Equipment Scientist

Abingdon Road, Culham, Oxfordshire
Full-time
Salary: £38,620 (inclusive of MPP) + excellent benefits including outstanding pension
Division: Materials
Site Location: UKAEA Culham, Oxfordshire
Confirmed Grade: Level 4
Department: Materials

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 realising fusion energy, partnering with industry and research for ground-breaking 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.

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 of up to 7% and a Relocation allowance (if eligible).
- Flexible working options, including family-friendly policies and the right to request flexible working from the start of your employment.
- Employee Assistance Programme and trained Mental Health First Aiders,
- Generous annual leave allowance starting with 25 days, plus 3 days Christmas closure and 2.5 privilege days, in addition to UK bank holidays.
- Wide range of career development opportunities.
- A vibrant culture committed to equality and being fully inclusive.

The salary for this role is £38,620 (including a Market Premium Payment (MPP).

Job Description

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

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 an MRF Equipment Scientist, you will play a pivotal operational role in the Materials Research Facility (MRF). Your role will be to enable research and experimental activities in the MRF, either alone or in a team, either with customers or as part of UKAEA research (sometimes in collaboration with universities and overseas research organisations).

You will enable the day-to-day running of equipment, conduct experiments using specialist scientific equipment, utilise scientific equipment to produce samples for further analysis, deliver training and oversee maintenance. You will participate in the acquisition, installation and integration of new equipment and in developing new materials testing techniques, as driven by customer requirements, appropriate to radioactive specimens in MRF’s hot cell and shielded room environments. Whilst there are focused areas of expertise, cross-training is encouraged.

Additional Responsibilities:

- Responsible for running some scientific equipment, operations, maintenance, and interacting with customers and service engineers.
- Work with external collaborators, including UK and overseas universities, public sector research establishments, and industries in fusion, fission, and other fields. These will often be world-leading institutions.
- Preparation of safety and training documentation, such as risk assessments, method statements, reports, testing and commissioning procedures, and operating instructions for scientific equipment.
- Work with other groups such as Engineering to deliver equipment integration and Technicians and Health Physics to deliver experimental work.
- Responsible for purchasing equipment and consumables up to £10k (but providing technical input to procurement projects in the hundreds of £k).

Qualifications

Essential Requirements:

- Degree OR higher education qualification OR HNC in a Physical Sciences related field such as Physics, Materials, Chemistry, etc. or equivalent experience.
- Practical experience with, and strong working knowledge of, techniques relating to at least one of the following areas:
- Microstructural: SEM, FIB, TEM, Raman Spectroscopy, X-Ray Diffraction.
- Thermophysical: TGA, DSC, MS, Dilatometry, Laser Flash Analysis.
- Mechanical: Micromechanical testing, Nanoindentation, Instrumented Indentation, load frame testing.

Desirable Requirements

- Masters or PhD in an appropriate field.
- Demonstratable experience working in an industrial setting, such as a laboratory, or in manufacturing.
- Experience working in a regulatory environment.
- Experience writing documentation such as: risk assessments, method statements, standard operating procedures, etc.
- Experience installing and commissioning new equipment and/or technique development.
- Experience working with hazardous materials.
- A track record of working with a range of characterisation equipment in addition to those listed above.

Additional Information

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 organisation. 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.