies may be incorporated as required by the organisation.
- Investigate security concerns or attacks. For example, Distributed Denial of Service (DDOS), port scanning, assessing key metrics and indicators, evidencing the chosen steps to mitigate.
- Analyse a business problem to identify the role of digital and technology solutions.
- Identify risks, determine mitigation strategies and opportunities for improvement in a digital and technology solutions project.
- Analyse a business problem in order to specify an appropriate digital and technology solution.
- Initiate, design, code, test and debug a software component for a digital and technology solution.
- Apply relevant standard processes, methods, techniques and tools. For example, ISO Standards, Waterfall, Agile in a digital and technology solution project.
- Manage digital and technology solutions projects. For example, identifying and resolving deviations from specification, applying appropriate Project Management methodologies.
- Work effectively within teams, leading on appropriate digital technology solution activities.
- Apply relevant organisational theories. For example, change management principles, marketing approaches, strategic practice, and IT service management to a digital and technology solutions project.
- Apply relevant security and resilience techniques to a digital and technology solution. For example, risk assessments, mitigation strategies.
- Initiate, design, implement and debug a data product for a digital and technology solution.
- Determine and use appropriate data analysis techniques. For example, Text, Statistical, Diagnostic or Predictive Analysis to assess a digital and technology solutions.
- Plan, design and manage simple computer networks with an overall focus on the services and capabilities that network infrastructure solutions enable in an organisational context.
- Report effectively to colleagues and stakeholders using the appropriate language and style, to meet the needs of the audience concerned.
- Research, investigate, and evaluate innovative technologies or approaches in the development of a digital and technology solution.
- Apply relevant legal, ethical, social and professional standards to a digital and technology solution.
Training schedule
You will be studying towards a BSc in Digital and Technology Solutions, following the Software Engineering Pathway. This is a Gold accredited programme by Tech Partnership Degrees. For the duration of this 4-year programme, you will be given one day per week in which to attend Manchester Metropolitan University. For the other 4 days you will be working in the business, applying your university learning and gaining a breadth of experience within the software function.
Requirements
Essential qualifications
GCSE in:
A Level in:
Share if you have other relevant qualifications and industry experience. The apprenticeship can be adjusted to reflect what you already know.
Skills
- Communication skills
- Attention to detail
- Problem solving skills
- Logical
- Team working
Other requirements
Due to the nature of the work that we do at Thales, all of our roles are subject to security restrictions. All successful candidates must possess the permanent right to work in the UK, and will be required to go through Government security clearance at BPSS Level and to obtain full Security Clearance (SC) in line with the United Kingdom Security Vetting (UKSV) requirements below, prior to starting with us. This role requires you to be a sole British National from birth and achieve Security Clearance (SC) without any caveats. It would be advantageous if currently held, however, if not currently held, it is a requirement that the successful applicant undergo, achieve, and maintain SC Clearance prior to commencing employment. Please visit the UKSV website for further guidance. To be eligible for full SC, you generally need to have resided in the UK for the last 5 years. As part of the vetting process you will be asked to provide evidence of your identity, eligibility to work in the UK, time spent abroad over the last 5 years, as well as employment and / or educational history. For further details of the evidence required to apply for security clearance please follow this link - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/united-kingdom-security-vetting-clearance-levels/national-security-vetting-clearance-levels
About this employer
Together, we create the ingenious technological systems and innovations that impact and improve people's lives every single day. Even if you haven't heard the name Thales before, you've definitely benefited from our inventiveness. We reinvest 20% of our sales in Research & Development in the UK. We support businesses, organisations, and governments in addressing tomorrow’s major challenges by developing advanced Defence, Security, Cybersecurity, Digital Identity, and Aerospace solutions, in the most sustainable, responsible, and ethical manner.
https://careers.thalesgroup.com/global/en/united-kingdom-apprenticeship (opens in new tab)
Company benefits
• 201 hours annual leave (plus a company day and bank holidays) • Company Pension • Health Care Cash Plan • Life Insurance • Discount Portal • Performance-related pay uplifts • 80 Hours Volunteering (first two years)
Disability Confident
A fair proportion of interviews for this apprenticeship will be offered to applicants with a disability or long-term health condition. This includes non-visible disabilities and conditions.
You can choose to be considered for an interview under the Disability Confident scheme. You’ll need to meet the essential requirements to be considered for an interview.
After this apprenticeship
- At the end of the apprenticeship you will be working as an Algorithm engineer within the Thales UK business
Ask a question
The contact for this apprenticeship is:
THALES UK LIMITED
Thales Future Talent Team
suppearlycar@uk.thalesgroup.com
The reference code for this apprenticeship is VAC1000349512.
Apply now
Closes on Thursday 12 February 2026
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