Process Engineering Group Lead

Process Engineering Group Lead

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?

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 realising 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
- 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
- 25 days’ annual leave, plus 3 days’ Christmas closure, 2.5 privilege days and UK bank holidays
- Wide range of career development opportunities
- An inclusive and collaborative workplace culture

For a step-by-step overview of how we hire from application to offer, please see our Recruitment Process page on our website.

Salary: £71,815, inclusive of a Specialist Allowance
Location: Culham, Oxfordshire
Working arrangements: Onsite working is expected for 3 days each week, with flexible working requests actively supported

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

The Role

As Process Engineering Group Lead, you will lead, develop and manage UKAEA’s Process Engineering Group, with ownership of the Process/Chemical Engineering discipline supporting programmes and projects across the organisation.

You will provide strategic leadership for the Group, ensuring the right capability, resources, processes and technical standards are in place to deliver high-quality engineering outputs. Working closely with senior project and programme leaders, you will build effective relationships and ensure appropriate engineering support is available to meet organisational priorities.

As a technical authority, you will provide specialist expertise and direction across complex plant and process engineering, advising on design solutions and critical operational issues. You will bring strong knowledge of chemical engineering, process safety, process modelling and simulation, alongside experience of hazard identification, risk analysis and process engineering documentation.

You may also lead the technical execution of large, complex projects involving UKAEA, external organisations, international collaborations and suppliers.

Key Accountabilities:

Technical / Professional

- Provide technical leadership and direction for major projects, acting as an authority and advisor for design solutions and critical plant operational issues
- Develop Process Engineering capability, capacity and skills to support UKAEA, the wider fusion community and supply chain
- Define, implement and continuously improve engineering processes, tools and best practice while maintaining high-quality technical outputs
- Act as a Technical Reference for the organisation within your areas of expertise

Project Management

- Lead the technical delivery of complex projects, including those involving international customers, collaborators and suppliers
- Make or facilitate critical technical decisions, ensuring design solutions meet performance requirements while effectively managing risk

People Management

- Lead resource allocation across the Group, ensuring suitably qualified and experienced employees are deployed effectively
- Build Group capability through recruitment, development, coaching and training aligned with organisational requirements
- Lead capability development and ensure employees remain current with relevant engineering techniques, standards and design codes

Essential Requirements

- Relevant engineering degree or equivalent
- Chartered Engineer status, or actively working towards chartership, with IChemE or another suitable professional institution
- Demonstrable experience leading technical teams, supervising staff and supporting professional development
- Strong working knowledge of chemical engineering, process safety, process modelling and simulation, with deep expertise in at least one area
- Strong understanding of hazard identification and risk analysis processes, including HAZID, HAZOP and LOPA
- Significant experience developing and assuring process engineering documentation, including process descriptions, P&ID, PFDs, calculations, specifications, datasheets and design basis documents
- Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, including working with external partners and multinational collaborators
- Ability to influence, coach and engage others across technical and project environments
- Experience prioritising work, allocating resources, and developing technical capability

Desirable Requirements

- Experience with environmental factors such as vacuum and transient magnetic fields
- Experience in scale-up of chemical processes
- Experience undertaking safety calculations, including pressure relief analysis and DSEAR assessments
- Experience across the full product lifecycle and the application of engineering processes and standards
- Broad knowledge of engineering processes, current standards and industry best practice

For a full list of benefits and to apply, select the apply button to be taken through to the UKAEA careers pages.

UKAEA’s mission is clean energy for all. We welcome talented people from all backgrounds and are committed to equality, diversity, and inclusion. We particularly encourage applications from groups currently underrepresented in STEM, while ensuring all appointments are made on merit.

UK Atomic Energy Authority is committed to being accessible. Please email us if you have any questions or require help or adjustments to compete on a fair basis, for example, changes to the way we interview or share information.

Please note that vacancies are generally advertised for 4 weeks, but may close earlier if we receive a large number of applications.