Mechanical Engineer (Innovation)

Abingdon Road, Culham, UK
Full or part-time
Salary: £52,293 (inclusive of MPP) + excellent benefits including outstanding pension
Site Location: UKAEA Culham, Oxfordshire
Confirmed Grade: Level 5
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 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
- 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.

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 Mechanical Engineer (Innovation), you will play a pivotal role in providing research, design, procurement, installation and support to plant required to support, confine and study the behaviour of plasma in conditions and dimensions approaching those required for a fusion reactor. These services are provided for existing plant at Culham, the JET Fusion Research Facility and the UKAEA’s domestic Fusion Research Programme MAST-U, extending to future fusion devices like ITER, DEMO and beyond, as well as H3AT and STEP.

The Engineering Realisation Group undertakes research and design projects for the development of novel solutions, as well as component and systems design and analysis, in support of the Central Engineering Department’s activities. This includes assessment of existing components as well as designing for future projects. The group also provides technical support to projects run by other Groups and Departments.

This role is an opportunity to drive projects that may cover low Technology Readiness Level concepts through Commercial-off-the-shelf products, to life extension of components/installations. This will involve collaborating with other organisations and will require good communication skills. A broad range of skills and experience is needed for these roles such as, but not limited to, thermal and structural design, plant engineering, design of experiments, manufacturing and joining, additive manufacture, synthesis of materials and magnetics and superconductors.

As a Mechanical Engineer (Innovation) you will collaborate with other departments & organisations, requiring good communication skills. You will be required to represent UKAEA on an international forum and participate in conferences and meetings both in the UK and overseas.

Additional Responsibilities:

- Use experience to provide state-of-the-art knowledge to UKAEA design engineers and technologists, recommending testing solutions as needed and drive development in areas of expertise.
- Contribute to planning, undertaking delivery and evaluation of allocated testing and prototyping projects that address the feasibility and optimisation of manufacture for complex components and assemblies and the effects of harsh environments on required component performance.
- Contribute prominently to the development and positive reinforcement of UKAEA’s knowledge base, design rules and practices in the area of manufacture, materials and testing.
- Work with external collaborators (including universities, public sector research establishments and industry in fusion and related fields) creating links in order to complement UKAEA's internal capability, offer access to additional expert knowledge and to facilitate new project proposals.
- Present completed novel activities at conferences and submit associated papers for journal publication.
- Supervision of relevant junior staff (e.g. graduates, apprentices) and PhD projects.

Qualifications
Essential Requirements:

- Degree or higher in engineering, physics, chemistry, technology or similar science.
- Demonstrated experience in the implementation of specialist science/engineering skills in R&D programmes.
- Background or experience in multi-disciplinary R&D programmes.
- Understanding of governance, H&S and compliance issues.

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.