Defence is one of the UK's biggest employers, and it's growing. MOD expenditure with industry supported a total of 272,000 direct jobs in 2023/24, an increase of 11% compared to the previous financial year MOD supported employment estimates 2023/24, GOV.UK. That follows a run of growth the year before, when the total number of MOD-supported UK jobs reached 239,000 in 2022/23, an increase of 6% on the previous financial year MOD supported employment estimates 2022/23, GOV.UK.
More jobs means more long-life programmes to sustain. Ships, aircraft, radar and secure communications systems can stay in service for 30 years or more. Across that span, the components, chips and software inside them stop being made or supported. Managing that gap is now a discipline in its own right, and employers are naming it on job descriptions rather than leaving it buried in an engineering remit.
Obsolescence management is the work of spotting, planning for and replacing parts and technology before they disappear. In a 30-year platform, a single out-of-production microchip can stall a whole system, so someone needs to see it coming and plan the fix.
The role usually covers:
It sits between engineering and supply chain, which is why it's hard to fill. You want someone who understands the technology, reads commercial signals and communicates risk clearly to programme leaders. With a growing programme base behind it, as reflected in the 272,000 direct jobs MOD spending supported in 2023/24 MOD supported employment estimates 2023/24, GOV.UK, demand for that blend keeps rising.
Start by writing the role as a named one. If obsolescence management is hidden inside a broader engineering title, the people who do it best won't find your advert, and you won't be able to assess them properly. Give it a title, a clear remit and a reporting line into the programme.
Then widen the pool. The exact job title is rare, but the underlying skills are not. Look at component engineers, supply chain analysts, integrated logistics support specialists and systems engineers who have managed lifecycles on long programmes. Many will need security clearance, so factor clearance status and timelines into your plan from the first conversation.
Finally, test for the cross-functional edge. Ask candidates to walk through a real obsolescence case: how they spotted it, what options they weighed and how they explained the risk and cost to decision-makers. That tells you far more than a tick-box skills list.
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