Join our Optronics team

Our people, our stories
At Thales, our current and future employees have a strong sense of purpose knowing they all have a part to play in keeping nations safe and protecting our way of life. They have the opportunity to develop professionally and personally, working on exciting, attractive projects within an innovative and diverse organisation.
As our team continues to grow, we remain committed to delivering cutting-edge technologies that safeguard and enhance national security. These technologies are driven by the human intelligence of our talented engineers, and we're excited to be expanding our team!
For the past years, Thales has played a significant role in supporting and collaborating with various universities from Scotland. Since 2005, we have sponsored 15 PhD and 10 EngD students, and more than 70 apprentices have completed our programme.
Supporting efforts to bridge the gap between academia and industry, by connecting educational institutions with industry practices, students gain practical hands-on experience, while businesses benefit from fresh ideas and research-driven innovation.

About Thales in Glasgow
Thales has been a key player in Scotland for more than a century, currently employing over 750 people at our Glasgow site. As a major contributor to the Scottish economy, we invested over £140 million in 2023, strengthening a diverse supply chain.

The Thales team in Glasgow has established an armoured vehicle centre of excellence, drawing on decades of expertise in complex military vehicle-sight integration by their highly skilled engineers and manufacturing staff.
Our Glasgow site is the oldest business line of Thales in the UK, with expertise in electro-optic (Optronics) systems in support of land, sea and air forces. We bring over 100 years of expertise in designing and manufacturing periscopes and optronics mast for submarines platforms globally.

Currently, we are producing the latest generations of our optronics mast, an advanced evolution of our proven first-generation design, which has been installed on over 30 submarines worldwide.

Did you know?

1

sole supplier of submarine periscopes to the
Royal Navy

£140m+

invested in Scottish economy in 2023 alone

136

years of history in Scotland

750

people employed across the country

What's in it for you?
Work-Life Balance
  • Smart working policy with a great level of flexibility.
  • Short working Friday's.
  • Access to personal and professional development tools, digital learning, formal training and knowledge transfer programmes. 
Health and Wellbeing
  • Competitive compensation package.
  • Healthcare Cash Plan.
  • Every permanent employee has the option to use 24 hours paid volunteering per year.
Social Impact
  • Committed to becoming more representative of the communities in which we operate.
  • Inclusive and supportive environment.
Quality of Life
  • Shared parental leave, able to share up to 50 weeks of leave in a flexible way.
  • Fertility and Menopause Policies to support female employees.