Senior Materials Engineer

Senior Materials Engineer
Abingdon Rd, Culham, UK
Full-time
Salary: £52,293 (inclusive of MPP) + excellent benefits including outstanding pension
Site Location: UKAEA Culham, Oxfordshire
Confirmed Grade: Level 5
Department: Materials (MRF)

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.

Salary: £52,293

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.

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 Senior Materials Engineer, you will work within the Non-Metallics Team within the Materials Division who are supporting the delivery of commercial fusion by:

- Engineering and scoping new material compositions and microstructures in pursuit of “fusion-grade” structural and functional systems.
- Modelling and experimentally-validating the ability for selected materials to survive the anticipated fusion environment.
- Maintaining the Materials Research Facility, a national user facility for the advanced characterisation of radioactive materials.

This role will involve leading a project on neutron shielding materials. The primary focus of the role will be to leverage national UK facilities to design, plan and conduct irradiation experiments on non-metallic materials and to perform characterisation to understand degradation mechanisms and their effects on structural and functional performance. Previous experience of neutron, proton and/or ion irradiation experiments is preferable.

Additional Responsibilities

- Broad-scope project management and strategic planning.
- Liaising with commercial suppliers to source materials for experimentation.
- Understanding and supporting the needs of various teams across multiple divisions.
- Operation of advanced equipment for characterising irradiation damage in materials.
- Delivery of technical and scientific outputs (papers, posters and reports).
- Presenting results at conferences, both domestically and internationally.
- Writing and co-authorship of proposals to fund internal and/or external research activities.
- Technical leadership and co-supervision of part-funded PhDs, graduate, and undergraduate projects.
- Exploiting skills and knowledge to support the activities of the wider non-Metallics team.

Qualifications

Essential Requirements

- A degree or equivalent experience in materials science, engineering, metallurgy or a related and relevant subject.
- Technical expertise in at least one of the following areas: Metallics (steels, alloys), Non-metallics (ceramics, CERMETS, composites, coatings, magnets), Microstructural analysis / design / modelling, Mechanical / corrosion testing OR Materials fabrication / processing.
- Previous experience of working in a laboratory environment / materials research group / experimental campaign.
- Ability to work well within a team and able to readily articulate complex technical information to both specialist and non-specialist audiences
- Proficiency in delivering high-quality results within tight timescales.

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.

Job Type: Permanent

Salary: £52,293.00 per year

Benefits:

• Company pension

Schedule:

• Monday to Friday

Supplemental pay types:

• Bonus scheme

Work Location: In person

Reference ID: REF2217U