Principal Engineer for the Engineering Authority

About the job

Principal Engineer for the Engineering Authority
Abingdon Road, Culham, gb
Full-time
Salary: £52,293 (inclusive of MPP) + excellent benefits including outstanding pension
Site Location: UKAEA Culham, Oxfordshire
Confirmed Grade: Level 5
Department: Office of Chief Engineers

Company Description

By 2050, the planet could be using twice as much electricity compared to today. Are you interested in contributing and helping to shape the future of the world’s energy? If so, read on.

Fusion, the process that powers the Sun and Stars, is one of the most promising options for generating the cleaner, carbon-free energy that our world badly needs.

UKAEA leads the way in realizing fusion energy, partnering with industry and research for groundbreaking advancements. Our goal is to bring fusion electricity to the grid, supported by tomorrow's power stations. In pursuit of our mission, UKAEA embraces core values: Innovative, Committed, Trusted, and Collaborative."

Job Description

Are you looking for an exciting opportunity to make a difference? Join our team and contribute to the future of fusion energy. As a Principal Engineer for the Design Authority, you will play a pivotal role within the ‘Engineering Authority’ strand of the Office of the Chief Engineer, which is a collective of engineering specialists and generalists.

The role is within the Plasma and Enabling Technologies team, whose portfolio includes:

- MAST-Upgrade, the UK’s national fusion experiment.
- Experimental rigs for STEP, an ambitious programme to design and construct a prototype fusion power plant.
- The Special Techniques Group, a precision material joining facility.
- The Fusion Technology Facility (FTF) in Yorkshire, which carries out tests on prototype components by replicating conditions inside fusion reactors, hosting projects such as CHIMERA.
- The National Fusion Technology Platform (NFTP), which aims to identify suitable fusion reactor materials and to develop tritium production processes.  

The role of Principal Engineer for the Design Authority will typically comprise of the following:

- Delegation as an Endorsing Authority for a variety of projects and/or smaller facilities
- Delegation as a Technical Capability Co-ordinator for a given discipline dependant on skill set (e.g., cryogenics)
- Support to senior members of the Engineering Authority as they discharge their delegations for ‘higher’/’highest’ complexity facilities.

In this dynamic and engaging position, each day brings an exciting blend of challenges and opportunities. You’ll find yourself right at the heart of innovation, supporting UKAEA in exploring uncharted territories. Whether it’s supporting a Facility Chief Engineer by reviewing a specific aspect of a world-first experiment that pushes the boundaries of a flagship tokamak facility, contributing to the design review of cutting-edge plant modifications, or ensuring the highest standards of technical quality in collaboration with our resident Technical Improvement Leader, you’ll be immersed in a dynamic environment that constantly drives you to expand your knowledge and skills. This role offers a diverse spectrum of experiences that are not only professionally rewarding but also integral to the evolution of our pioneering projects.

Additional Responsibilities:

In all cases, the technical advice and decision making from this role heavily shapes the expenditure of facility budgets, ensuring that financial resources are allocated efficiently and effectively to support the successful realization of ground-breaking projects.

Developing training materials for onboarding engineers to ensure they meet the expectations for technical quality.

Qualifications

Essential Requirements:

- A degree in a relevant discipline (or equivalent experience) 
- Membership of recognised professional body in a relevant discipline (or on a development path to achieve membership) 
- High standards with respect to delivering with quality and compliance.
- Clear drive for personal growth, organisational learning and continuous improvement.
- Some experience of the following, as demonstrated by track record (roles, responsibilities, projects, etc):
- Delivering and utilising complex industrial or research plant (e.g. process, oil/gas, nuclear) 
- Delivery across Plant Lifecycle (Need, Design, Build & Test, Commission, Operate, Monitor, Maintain & Modify, Decommission)
- Relevant industrial regulations, codes, standards and norms together with tailoring their application within a diverse business
- Experience working within and leading multi-disciplinary teams, to include several specialties from the following: Engineering Delivery; Operations; Safety Case; Machine / Plant / Asset Protection; Asset Management & Maintenance; Quality Assurance; Waste Management; Environment; Safety 

Desirable requirements:

- Some technical knowledge of one or more of the following:
- Disciplines: Process Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Materials Engineering, Physics
- Technologies: Magnets, Vacuum, Cryogenics, Heat Exchange, Nuclear Infrastructure (Shielding, Ventilation)
- Some experience of the following, as demonstrated by track record (roles, responsibilities, projects, etc):
- Technical Risk Assessment & Management for competing requirements (Reliability, Safety, Performance, Lifetime, ...)
- Delivery and exploitation of innovative engineering for research and development purposes, ideally leveraging personal skills or teams that have included: Project Management, Systems Engineering, Quality & Continuous Improvement.

Additional Information

As an employee of UKAEA you will benefit from:

- Outstanding defined benefit pension scheme, details of which can be found at the end of this advert.
- Corporate bonus scheme up to 7% and a Relocation allowance (if eligible).
- Flexible working options including family friendly policies.
- Employee Assistance Programme and trained Mental Health First Aiders, 
- Emergency paid leave, Generous annual leave allowance (30.5 days) increased with length of service,
- Wide range of career development opportunities
- A vibrant culture committed to being fully inclusive

This role requires employees to complete an online Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS), including The Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) checks for criminal convictions.

For a full list of benefits and to apply, select the apply button to be taken through to the UKAEA careers pages.

We welcome applications from under-represented groups, particularly individuals from black and other ethnic minority backgrounds, people with disabilities, and women. Our Executive team, supported by our 'Equality, Diversity and Inclusion' (EDI) Partner and Inclusion Ambassadors, actively promotes EDI and takes steps to increase diversity within our organization. We reinforce best practices in recruitment and selection and evaluate approaches to remove barriers to success.

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

For applicants applying from outside the United Kingdom or those who have spent time outside the UK in the last five years, please visit the UK Government website for information on criminal records checks. If your country of residence or previous residence is not listed on the website or if the UK Government does not have information on obtaining a criminal records check from that state, we regret to inform you that we cannot process your application.