Radiometric Scientist

  • Full-time
  • Salary: £36,397 to £38,620 (inclusive of MPP) + excellent benefits including outstanding pension
  • Site Location: UKAEA Culham, Oxfordshire
  • Confirmed Grade: Level 4
  • Department: Technology Department

Company Description

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 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.

Job Description

Who are we looking for?

Do you have a strong interest in solving nuclear technology challenges and have experience using, operating and calibrating radiometric instrumentation and associated pulse processing hardware? If so, read on! 

We are looking to recruit a Radiometric Scientist who has previous scientific programming/scripting experience to research, solve, assess and support some of the most important nuclear technology challenges that directly contribute to the development of fusion energy.

You will be an experienced user of radiation transport codes and will have a proven track record of project work involving the delivery of nuclear results and analysis. You will also have a familiarity with radiation detection methods and technologies. A perfect opportunity further your career within a fascinating industry, we are keen to hear from you! 

What will you be responsible for?

  • Contributing to, and at times, leading a range of scientific projects requiring the operation of radiometric equipment and diagnostics, experimental analyses and computational nuclear modelling
  • Supporting and leading technical work supporting fusion research and related commercial activities using nuclear analysis tools (e.g MCNP and FISPACT-II)
  • Carrying out experimental and modelling work to support the development and operation of nuclear instrumentation (including neutron diagnostics, activation foil-based detectors, and gamma spectrometry systems)
  • Supporting the development, testing and calibration of radiometric instrument hardware
  • Supporting the development of algorithms to improve nuclear measurement techniques and interpretation of data
  • Writing technical reports to support project work
  • Communicating and presenting progress regularly with staff, and with academic or commercial project partners
  • Participating in related work such as activation simulations, neutronics / activation code development and safety assessments

Please note that you may be required to work with ionising radiation at times as a non-classified worker under the ionising radiation regulations.

Qualifications

Essential skills, experience and competence required

  • A relevant physical sciences, mathematics or engineering postgraduate degree, or equivalent qualification, or vocational experience in a nuclear laboratory.
  • Experienced with use, operation and calibration of radiometric instrumentation and associated pulse processing hardware
  • Understands how to work safely in a nuclear laboratory environment and able to make recommendations to improve safety where required.
  • Excellent analytical skills and technical report writing abilities, with a confidence in presenting this information at meetings
  • Good interpersonal and communication skills
  • Self-motivated with a strong ability to work as part of a team and independently when required
  • Track record in delivering projects involving nuclear analyses with time constraints with little supervision
  • Scientific programming/scripting experience

Desirable skills, experience and competence

  • Knowledge and/or experience with: magnetic confinement fusion; CAD modelling software/tools; high performance computing
  • Knowledge and/or experience with analysis software such as Genie 2000, GammaVision or Isotopic
  • Knowledge and/or experience with Laboratory Integrated Management Systems
  • Experienced user of radiation transport codes, such as MCNP, and inventory codes, such as FISPACT-II

Additional Information

What we offer

  • A competitive salary  
  • A culture committed to being fully inclusive, supported by a Being Inclusive Strategy and Inclusion Ambassadors 
  • An Employee Assistance Programme and trained Mental Health First Aiders, with a full calendar of health and wellbeing initiatives 
  • Flexible working options including family friendly policies  
  • Emergency leave (paid) 
  • 30.5 days annual leave (including privilege days and 3 days between Christmas and New Year) increased with length of service 
  • Wide range of career development opportunities (e.g professional registration, internal promotions, coaching and mentoring programme)  
  • Outstanding defined benefit pension scheme  
  • Annual corporate bonus scheme  
  • Relocation allowance (if eligible) 

We welcome applications from under-represented groups, particularly from individuals from black and other ethnic minority backgrounds, including nationality and citizenship, people with disabilities, (visible and hidden) and women. Our dedicated ‘Equality, Diversity and Inclusion’ (EDI) partner, with the support from our Inclusion Ambassadors, is actively promoting EDI and taking steps to increase the diversity of our people through reinforcing best practice in recruitment and selection, and revaluating approaches where it is clear we can remove barriers to success. We are easily accessible by car and are a 10-minute walk from Culham Railway Station in Oxfordshire.

Please be advised that this vacancy is due to close on 5th of April . We may close earlier than this date if large or sufficient numbers of applications are received.

Please note all employees working at the UK Atomic Energy Authority will be required to complete an online Disclosure Certificate application as part of their clearance – The Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) checks will show the details of all current criminal convictions (convictions considered unspent under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974) or will confirm that there are no such convictions.

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