Senior Materials Engineer

The Role

Are you looking for an exciting opportunity to make a difference? Join our team and contribute to the future of fusion energy. As Senior Materials Engineer, you will play a pivotal role in undertaking materials science projects within the Materials Division as part of the UKAEA’s fusion research programme. Depending on the project, you may be working alone or in a team, often as part of collaborations with universities, industrial partners and/or overseas research organisations.

In this exciting role, you will determine the scope of work, recruit team or project members where relevant, perform experimentation, report and present the results internally, but also through conferences and peer reviewed publications. In addition to the general project management accountabilities, you will also act as the subject matter expert, advising on the technical aspects of projects relating to C&I, Remote Handling / Robotics, Electrical Systems and Functional Safety. 

Key Accountabilities:

• Organise and coordinate projects, arranging equipment availability, scope of work and resources for sample preparation, testing, modelling.
• Deliver high quality, novel characterisation capability in the field of nuclear materials through own endeavour and creative input.
• Compile and present results within technical reports and where required at scientific conferences and through publication of high-quality research articles.
• Build and provide management to, a small team of material scientists and engineers, providing research direction and allocating them to projects as required. 
• Lead in the characterisation of the materials required for operation in a fusion power plant, collaborating closely and building a network not just with internal stakeholders but with other fusion and GenIV partners in both academia and industry.
• Manage relationships with external collaborators to complement UKAEA's internal capability and enable access to additional expert knowledge and facilitate new project proposals.
• Propose, secure funding for, and contribute to, delivery of novel projects and capability aligned with internal strategy (e.g. STEP, EPSRC, PhD, Masters placements, graduates).

The salary for this role is £56,596 (inclusive of a Specialist Allowance). Onsite working is expected for 3 days each week, however, we actively support requests for flexible working. 

This role is based at the following site; Culham, Oxfordshire.

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.

Essential:

• A degree or equivalent experience in engineering or similar, ideally within the Nuclear or alternative high-hazard industry
• Technical expertise in at least one of the following areas:
  • Nuclear materials handling
  • Remote handling of small samples
  • Irradiation campaign preparation and support
• Previous experience of working in a laboratory environment / materials research group / experimental campaign.
• Experience articulating complex technical information to both specialist and non-specialist audiences
• Demonstrable experience to deliver high-quality results to tight timescales

Desirable:

• Experience in metallurgical preparation of materials
• Exposure to PUWER, DESIR, IRR and other machine certification /regulatory guidance
• Experience in technical project controls and documentation

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.