Senior Robotics Research Engineer

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 leads the way in realizing fusion energy, partnering with industry and research for groundbreaking advancements. Our goal is to bring fusion electricity to the grid, supported by tomorrow's power stations. In pursuit of our mission, UKAEA embraces core values: Innovative, Committed, Trusted, and Collaborative.

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 and the right to request flexible working from the start of your employment. 
• 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

Job Description

The salary for this role is £56,596 (inclusive of a Specialist Allowance). Onsite working is expected for 3 days each week, however, we actively support requests for flexible working. 

This role is based at the following site; Culham, Oxfordshire.

This role requires employees to complete an online Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS), including The Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) checks for criminal convictions and possibly a search of open source data.

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 Senior Robotics Research Engineer, you will play a pivotal role in providing expertise and leadership for research and technology projects, as well as contributing to developing the research engineering capability of the organisation.

Key Accountabilities:

• Act as an expert consultant in one or more technical or domain specialisms, advising projects, designing solutions in complex situations, and developing skills in others
• Leading and initiating external contracts or collaborations (or significant aspects of larger collaborations) forming and maintaining a professional network.
• Build relationships with internal and external partners to analyse and establish requirements, deliver projects, and define future collaborations
• Manage projects and other activities (including supervising the work of others) to ensure the aims are achieved with appropriate quality standards, timescales and costs and partners are kept informed
• Provide research advice and help to colleagues, including strategic aspects such as project scoping, technology choices, make vs buy decisions, sustainability planning
• Deliver projects to develop or improve/extend research over timescales of weeks to years
• Diagnose issues and design solutions considering full technical and human context
• Contribute to the development of the group or team by shaping processes and mentoring colleagues to set high standards in quality, culture, and practices
• Contribute to improving UKAEA’s research culture and practices
• Project management – leading mid-sized research projects or work packages of large projects and/or managing a portfolio of smaller projects and tasks and prioritising/allocating work for a team

Qualifications

Essential Requirements:

• Educational Background: A degree in a scientific, engineering, or technical subject (or equivalent experience), with a postgraduate research degree (i.e., PhD) or similar level of expertise.
• Technical Expertise: Strong knowledge in engineering design processes, robotics, and experience in developing experimental setups like test rigs or software.
• Project & Research Experience: Proven ability to lead projects, supervise or mentor others, and contribute across the full research lifecycle with a track record of high-quality publications.
• Collaboration & Communication: Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to communicate effectively and work with people from diverse technical and non-technical backgrounds.
• Innovation & Learning: Eagerness to explore and learn new technologies, initiate collaborations, and contribute to successful proposals or funding bids.
• Robotic manufacturing processes (e.g., laser cleaning, cutting, additive manufacturing, surface preparation, inspection).
• Radiation hardening or radiation-tolerant electronics.
• Machine learning (ML), artificial intelligence (AI), or digital infrastructure.
• Mechanical systems, including sensing, non-destructive testing, and actuation mechanisms.
• Dynamic modelling and systems identification.
• Control theory and intelligent control systems for manipulation or position control.

Desirable:

• Experience of on-site deployments or demonstrations of research.
• Experience of leading multi-organisational collaborative research activities.

Additional Information

A full list of our benefits can be found here https://careers.ukaea.uk/life-at-ukaea/employee-benefits/

UKAEA's mission is clean energy for all, and we welcome talented people from all backgrounds who want to help us achieve our mission.  We are under-represented from some groups and so want to encourage applications in particular from women in STEM, people from Black British Caribbean and African backgrounds and from Pakistani and Bangladeshi British backgrounds. 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 organization. We reinforce best practices in recruitment and selection and evaluate approaches to remove barriers to success.

UK Atomic Energy Authority is committed to being accessible. Please email talent@ukaea.uk if you have any questions or require help or adjustments to compete on a fair basis, for example, changes to the way we interview or share information.  

Please note that vacancies are generally advertised for 4 weeks but may close earlier if we receive a large number of applications.