Dave joined the MOD civil service in 1983 as a Sea systems Technician Apprentice. Following his degree he moved to Submarine Sonars, Land and Joint Training Equipment, the Voyager aircraft, Armoured Vehicle Support working in various Project Management or Commercial roles. He inter-dispersed this with a number of overseas support-to-operations deployments including a secondment to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and a NATO mission.

David has also worked as the Defence Equipment and Support head of the Project Management function and Ships Head of Performance Improvement. His current role includes leading and coordinating Ships Category Management.