Student Placement jobs in Southampton

Job Description:

Your impact

Are you ready to make an impact and gain hands-on experience working on real-world projects from day one?

At Leonardo, we’re looking for industrial placement students who want to be part of something bigger—shaping innovation, advancing technology, and enhancing global safety.

Our placements are designed to help you apply your studies in a practical setting, develop your technical skills, and gain valuable insight into how our business operates.

Our Industrial Placement Programme

Our Industrial Placement Programme offers you the chance to spend a year with us, working on meaningful projects alongside subject matter experts, within multidisciplinary teams, and across the product lifecycle. You’ll receive a salary of £25,000, with coaching and support from a dedicated team to help you achieve both your placement objectives and personal development goals.

Successful completion of an Industrial Placement with Leonardo may also lead to an offer on our Graduate Development Programme.

During your placement, we encourage you to spend at least three days each week on site to integrate with your team and maximise your learning experience.

What you will do as an Industrial Placement Software Engineer:

You can look forward to working with highly skilled professionals who are passionate about their work of designing and developing cutting edge technology for a worldwide market.

You will report to an experienced Software Engineer who will provide day to day guidance and on-the-job training. You will be introduced to the software development processes and utilise state-of-the-art methods, technology and tools. You will also gain experience on one or more aspects of the software development lifecycle, which could include: applied research, requirements analysis, design, implementation, integration, and test

Particular emphasis will be placed on learning practical skills that may not be easily gained or experienced in the academic environment of a university.

Skills, Qualifications & Knowledge Required

Qualifications

This is an exciting and challenging Software Engineering opportunity for students currently studying a science based degree e.g. Software Engineering, Computer Science, Physics, Mathematics or Electronic Engineering (BSc (Hon) / BEng (Hon) / MEng.) You are expected to have an appropriate gap in studies.

You will have some experience of computer programming and be enthusiastic and passionate about designing software and writing code. Experience of an object-oriented programming language such as C++ and knowledge of UML (Unified Modelling Language) is an advantage but not essential.

A full statement of courses and projects studied at university and corresponding grades/marks/percentage should be included in your CV.

Applications are also welcomed from candidates who have completed a first degree and are looking to gain industrial experience prior to commencing a relevant higher degree (i.e. PhD, MSc).

• You will have some experience of computer programming
• be enthusiastic and passionate about designing software and writing code
• Have some experience of an object-oriented programming language such as Java, C++, C# or JavaScript and knowledge of UML (Unified Modelling Language) is an advantage but not essential
• A full statement of courses and projects studied at university and corresponding grades/marks/percentage should be included in your CV
• Applications are also welcomed from candidates who have completed a first degree and are looking to gain industrial experience prior to commencing a relevant higher degree (i.e. PhD, MSc)

Security Clearance

This role is subject to pre-employment screening in line with the UK Government’s Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS). An additional range of Personnel Security Controls referred to as National Security Vetting (NSV) may apply, this could include meeting the eligibility requirements for The Security Check (SC) or Developed Vetting (DV). For more information and guidance please visit: https://careers.uk.leonardo.com/gb/en/security-and-vetting

Why join us

At Leonardo, our people are at the heart of everything we do, our teams are key contributors in shaping innovation, advancing technology, and enhancing global safety.

We offer a comprehensive, company-funded benefits package that supports your wellbeing, career development, and work–life balance. Whether you're looking to grow professionally, care for your health, or plan for the future, we’re here to help you thrive.

• Time to recharge: Enjoy generous leave with the opportunity to accrue up to 12 additional flexi-days each year.
• Secure your future: Benefit from our award-winning pension scheme with up to 15% employer contribution.
• Your wellbeing matters: Free access to mental health support, financial advice, and employee-led networks championing inclusion and diversity (Enable, Pride, Equalise, Armed Forces, Carers, Wellbeing and Ethnicity).
• Tailored perks: Spend up to £500 annually on flexible benefits including private healthcare, dental, family cover, tech & lifestyle discounts, gym memberships and more.

For a full list of our company benefits please visit: https://careers.uk.leonardo.com/gb/en/company-benefits

We are committed to building an inclusive, accessible, and welcoming workplace. We believe that a diverse workforce sparks creativity, drives innovation, and leads to better outcomes for our people, communities and our customers. If you have any accessibility requirements to support you during the recruitment process, just let us know.

Be part of something bigger - apply now!

Primary Location:

GB - Southampton

Contract Type:

Fixed term

Hybrid Working:

Hybrid