Principal Technologist

• Salary: £71,815 (inclusive of Specialist Allowance) + excellent benefits including outstanding pension
• Division: ARC (RAICo)
• Site
  
  Location:
  
  UKAEA Cumbria
• Department:
  Operations and Technology

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.

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 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

The salary for this role is £71,815 (inclusive of a Specialist Allowance). Onsite working is expected for a minimum of 3 days each week, however, we actively support requests for flexible working.

This role is based at the following site:
Whitehaven, Cumbria

This 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.

We are looking for a Principal Technologist to act as a technical expert, providing leadership on complex tooling and equipment for remotely operated robotic systems used in nuclear decommissioning. You will work across the full lifecycle, including research, development, design, demonstration, and deployment.

You will support RAICo (Robotics & Artificial Intelligence Collaboration) by contributing to strategic development and leading the technical delivery of the Tooling and Equipment Focus area within RAICo. This includes managing engineering projects delivered by multidisciplinary teams and supply chain partners.

If you have strong interpersonal and communication skills, with a proven ability to lead and work effectively as part of a team, and a genuine appetite to learn and apply new technologies, we would like to hear from you.

• Develop, improve, and extend the design of tooling and equipment for nuclear decommissioning projects such as size reduction, decontamination, and contamination prevention, while ensuring quality engineering outputs and knowledge transfer across work packages.
• Provide expert-level design knowledge and technical leadership for robotic systems, coordinating integration with robotic and intelligent systems.
• Contribute to and implement the strategy for the Tooling and Equipment focus area within RAICo, managing procurement, commissioning, and system integration activities.
• Plan and deliver engineering projects, estimating effort, costs, and timescales, and ensuring outputs meet time, quality, cost and risk performance criteria.
• Act as a key technical interface and representative with internal and external stakeholders, providing mentorship and guidance to technologists, engineers, and project teams.
• Lead safe project delivery through the production of Work Control Packs and other safe systems of work, maintaining high standards across the tooling and equipment portfolio.

• A Master’s degree in Mechanical Design Engineering or a related technical discipline, or equivalent demonstrable knowledge and industry experience.
• Strong expertise in the design and development of tooling and equipment, ideally…