Senior Engineer - Plant

We are Rolls‑Royce SMR and we’re doing something that’s never been done before. We’re revolutionising an industry. That’s a once‑in‑a‑career opportunity for those excited by such a challenge. This is more than just a job; this is a legacy. The Performance & Analysis team is the centre of excellence within Rolls‑Royce SMR for the engineering analysis used to substantiate the performance and safety of the power station.

The team is responsible for developing the analytical methods, models and tools that underpin design decisions across the SMR programme. Through detailed performance, thermal hydraulic and engineering analysis, the team provides the technical evidence required to support plant design, optimisation and safety substantiation. The successful candidate will join a growing team who work across the entire power station, developing a whole‑plant understanding of how complex systems interact to deliver safe, reliable and efficient nuclear power generation.

As a Senior Plant Performance Engineer, you will lead the work of a sub‑team developing a standard suite of transient analyses reflecting both the duty and abnormal operation of all areas of our SMR. These analyses will be re‑run at intervals as the design progresses to track figures of merit, improve confidence in design performance and inform both system design and structural assessments.

Working closely with multidisciplinary engineering teams, you will ensure analysis activities are prioritised, delivered and governed effectively, providing timely insights that support design decisions, substantiation and optimisation. Through the interpretation of analysis results, you will advise design teams on improvements and opportunities that can be implemented as the programme develops. This is a unique opportunity to develop and apply a whole‑plant perspective, understanding how complex systems interact to deliver safe, reliable and efficient operation of a nuclear power station.

• Analyse the performance of the nuclear power station across the complete energy conversion system, including reactor heat generation, steam cycle conversion, cooling water provision and electrical power generation
• Deliver plant performance assessments aligned with key design iterations across the engineering function
• Validate plant performance assumptions and provide functional data to support subsequent design activities
• Support the development and substantiation of plant systems through high‑quality analysis
• Interpret analytical results and provide recommendations to improve plant performance and optimise design solutions
• Contribute to the development, validation and continuous improvement of analysis methods, tools and processes
• Support code verification, model validation and quality assurance activities
• Coordinate the work of engineers within your technical area and support delivery against agreed programmes of work
• Communicate analysis outputs clearly to technical and non‑technical stakeholders across the business
• Establish yourself as a technical point of contact for plant performance analysis activities

We know there’s no such thing as the ‘perfect’ candidate. If you meet around 75% of the criteria below, we’d love to hear from you:

• Performance Analysis: Experience applying a structured and methodical approach to engineering performance analysis
• Strong understanding of fluid dynamics and thermal processes
• Experience using industry‑standard fluids and thermal analysis software
• Experience developing and applying benchmark analysis cases and performance indicators
• Experience with thermal hydraulics tools such as RELAP, FLOMASTER or similar would be highly beneficial
• Development of Analysis Methods, Models & Tools: Experience developing analysis methods and models to support the robust design of complex energy systems
• Experience developing probabilistic analysis methods and tools
• Understanding of software development processes and quality assurance arrangements
• Experience of interdisciplinary model integration would be advantageous
• Quality Assurance of Analysis Codes & Methods: Experience verifying analytical models and…