Senior Mechanical Engineer in Abingdon

Senior Mechanical Engineer

Overview of Responsibilities

Fusion 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 organisations to achieve ground-breaking advancements. Our goal is to bring fusion electricity to the grid by developing the power stations of tomorrow and the skilled workforce to deliver them.

About the job

Join UKAEA’s RACE team as a Senior Mechanical Engineer, where you’ll provide technical leadership in the design and delivery of advanced remote handling systems for fusion and non‑fusion applications. Working across multidisciplinary engineering projects, you’ll apply your expertise to solve complex engineering challenges, develop innovative robotic solutions and help deliver technologies that operate safely in some of the world’s most demanding environments.

We are looking for someone with experience in the design, assessment and delivery of complex electro‑mechanical or equivalent systems, including design management, team coordination, and design substantiation using hand calculations and finite element analysis.

What You’ll be Doing

• Lead and coordinate complex engineering projects, providing technical direction and specialist expertise in remote handling technologies.
• Design and develop advanced electro‑mechanical, robotic and remote handling systems from concept through to detailed design.
• Apply systems engineering principles to define requirements, verify designs and ensure successful system integration and delivery.
• Produce and review technical documentation, specifications and engineering designs, while setting standards, sharing knowledge and mentoring colleagues.
• Support the procurement, manufacture, quality assurance, testing, commissioning and maintenance of robotic and remote handling equipment.
• Collaborate effectively across multidisciplinary teams and, where required, supervise and develop technical staff.

What You’ll Bring

• Engineering council‑recognised mechanical engineering degree or equivalent experience.
• Experience in design and delivery of complex electro‑mechanical or equivalent devices/systems.
• Experience in managing designs and design teams.
• Experience in design substantiation analysis using hand calculation or finite element techniques.
• Competent in generating technical documents and specifications.
• Ability to work as part of a larger team or group.
• Desirable:
• Experience in using CATIA v5.
• Chartered Engineer or working towards chartership with a professional engineering institution.

Benefits

• Salary of £57,117 inclusive of a £5,800 specialist allowance.
• Up to 7% corporate performance bonus.
• Final salary defined benefits pension scheme with an equivalent of 21.5% employer contribution.
• 25 days annual leave, 2.5 privilege days and 8 Bank Holidays.
• 3 days of site closure over Christmas break.
• Flexible working options plus family‑friendly leave provisions.

Working Conditions

UKAEA is an onsite organisation, and this role requires regular onsite presence (usually between 3-5 days in any given week) in line with business needs. The role is based at the following site: Culham, Oxfordshire. Employees are required to complete an online Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS), the Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) checks for criminal convictions and possibly a search of open source data.

Our Commitment to Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility

UKAEA’s mission is clean energy for all, and we welcome talented people from all backgrounds to help us achieve this goal. We are committed to equality, diversity, inclusion and accessibility, and strive to ensure fair representation across our workforce. We particularly encourage applications from groups currently underrepresented in STEM, including women and people from diverse ethnic backgrounds. All appointments are made on merit. Further information can be found here.