Principal Physicist

We’re looking for a Principal Physicist to join our team at HCA at Guys, currently rated “Good” by the CQC. This is a fantastic opportunity to join HCA Healthcare as a Principal Physicist, supporting external beam and brachytherapy services on our London Bridge Hospital campus. Across our London sites, we provide scientific and technical support to a Radiotherapy service comprising four Truebeam linacs, a Gamma Knife, LDR prostate brachytherapy and Molecular Radiotherapy. There has been significant development and investment in the service, with a growing linac-based SABR service and the installation of an Elekta Unity MR‑Linac due to go live at The Harley Street Clinic in early 2026.

The Principal Physicist is responsible for the day‑to‑day management of their area of work and contributes at a high level to departmental and service line Legislative Compliance and Service Development. This role is an excellent opportunity to develop, commission, and implement new techniques in collaboration with colleagues across our central London network, and to get involved in all aspects of the clinical radiotherapy service.

• Act as a Medical Physics Expert (MPE)
• Provide scientific support for clinical oncologists, dosimetrists and the rest of the medical physics team.
• Be responsible for the development and commissioning of new equipment and techniques.
• Propose, lead and participate in research and development projects.
• Write comprehensive reports for new procedures, equipment and techniques, including commissioning reports and work instructions.
• Be appointable as a radiation protection supervisor (RPS), if necessary.
• Define and participate in the routine tasks within the department including QA, duty cover etc.
• Advise the Head of Radiotherapy Physics, Medical Physics Leads, and wider business.
• Provide professional support and training to Medical Physics staff, including clinical scientists and dosimetrists, manage the staff rota in their area of work and co‑ordinate physics activities with staff.
• Take ownership of all ongoing physics matters in their area of work.
• Be responsible for delegated radiation protection matters, ensuring compliance with legislation, organising RPA and EA audits and ensuring compliance with IRR, EPR and IR(ME)R regulations.

• Essential: HCPC registration as a clinical scientist in the field of radiotherapy physics. Able to submit an MPE portfolio within 6‑12 months.
• Desirable: MPE status. Able to act as an RPS. Experience with Eclipse treatment planning software, Aria OIS and TrueBeam linacs. Experience in LDR brachytherapy and Variseed treatment planning software.

As a Principal Physicist, you’ll be eligible for:

• 25 days holiday each year (plus bank holidays) increasing with service, with option to buy or sell leave to suit you.
• Private Healthcare Insurance for treatment at our leading hospitals.
• Private pension contribution which increases with length of service.
• Season Ticket Loan and Cycle to Work scheme.
• Group Life Assurance from day one.
• Critical illness cover.
• Enhanced Maternity and Paternity pay.
• Corporate staff discount for all facilities including Maternity packages at The Portland.
• Comprehensive range of flexible health, protection and lifestyle benefits to suit you.
• Discounts with over 800 major retailers.

At HCA UK we believe exceptional care starts with our people. We celebrate the unique perspectives and different experiences each of us bring as we know that when you feel seen, heard and supported you can be at your best for our patients, and each other. Our mission is simple, above all else we’re committed to the care and improvement of human life, a clear statement that extends to both our patients and colleagues. To achieve this, we live and breathe four core values:

• Unique and Individual: We recognise and value everyone as unique and individual.
• Kindness and compassion: We treat people with kindness and compassion.
• Honesty, integrity and fairness: We act with absolute honesty, integrity and fairness.
• Loyalty, respect and dignity: We trust and treat one another as valued members of the HCA UK family with loyalty, respect and dignity.

We believe everyone should feel comfortable to bring their full self to work and be afforded the same opportunities. As a Disability Confident committed organisation, we’re happy to discuss flexible working arrangements to suit your needs as well as offer reasonable adjustments throughout our recruitment process, and in the workplace, to anyone that needs them.