Engineering Lead, Systems Engineer, Mechanical Engineer

Engineering Lead Overview

The salary for this role is £71,815 (inclusive of a Specialist Allowance). Onsite working is expected for 5 days a week. This role can be based at any of the following sites:
Culham, Oxfordshire with occasional travel. Employees must complete an online Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS), including Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) checks for criminal convictions and possibly a search of open source data.

• Lead the engineering capability and delivery of active materials equipment within the Materials Research Facility, ensuring effective resource management, delivery against research priorities, budget control, robust governance, legislative compliance, and machine certification in alignment with the Office of the Chief Engineer.
• Deliver innovative, high‑impact engineering solutions that enable safe, reliable, and world‑leading preparation and research of active materials, applying appropriate Systems Engineering principles, tools, and processes throughout the design and delivery lifecycle.
• Lead engineering support for major UK Atomic Energy Authority programmes, including the Joint European Torus and Hydrogen‑3 Advanced Technology programmes, ensuring alignment with programme objectives, technical requirements, and delivery schedules while maximising engineering capability across the organisation.
• Provide effective stakeholder engagement and reporting to senior leadership, external users, research partners, and key funding organisations, communicating engineering progress, risks, opportunities, and performance.
• Drive effective management and value realisation of engineering assets through resource planning, performance reporting, and collaboration with Finance and other relevant stakeholders.
• Uphold the highest standards of engineering integrity, technical rigour, safety and professional judgement, ensuring robust technical decisions and maintaining the organisation’s reputation as a leading research and engineering institution.
• Lead, develop and inspire a high‑performing engineering team by fostering innovation, collaboration, knowledge sharing and continuous improvement, expanding capability to support world‑leading experimental research on irradiated materials.

£71,815 (inclusive of Specialist Allowance) plus excellent benefits including an outstanding pension scheme.

• Degree‑qualified (or equivalent) in an engineering discipline with a proven track record of delivering complex, multidisciplinary technical projects.
• Strong systems engineering expertise, with the ability to lead and integrate design activities across mechanical, electrical and electronic engineering disciplines.
• Experience with CE/UKCA certification requirements, ideally including machine certification.
• Proven leadership experience, with the ability to motivate, develop and foster a collaborative, solution‑focused engineering team.
• Strong project management skills, including resource planning, delivery to agreed timelines, scope management and risk awareness.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Adaptable and resilient, with the ability to respond effectively to changing priorities while minimising impact on technical delivery.

• Chartered Engineer or equivalent level of professional engineering experience.
• Experience in radiological environments, including hot‑cell facilities or the nuclear sector.
• Expertise in manipulator tooling, pick‑and‑place robotics, shielding design and equipment separation to protect sensitive components; relevant qualifications or specialist expertise are desirable.
• Proven experience delivering engineering solutions across the full project lifecycle, from requirements capture through to commissioning and handover.
• Strong track record of applying Systems Engineering principles to the delivery of complex, multidisciplinary engineering projects.

Department:
Materials (MRF)

Site: UKAEA Culham, Oxfordshire

Type of Employment:
Full‑time

Reference Number: REF
4322C

UK Atomic Energy Authority is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion and invites applications from groups underrepresented in STEM, including women and individuals from diverse ethnic backgrounds, while ensuring all appointments are made on merit.

UK Atomic Energy Authority is committed to being accessible. If you require adjustments or have questions, please email  Vacancies are generally advertised for four weeks but may close earlier if we receive a large number of applications.