Year in Industry- Analytical Radiochemistry

Year in Industry Placement - Analytical and Radiochemist Salary £24,500 per annum plus benefits Location Aldermaston, near Reading Contract 12 months Start date 2 August 2027 Working pattern 9-day working fortnight

About AWE

What if you could work with remarkable people on extraordinary things? What if the end result was something a little bit special? What if your role was mission critical? For over 75 years, AWE has been at the forefront of nuclear weapons research and development. We have a critical mission: to provide the warheads for the UK's ultimate deterrent, Trident. We also use our unique skills to provide wider UK government with counter‑terrorism and nuclear threat reduction solutions. It takes a special sort of person to work at AWE. What if that person was you?

Role purpose

As a Radiochemistry undergraduate student, you will work with world‑class scientists in an exciting part of AWE that provides a wide range of analytical capabilities and expert advice to AWE, government agencies and external customers, while ensuring AWE meets regulatory and licence condition compliance requirements.

Placement opportunities

There are two placements available and you will be placed into one of these depending on your degree/modules:

Dosimetry placement

The Internal Dosimetry Services Team forms part of AWE's Dosimetry Service and supports the organisation's Approved Dosimetry Service. The team provides radiological analysis of bioassay and workplace monitoring samples to assess potential internal exposure to radioactive materials. The service supports regulatory compliance and contributes to the assessment and recording of radiation doses for workers.

You may gain exposure to liquid scintillation counters, alpha spectrometers, HPLC systems, furnaces, analytical balances and standard laboratory equipment including fume cupboards, pipettes, centrifuges and hot plates.

Radiometrology placement

This laboratory‑based placement involves measurements through gamma spectroscopy, liquid scintillation counting and alpha spectroscopy. There may also be opportunities to undertake modelling and coding. Training will be provided, so previous experience is beneficial but not required.

You will learn how the team interacts with stakeholders, including local teams with different expertise, the programmes that commission work, and how this connects to government requirements.

Entry requirements

We are interested in candidates working towards a degree in:

• Chemistry
• Environmental Science
• Physics
• Combined Chemistry and Physics

Before starting with AWE, you must be able to provide evidence that you have achieved a minimum 2:2 degree classification, or equivalent academic performance to date, by August 2026. Most importantly, we are looking for enthusiastic individuals who are keen to get involved in interesting research and tasks.

Behaviours and qualities

• Growth mindset: You are full of grit and determination, clear about where you are going and how you will get there.
• Curious: You love to think outside the box, and may even want to take the box apart.
• Innovative: You are open to learning about new technologies and ground‑breaking ideas.
• Resilience: You advocate speaking up for yourself and others openly and constructively.
• Team worker: You are dependable and reliable, and interested in collaborating with and supporting others.

Salary and benefits

£24,500 salary.

• A market‑leading contributory pension scheme.
• Generous holiday entitlement.
• Excellent work‑life balance.
• A 9‑day working fortnight, meaning you get every other Friday off work.
• Access to an employee discounts portal, offering everyday savings on leisure, hospitality and retail.
• Alongside these benefits, you will have the opportunity to learn from some of the top leaders in their field.

Security requirements

You must be a UK national holding a UK passport to be eligible to apply to AWE. You must have lived in the UK for 10 years to apply for Developed Vetting (DV) clearance for this role.

Inclusion and diversity

Our ambition is to create workplaces where we recognise and celebrate differences, encourage diverse contributions and enable employees to feel able to be themselves at work. We strive to create a genuine culture of openness and inclusion and encourage diverse applicants. Any inclusion information you provide will be used to encourage and support you through the application process and will be held only for this purpose in accordance with GDPR.

Additional context

If you’re looking for a role with excitement, intrigue and something that really makes a difference then now is the time to join AWE. We are at the start of a once in a generation – possibly two generations – programme to design and produce a replacement warhead for the UK’s continuous at sea deterrent. We will do this while continuing to deliver the Trident programme as well as managing ambitious state‑of‑the‑art capital and construction projects – some of which have never been done before. We are recruiting right across the business: from technical roles in engineering, science, manufacturing and industrial work to business roles in areas such as IT, project management/ controls, commercial, human resources and facilities management. We also have our Evolve graduate programme, or you may be interested in an apprenticeship with our award‑winning Skills Academy. What we do is vital to national nuclear security. Keeping our nation, everyone, our environment and everything around us safe and secure is a top priority for us. So, as you would expect, that brings with it a high level of safety and security that you will see across our sites and in how everyone who works here operates. We are always looking for high calibre people to join our team, so why not explore the opportunities we currently have on offer. Whatever stage of your career, AWE is an exciting and challenging environment to develop your skills and achieve your potential.