(Graduation) Internship Naval Ship Survivability

We offer you an Ocean of Possibilities. Join our family.

About us

Get on board with Damen Naval, along with more than 1,200 professionals based in The Netherlands, Romania, and Germany. We are the naval division of the family-owned Damen Shipyards Group which employs 12,000 professionals globally. Damen Naval designs and builds advanced naval vessels for customers all over the world. With a passion for technological innovation and sustainable solutions, we continue to push the boundaries in naval shipbuilding. You can be part of our team! Are you ready for duty?

The role

As naval ships are a key asset to any military (naval) force, their survivability is a critical priority for retaining control over any mission. The survivability of a naval ship depends on three criteria incorporated in its design:

• Ability to remain undetected for as long as possible (camouflage).
• Ability to withstand an attack by remaining afloat and operational.
• Ability to defend itself and control the situation after absorbing the attack.

For many years, designing the survivability of naval ships was based on considering threats from conventional weapons like missiles, mines, and torpedoes. However, recent technological advancements have introduced a host of new threats and challenges to consider when designing for naval ship survivability.

More emphasis has been placed on the naval ship's ability to remain undetected through camouflage. Ingenious new designs alter the signatures a naval ship emits or reflects. By signatures, we refer to the extent a ship can be detected through noise, infrared, radar, and magnetic interference.

Damen Naval is continuously developing and improving next-generation vulnerability and susceptibility reducing technologies. We leverage the latest small-scale scientific results and develop ways to scale and apply these into actual naval ship design, to keep increasing the survivability of naval ships through camouflage. Additionally, supporting research is needed to provide tools and methods to further optimize the design of these systems.

Various graduate research or internship projects are available related to this topic, all supported by subject matter experts within the company. Some possible subjects are:

• Evaluation of the infrared signature based on mission scenarios using state-of-the-art simulations
• Conducting a study on the deployment of (IR) decoys to protect vessels against heat-seeking missiles
• Prediction on the impact of radar reducing measures using simulations to identify the best practices for (future) ship designs

A combination of different subjects is possible. Damen Naval can provide readily available assignments, but it is also possible to propose your specific topic of interest. Please indicate your preferences (or research topics of your own making) when sending us your application through our career website.

Key accountabilities

• As an intern or graduate student at Damen Naval you may encounter multiple aspects related to naval ship survivability.
• Depending on the assignment, you are expected to select or develop the analysis methods and engineering tools needed to achieve your research goals.
• You will be responsible from day one for the planning and execution of your research project.
• You are expected to deliver a detailed in-depth analysis of your research problem and present the results and conclusions to other departments.

Skills & experience

The perfect candidate for an internship or graduation project related to Naval Ship Survivability has the following characteristics:

• Top-class Master student Mechanical Engineering, Marine Engineering, Aerospace engineering, or Naval Architecture. Other equivalent fields of study may also apply or can be considered depending on the topic chosen for the assignment.
• Strong passion for ships and shipbuilding.
• Passionate about marine ships or military hardware.
• Familiar with hydrodynamics and ship structures (e.g. fatigue, strength, ocean waves, ship motions, statistics and probability).
• Basic experience with (hydro-structures) simulation tools or a proven ability and specific motivation to become familiar with this subject in a very short time.
• Able to use programming tools (e.g. Python, MATLAB).
• Capable of identifying and communicating with multiple stakeholders.
• Taking responsibility for your own planning and project management.
• Good command of the Dutch and English language both written and verbal.

What we offer

• A monthly allowance for the duration of the assignment.
• Proper mentoring at BSc or MSc level will be available throughout the project.
• The ability to test and enhance your professional- and social skills
• Acquired experience at a top tier company to add to your reference list.

Other

Are you interested in starting a student project related to electrical systems, kindly submit your application along with your CV, curriculum with achieved grades and motivation letter, along with an indication of:

• Requested position (internship or graduation assignment)
• Your (preferred) topic or suggestions for topics.
• Availability (fulltime / part-time / number of hours).
• Notice period / possible starting date.
• List of grades to provide insight in the subjects you have followed.