Lead Manufacturing Engineer in Abingdon

Tokamak Energy is a global leader in fusion energy and HTS technologies. We work with governments and industry to develop and bring fusion and HTS solutions to market through innovation and strategic partnerships, with end-to-end capability in HTS systems from design to manufacturing. We are the Magnet Systems Partner for the UK Government's STEP Fusion programme, under a £70 million contract running to 2029, delivering HTS magnet systems for the STEP prototype power plant and contributing to tokamak systems and plasma integration.

Founded in 2009 as a spin-out from the UK Atomic Energy Authority, Tokamak Energy is headquartered in Oxfordshire, with subsidiaries in the United States and Japan. Today, we employ over 300 people and have secured more than £280 million in investment.

We operate through three divisions:

• Fusion - Fusion energy technologies, expertise and testbeds for government and private fusion programmes, including ST40, the world’s highest field spherical tokamak.
• TE Magnetics - HTS systems for commercial applications including fusion energy, power distribution, life sciences, and propulsion.
• Ridgway Machines - Manufacturing equipment for the superconducting, electrical and wider energy sectors, enabling the rapid industrialisation of HTS products.

The TEM is a new structure within Tokamak Energy. We want to usher in the HTS era. As a Lead manufacturing engineer, you will lead development, implementation, improvement and automation of magnets manufacturing processes within MBU. You will play a pivotal role in our manufacturing operations, ensuring efficient production processes, adherence to quality standards, and timely project completion. You will work closely with the R&D, technical, design, safety and quality teams with a focus on achieving a robust, reliable and scalable manufacturing model.

In this role, you will:

• Lead development of new HTS coil manufacturing and assembly processes focusing on design to manufacture.
• Support design and development of new manufacturing tooling and machinery from concept to commissioning.
• Lead continuous improvement of existing manufacturing processes to ensure it can accommodate both custom and scalable production as well as achieve required repeatability and reproducibility.
• Collaborate with the R&D, Design and modelling teams to transition innovations into production-ready processes.
• Oversee and assess new and existing processes and workflows.
• Organise and oversee manufacturing team day-to-day workflow.
• Transition R&D concept design and manufacturing processes into repeatable production-ready state.
• Ensure risk assessments are in place and being followed.
• Ensure process and material traceability is in place and relative procedures are being followed.
• Analyse and interpret data to drive decision making and continuous improvement.
• Troubleshoot and resolve technical issues during development and manufacturing phases.

Requirements:

• Degree in Manufacturing / Mechanical Engineering or appropriate experience and proven track record of manufacturing process development.
• Experience in manufacturing tooling design, build and commissioning.
• Proven leadership experience in an engineering environment (e.g., Team Leader or Supervisor).
• Experience of working with superconducting materials and coil winding tooling.
• Mentor, coach and develop more junior members of the team in order to develop overall capability.
• Great communication skills (both oral and written) with the ability to report project status, issues and plans concisely and effectively in different forums.
• Adaptable and resilient, with the ability to deal with ambiguity.
• Proactive, energetic and delivery focused, with good problem-solving skills.

Salary range up to £60,000 dependent on skills and experience and will be discussed from the outset. Benefits include:

• 25 days holiday + bank holidays, plus discretionary festive shutdown.
• Performance-led rewards including discretionary bonus, innovation and merit schemes.
• Share options – a stake in our future success.
• Pension and comprehensive financial protection package including death in service and critical illness cover.
• Health and wellbeing support, including cash plan and 24/7 assistance.
• Ongoing investment in your growth with training and career progression.

Be part of world-changing innovation in Fusion Energy.