Magnets Equipment Scientist

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.
• 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.
• Wide range of career development opportunities.
• A vibrant culture committed to equality and being fully inclusive.

The salary for this role is £56,596 (inclusive of a Specialist Allowance). Onsite working is expected for 5 days each week, however, we actively support requests for flexible working. This role is based at the following site; Culham, Oxfordshire. 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.

Are you looking for an exciting opportunity to make a difference? Join our team and contribute to the future of fusion energy. As a Magnets Equipment Scientist, you will play a pivotal role in undertaking materials science projects within this Materials Division as part of the UKAEA’s fusion research programme - either alone or in a team, often as part of collaborations with universities, industrial partners and/or overseas research organisations. You will determine the scope of work, then recruit team or project members where relevant, perform experimentation, report and present the results internally, but also through conferences and peer reviewed publications. In addition, you will provide project management, funding application and supervisory responsibilities as part of the role.

Key Accountabilities:

• Organise and coordinate short and long-term projects, arranging equipment availability, scope of work and resources for sample preparation, testing, modelling.
• Provide consultation to the magnets centre to ensure the delivery of centre of excellence within the UKAEA portfolio.
• Deliver high quality, novel characterisation capability in the field of nuclear materials through own endeavour and creative input.
• Compile and present results within technical reports and where required at scientific conferences and through publication of high-quality research articles.
• Build, and provide management to, a small team of material scientists and engineers, providing research direction and allocating them to projects as required.
• Complete all aspects of line management and support recruitment activities, where relevant.
• Lead in the characterisation of the materials required for operation in a fusion power plant, collaborating closely and building a network not just with internal stakeholders but with other fusion and GenIV partners in both academia and industry, relating specifically to magnets.
• Manage relationships with external collaborators (including universities, public sector research establishments and industry in fusion and related fields) in order to complement the UKAEA's internal capability and enable access to additional expert knowledge and facilitate new project proposals.
• Propose, secure funding for, and contribute to, delivery of novel projects and capability aligned with internal strategy (e.g. STEP, EPSRC, PhD, Masters placements, graduates).
• Represent the UKAEA at both domestic and international conferences, as well as at various meetings and functions as required.

Qualifications

Essential:

• Degree or equivalent experience in materials science, mathematics, physics, chemistry or related and relevant subject.
• Technical expertise in at least one of the following areas: Magnets and super conductors, Designing experiments around superconducting materials and related materials.
• Previous experience working in a laboratory environment / materials research group / experimental campaign.
• Ability to work well within a team and able to readily articulate complex technical information to both specialist and non-specialist audiences.
• Ability to deliver high-quality results to tight timescales.
• Fluent written and spoken English.

Desirable:

• PhD in materials science or related area.
• Prior experience of materials processing OR development OR analysis OR modelling OR qualification for an engineering application.
• Good understanding of nuclear environments and irradiation damage.
• Experience of high-resolution analytical instruments (XRF, TEM, STEM etc.) OR experience with Fortran / C# / FEA type models OR experience in engineering design codes.
• Strong publication track-record.
• Experience in preparing funding grant applications.

A full list of our benefits can be found here Employee Benefits. We welcome talented people from all backgrounds who want to help us achieve our mission. We encourage applications from under-represented groups, particularly from women in STEM, people from Black British Caribbean and African, Pakistani and Bangladeshi British, and other ethnic minority backgrounds, people with disabilities, and neurotypical individuals. Our Executive team, supported by our 'Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion' (EDI) and Wellbeing and our EDI Networks actively promote Inclusion and takes steps to increase diversity within our organisation. We reinforce best practices in recruitment and selection and evaluate approaches to remove barriers to success.

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

For applicants applying from outside the United Kingdom or those who have spent time outside the UK in the last five years, please visit the following link for information on criminal records checks: Criminal Records Checks for Overseas Applicants. If your country of residence or previous residence is not listed on the website or if the UK Government does not have information on obtaining a criminal records check from that state, we regret to inform you that we cannot process your application.