Lead Project Engineer

Abingdon Road, Culham, Oxfordshire
Full-time
Salary: £63,856 (inclusive of MPP) + excellent benefits including outstanding pension
Site Location: UKAEA Culham, Oxfordshire
Confirmed Grade: Level 6
Department: H3AT

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 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.

Job Description

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.
- Employee Assistance Programme and trained Mental Health First Aiders.
- Generous annual leave allowance starting with 25 days, plus 3 days of 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.

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

Salary: £63,856.

The Role

The Hydrogen-3 Advanced Technologies Division (H3AT) is leading the delivery of tritium life cycle solutions for sustainable fusion energy, aiming to maximise the scientific and economic benefits as a result. In addition to delivering high-impact research and development programmes, H3AT is also responsible for designing, delivering, and operating cutting-edge tritium life cycle facilities.

The Technology and Innovation Groups within H3AT are research and development teams that pursue fuel cycle development. The focus of the team is on delivering research which supports the realisation of a commercially viable fusion fuel cycle.

Are you looking for an exciting opportunity to make a difference? Join our team and contribute to the future of fusion energy. As Lead Project Engineer, you will provide technical leadership and guidance on projects, driving innovation, and ensuring technical excellence across our organisation, identifying and utilising suitable cutting-edge technologies and techniques.

Additional Responsibilities

- Governance: Support and guide lead engineers across multiple experimental rig design projects as the Lead Project Engineer, sharing best practices, lessons learned, and efficiency improvements, improving the quality of engineering output before chief engineer review.
- Project Management: Support the entire project lifecycle from concept through commissioning and decommissioning, enabling the timely delivery of all milestones.
- Efficiency Improvement: Identify opportunities for standardisation across projects and improvements to business processes, and leverage a strong network to accelerate engineering activities.
- Technical Expertise: Possess in-depth knowledge of the technical aspects of experimental rig design and build and be able to troubleshoot and provide solutions to complex technical challenges.
- Technical Management: Understand the requirements of a gated engineering process, engaging effectively with authorising roles.
- Document Review: Review critical project documents, ensuring accuracy and completeness, and make necessary comments for clarity and compliance.
- Budget Management: Review project budgets and work towards cost-effective solutions.
- Schedule Adherence: Maintain a keen focus on realistic project schedules and highlight potential schedule issues.
- Risk Mitigation: Identify potential project risks and develop strategies to mitigate them.

Qualifications

Essential Requirements

- A relevant engineering degree or equivalent and experience in the delivery of complex engineering projects and/or programmes.
- Chartered Engineer status with a suitable professional institution.
- Strong technical knowledge and expertise in either Mechanical, Nuclear, Chemical or Process Engineering disciplines.
- Experience working in a collaborative, cross-functional team environment.
- Able to demonstrate excellent and adaptive interpersonal and effective communication skills at different levels.
- Ability to work independently and manage multiple projects and priorities.

Desirable

- Experience in the maintenance / or operation of a process plant or in a laboratory environment and handling radioactive materials or other hazardous materials.
- A basic understanding of radiological hazards.

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 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.