Principal Mechanical Engineer - Microwave Engineering

Principal Mechanical Engineer - Microwave Engineering

• Full-time
• Salary: £71,815 (inclusive of Specialist Allowance) + excellent benefits including outstanding pension
• Division:
  Integrated Engineering
• Department:
  Fusion Engineering
• Compensation: up to GBP 71815 - yearly

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.

• 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 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.
• A vibrant culture committed to equality and being fully inclusive
  .

Additional salary details: £71,815 (inclusive of Specialist Allowance) + excellent benefits including outstanding pension. Onsite working is expected for 3 days a week, however, we actively support requests for flexible working.

The role is based in Culham, Oxfordshire
.

The role requires employees to complete an online Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) including The Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) checks for criminal convictions and possibly a search of open source data.

This role is based in the Engineering Future Projects Group, where you will be deployed into the pioneering Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP) Programme. As a Principal Mechanical Engineer within STEP, you will lead the mechanical design, integration, and delivery of cutting‑edge microwave-based fusion plasma heating and current‑drive systems. You will act as a senior technical authority, shaping mechanical architecture, driving innovation and ensuring robust performance under extreme loads.

Working at the forefront of UK engineering, you will guide multidisciplinary teams, influence programme‑level decisions, and take novel concepts from early R&D through detail design and manufacture – directly contributing to the UK’s mission to deliver commercially viable fusion energy.

• Lead the design and delivery of major fusion sub-systems, from concept through to detailed design, supporting UKAEA facilities and future programmes.
• Take responsibility for technical project delivery, including planning, resource coordination and risk management, working with multidisciplinary teams and external partners.
• Define and deliver technical strategy within Microwave Heating & Current Drive and related technologies, ensuring alignment with organisational priorities.
• Identify capability gaps and lead targeted research and development activities to reduce risk and enhance engineering performance.
• Apply systems engineering principles to develop robust design solutions, including requirements definition, interface management and trade‑off analysis.
• Oversee the progression of designs through manufacture, installation and commissioning, including procurement and contract management, ensuring compliance with relevant standards.
• Provide technical leadership and assurance, including mentoring and developing colleagues, reviewing technical outputs and representing UKAEA in external collaborations.

• Manage projects or responsible contracts up to a value of £2M.
• Manage multi-disciplinary project teams including, for example, large project teams of:
  • Engineers at all levels.
  • Staff with technical…