Senior Engineer in Thurso

NRS Dounreay is looking for three Senior Engineers to provide technical leadership and oversight across key projects and programmes. You will play a vital role in delivering safe, high-quality engineering solutions while supporting project delivery within a complex and regulated environment.

Several exciting Senior Engineer opportunities have arisen within the Reactors Programme Engineering Team at Dounreay. These site-based roles support the facility engineering function across the Dounreay Fast Reactor (DFR) and Prototype Fast Reactor (PFR) facilities, as well as the central facility engineering support team. Successful candidates will act in a Technical Authority capacity, ensuring the ongoing engineering integrity, safety, compliance, and performance of plant and infrastructure.

Reporting to the Facility Principal Engineer, Senior Engineers will provide technical advice to Senior Operations Managers, supporting facility availability, reliability, and maintainability through effective management of plant status, maintenance trends, defects, and obsolescence.

Key Responsibilities Include:

• Maintaining engineering oversight for assigned facilities, ensuring they remain safe, compliant, operational, and fit for purpose throughout their lifecycle, including decommissioning.
• Conducting facility walkdowns and identifying, raising, and tracking corrective actions.
• Monitoring and supporting maintenance activities, minor upgrades, and engineering improvements.
• Managing engineering activities to meet cost, schedule, quality, and compliance requirements.
• Leading and approving engineering tasks and supporting larger project modifications.
• Ensuring engineering records are accurate, current, and auditable.
• Integrating engineering activities with facility safety cases and long-term operational plans.
• Overseeing review, commissioning, and handover processes for facility modifications to maintain plant integrity and safety.

Candidates will be expected to maintain broad engineering knowledge across relevant disciplines and ensure all activities are delivered in accordance with applicable standards, procedures, and engineering governance requirements.

Who are we looking for?

We're seeking motivated Senior Engineers with strong technical expertise and experience delivering engineering projects within a regulated environment.

To Be Successful, You Should Have:

• A degree in Engineering or equivalent qualification/experience.
• Excellent proven knowledge of all stages of the engineering lifecycle.
• Good working knowledge and proven experience in Plant and facility Modifications.
• Extensive facility engineering experience in a highly regulated environment.
• Good ability to interact with all areas of the programme, facility operations, safety case, different disciplines, etc.
• Post specific physical capability analysis assessment.

Why Join NRS Dounreay?

• Play an integral role in a critical national programme.
• Contribute to the safe and effective delivery of complex decommissioning activities.
• Help uphold the highest standards of health, safety, environment, and quality.
• Make a direct impact on protecting people, the environment, and site infrastructure.
• Benefits such as; 13.5% employer pension contribution, 28 days annual leave + bank holiday, Company bonus scheme, Flexible working, Relocation assistance, Excellent flexible benefits & healthcare options.

Interviews are expected week commencing Monday 5th of October 2026. Please note we may close this vacancy early if we receive a high volume of applications, so we encourage early application. If you require any adjustments during the recruitment process, please contact: careers@dounreay.nrservices.uk

Please note: All successful candidates who do not already hold security clearance will need to provide proof of identity, eligibility to work in the UK, and employment/education history (typically covering the last 3–5 years) in line with NRS Baseline Security requirements. Some roles may also require full Security Clearance, which involves additional checks. For details, please refer to the Defence Business Services National Security Vetting (DBS NSV) guidance.