Industrial Placement - R+D - Acoustics

Salary: £24,327

Duration: 12 month contract                                                                                                  

Start Date: 17th August 2026
Location: Based in Crewe, Cheshire, CW1 3PL.

Work Arrangement: Onsite

Entry Requirements: See ‘What we’re looking for’ section

Our Industrial Placement Programme:

As part of Bentley’s annual Early Careers intake, you’ll join a community of around 250 trainees including Industrial Placements, Graduates, and Apprentices.

During your placement, you’ll be based at our Bentley Campus "Dream Factory". Click here to visit our virtual tour. Alongside hands-on work experience, you’ll also benefit from:

• CSR and outreach activities
• Opportunities to participate in charity events, community projects, and social committees
• Masterclasses, development workshops, and social events
• Inclusivity networks and peer support groups
• Placements and rotations across different areas of the business that interest you

About the role:

As an Industrial Placement Student at Bentley, you will play a key part in Bentley’s journey to extraordinary vehicles for our customers. Based out of our state-of-the-art headquarters in Crewe, you will:

• Work alongside and be mentored by expert industry colleagues,
• Get a real insight into the thinking that underpins our strategy as well as the technologies, tools, methods and processes we use to design and develop these class leading attributes into our products from concept to SOP,
• Gain experience in a fast paced career in an important, interesting and challenging sector of an exciting industry!

Your main responsibilities include:

• Learning about how we set up customer relevant vehicle level targets and cascade these to system, subsystem and component level targets,
• Supporting powertrain engines with static and dynamic vehicle NVH test setup (instrumentation), data acquisition in our VSAC and on a tracker as well as detailed analysis and reporting,
• Supporting Sound Quality engineers with exhaust sound development activities to deliver new exhaust systems for 2 key new product developments,
• Supporting EV sound development activities- delivering dynamic driving sounds, AVAS and functional sounds aligned to the Bentley DNA Sonic Identity,
• Provide significant input into expanding our application of AI into our operations, in all phases of our projects- CAE, Data analysis and reporting, automation,
• Cross functional collaboration with the Powertrain Design as well as Electrical Engineering departments as design and development departments,
• As a fresh set of eyes and mind, contribute to continuous improvement.

About the Department:

The Acoustics Team are responsible for the delivery of all NVH (Aero-acoustics, Road Noise, Ride Comfort. Powertrain, Sound Quality. Squeak & Rattle. Powered Ancillaries) across the entire Bentley portfolio.

The Refinement and Sound Quality of Bentley products have always been some of our key class leading attributes, as they are highly sought-after and valued by our customers. As Bentley has now embarked upon its Beyond100+ strategy, with rapidly developing technology, landscape and market place, we must ensure we maintain our competitive advantage. This is becoming even more challenging than ever before as we transition from traditional internal combustion engine to electric motor propulsion, within a disruptive market place.

What we are looking for:

The successful candidates will be on track to achieve a 2:1 in the following degrees: Acoustics, Automotive or Mechanical Engineering, Physics subjects or similar

Skills required for the role:

• Strong analytical problem solving skills- comfortable with use of classical mathematics and common CAE tools,
• Practical experience of working as part of a team to deliver a significant complex project outcome is advantageous,
• Clear enthusiasm for cars with a practical knowledge of how they work and an understanding of and interest in the latest trends in emerging technologies,
• Working understanding and experience of AI and potential applications to engineering.

What we offer:

As an Industrial Placement you will have access to the following benefits:

• A starting salary of £24,327
• Support from our Early Careers team and 121 manager mentorship
• 35 days’ holiday inclusive of bank holidays
• 10% pension contribution with life assurance benefits
• Learning and development opportunities

Right To Work:

To be eligible for an Early Careers programme you must have a legal right to work in the UK for the duration of the placement or graduate scheme. We welcome students who have Settled Status, a Tier 4 Visa, or a Graduate Visa. We are unable to offer sponsorship for our Early Careers positions. 

#BelongingAtBentley
Motivated to be the most diverse, inclusive luxury car company, we are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where all individuals are respected, valued, and empowered. 

We firmly believe in equal opportunities for all, helping all colleagues thrive as their authentic selves and reach their highest potential. We believe that everyone, regardless of their background or beliefs, belongs at Bentley. Everyone is entitled to respect and dignity and we positively celebrate the differences between people.

Working at Bentley

To learn more about what life is like working at Bentley, and our assessment process view our Candidate Pack here.

Closing date: 14th November 2025.

We aim to progress to online assessments in December and offer by the end of the month.

Click here to view our FAQs.