Engineering Officer - Reserve

Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers

At a glance

  • Officer
  • engineering

Lead a team of highly skilled and motivated soldiers as they maintain the Army's mechanical and electrical equipment, from rifle sights to helicopter engines.

The thing that attracted me to the REME was the people, The Corps was really welcoming and I felt that I would be able to use my engineering background to the greatest effect with them. I'm really able to add value here.

As a REME Officer you will lead highly skilled and qualified tradesmen both on operations and in barracks. They could be repairing Light Guns, recovering Challenger 2 Tanks, maintaining Apache helicopters or supporting the Special Forces. Every unit in the British Army needs REME personnel to repair, recover and maintain its vehicles and equipment. With 9 Regular Battalions, 3 Reserve Battalions and 42 Light Aid Detachments there are varied and frequent opportunities working anywhere in the world.

The Corps of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) provides engineering support to maintain and repair the vast array of British Army equipment. They will be found wherever the Army is operating, at home or overseas. The technical training our soldiers’ receive gives them the confidence to tackle any engineering problem. We are professional, resourceful and resilient, and we strive to keep fit equipment in the hands of the user; to keep the punch in the Army’s fist.

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Key Responsibilities

  • Lead and motivate high calibre, highly motivated soldiers

  • Support units by making battle-winning decisions, to keeping them moving and operating, wherever in the world they deploy.

  • Provide technical expertise, advice and assurance to unit commanders.

  • Develop your people to reach their potential and promote professional engineering.

Have any questions? Talk with us

REME Officer

Reserve (part time)

Entry requirements

  • Age:

    From 17 years & 9 months to 48 years & 11 months

  • Qualifications:

    72 UCAS points ideally from technical subjects (Engineering, Maths, Physics etc.). 35 ALIS points at GCSE, or equivalent qualifications, (including minimum grade C in English, Maths and a science or foreign language). A degree accredited by the engineering council is desirable but not essential. If you are an undergraduate, talk to us about doing a Lead First REME placement as your Engineering Year-in-Industry.

  • Basic physical fitness assessment:

    • Mid Thigh Pull 76kg

    • Medicine Ball Throw 3.1m

    • MSFT (beep test) level 8.07

    More information about the fitness test

Training for the role

Step 1
Officer training is modular and consists of  four modules of two weeks each. This allows it to be tackled at your own pace. You can complete the first two modules at your nearest University Officer's Training Corps and the final two at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, or do the whole commissioning course in one go.

Step 2
You will study for two weeks alongside Regular REME engineers at MOD Lyneham in Wiltshire where you'll gain skills and experience in your platoon commander role. You then progress on to taking your 'Engineering Officer' competence that qualifies you to make independent battle-winning decisions and take responsibility for engineering operations.

Qualifications you could get after training

The experience you gain will enhance your own professional development; for example, you will be confident to cite your military leadership and communication evidence in support of Chartered engineering competencies C and D.

You will be rewarded with a management diploma (at no cost to you) when you study at the Defence Academy on promotion to the rank of Major.

You can also take advantage of the MOD 'Standard Learning Credit' scheme that gives you financial assistance towards courses and learning activities.

Pay & benefits

You'll get paid a day rate according to your rank, starting from £83.31 per day once you have passed Army Officer Selection and rising to £99.60 per day once you've commissioned as a Second Lieutenant. This includes being paid for weekly drill nights. Plus, if you complete all of your annual training, you're entitled to a tax-free lump sum called a bounty.

More about Reserve benefits

How to Apply

When you decide to apply, your local unit will help you through the process - you don't need to wait until you've finished Army Assessment to get involved.

To join, you have to apply online. The application process will take some time, but you can also ring the unit you're interested in joining - the team there will help often invite you to join them for drill nights, and you'll get support for your application.

More about the joining process