Principal Technologist

The salary for this role is £71,815 (inclusive of a Specialist Allowance). Onsite working is expected for a minimum of 3 days each week, however, we actively support requests for flexible working. 

This role is based at the following site:  Whitehaven, Cumbria

This role requires employees to complete an online Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS), including The Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) checks for criminal convictions and possibly a search of open source data. 

The Role

We are looking for a Principal Technologist to act as a technical expert, providing leadership on complex tooling and equipment for remotely operated robotic systems used in nuclear decommissioning. You will work across the full lifecycle, including research, development, design, demonstration, and deployment.

You will support RAICo (Robotics & Artificial Intelligence Collaboration) by contributing to strategic development and leading the technical delivery of the Tooling and Equipment Focus area within RAICo. This includes managing engineering projects delivered by multidisciplinary teams and supply chain partners.

If you have strong interpersonal and communication skills, with a proven ability to lead and work effectively as part of a team, and a genuine appetite to learn and apply new technologies, we would like to hear from you.

Key Accountabilities:

• Develop, improve, and extend the design of tooling and equipment for nuclear decommissioning projects such as size reduction, decontamination, and contamination prevention, while ensuring quality engineering outputs and knowledge transfer across work packages.

• Provide expert-level design knowledge and technical leadership for robotic systems, coordinating integration with robotic and intelligent systems.

• Contribute to and implement the strategy for the Tooling and Equipment focus area within RAICo, managing procurement, commissioning, and system integration activities.

• Plan and deliver engineering projects, estimating effort, costs, and timescales, and ensuring outputs meet time, quality, cost, and risk performance criteria.

• Act as a key technical interface and representative with internal and external stakeholders, providing mentorship, and guidance to technologists, engineers, and project teams.

• Lead safe project delivery through the production of Work Control Packs and other safe systems of work, maintaining high standards across the tooling and equipment portfolio.

Essential:

• A Master’s degree in Mechanical Design Engineering or a related technical discipline, or equivalent demonstrable knowledge and industry experience.
• Strong expertise in the design and development of tooling and equipment, ideally with applications in robotics or remote handling systems.
• Proven experience delivering engineering solutions in complex environments.
• Demonstrable experience in producing Work Control Packs and implementing safe systems of work to support safe project delivery.
• Significant industry experience in engineering or a closely related field, including responsibility for planning and delivering projects to time, cost, quality, and risk requirements.
• Experience engaging and managing a range of internal and external stakeholders, acting as a technical interface and trusted advisor.
• Solid understanding of robotics and/or remote handling technologies, including their integration into engineered systems.

Desirable:

• Experience designing or deploying tooling and robotic solutions for size reduction, decontamination, or operations in challenging or constrained environments.
• Knowledge or experience of robotic applications within the nuclear sector or similarly regulated industries.
• Understanding of the technical and operational challenges associated with nuclear decommissioning.
• Membership of a relevant Professional Engineering Institution and/or Chartered Engineer status (or working towards it).

A full list of our benefits can be found here https://careers.ukaea.uk/life-at-ukaea/employee-benefits/

UKAEA’s mission is clean energy for all, and we welcome talented people from all backgrounds to help us achieve this goal. We are committed to equality, diversity, and inclusion and strive to ensure fair representation across our workforce. We particularly encourage applications from groups currently underrepresented in STEM, including women and individuals from diverse ethnic backgrounds, while ensuring all appointments are made on merit.

UK Atomic Energy Authority is committed to being accessible. Please email [email protected] if you have any questions or require help or adjustments to compete on a fair basis, for example, changes to the way we interview or share information.  

Please note that vacancies are generally advertised for 4 weeks but may close earlier if we receive a large number of applications.