Head of Materials Research Facility
UK Atomic Energy Authority
- Contract type
- Full-time/Permanent
- Location
- UKAEA Culham, Oxfordshire
- Closing date
- 25 Apr 2025
- Salary
- £87,038 (inclusive of Specialist Allowance) + excellent benefits including outstanding pension
The Role
Are you looking for an exciting opportunity to make a difference? Join our team and contribute to the future of fusion energy. As Head of Materials Research Facility, you will play a pivotal role in acting as the lab manager with strong outward-facing capabilities in the nuclear sector. You will implement new investments, provide direction and technical leadership to the team, ensure safe and effective utilisation and leveraging of MRF capability, enhance integration of the MRF with the broader UKAEA Materials Programme and deliver improved connectivity with, and relative positioning within the fusion laboratories community internationally.
Key Accountabilities:
- Manage the MRF Operations, with special responsibility for all nuclear aspects (including particular radioactive and tritium related protocols). The post-holder is supported by an experienced ATOH and specialists in radioactive handling processes, waste and transport, health physics, etc.
- Manage the MRF business, by coordinating multiple streams of funding from BEIS, EPSRC, The Henry Royce Institute, the National Nuclear User Facility platform, and several large ad hoc consortia grants. These need to reflect and be monitored in a working budget.
- Drive effective utilisation of MRF capability and capacity, utilising annual MRF Board and User Panel meetings to understand broader UKAEA and external stakeholder requirements.
- Position MRF within the global fusion community, ensuring a unique selling proposition relative to KIT, Juelich, Garching and the USA national laboratories. Sustain fission presence through UK catapult and Royce and NNUF networks and events. Maintain a strong working relationship with the UK’s National Nuclear Laboratory.
- Align the investment, commissioning and engineering activity with commercial and fusion strategic priorities (e.g. STEP programme delivery).
- Ensure MRF is fully leveraged by the NMI and MSE teams and widely integrated with Fusion Technology, H3AT, RACE and Tokamak Science materials characterisation specialists.
- Manage the MRF team via a facilities lead, engineering lead, active test work team lead, and project lead. Provide coaching and mentorship to ensure strong technical and line supervision through the structure. Performance manage via target setting, team meetings, job performance feedback and development activities.
- Represent the MRF and the Materials BU at the Operations Committee and PmPC respectively.
Qualifications
Essential:
- Proven experience in large team management
- Proven experience in budget responsibilities
- Proven experience in lab operations
- Well-developed leadership and communication skills
- Recognised leader in the Fusion community
- Science, Engineering or Technology PhD or equivalent experience
- Proven track record of building relationships, networks, and collaborations with industry and academia
Desirable:
- Experience in the handling of radioactive test samples
- Experience of working with tritium and beryllium
Additional Information
For a full list of benefits and to apply, select the apply button to be taken through to the UKAEA careers pages.
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 neurodivergent 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 UK Government website for information on criminal records checks. 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.
Benefits
As an employee of UKAEA, you will benefit from:
- Outstanding defined benefit pension scheme, details of which can be found at the end of this advert.
- Corporate bonus scheme up to 7% and a Relocation allowance (if eligible).
- Flexible working options including family friendly policies.
- 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.
What can I expect from the application process at UKAEA?
Once you have submitted a formal application via our website, all CVs will be reviewed shortly after the closing date of the advert.
- Submit online application
- Phone interview
- Face-to-face or virtual interview
- Other assessments
Company Description
By 2050, the planet could be using twice as much electricity compared to today. Are you interested in contributing to shaping 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 are at the forefront of realising energy from fusion, working with industry and research partners to deliver the ground-breaking developments that will underpin tomorrow's fusion power stations with the aim of bringing fusion electricity to the grid.
As we work towards our mission and goals, UKAEA has devised values that capture the spirit of how we work. These values include being: Innovative, Committed, Trusted and Collaborative.