Electrical Design Group Leader

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

The salary for this role is £70,505 (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  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 real difference? Join UKAEA and help shape the future of fusion energy as our Electrical Design Group Leader. In this pivotal role, you will lead a team of electrical design engineers responsible for delivering key projects and services across UKAEA’s programmes. With strategic vision, technical leadership, and a breadth of expertise, you will ensure high-quality, timely, and cost-effective delivery. You will also drive the development of technical design standards and utilisation of electrical CAD tools to support a robust and consistent approach across the organisation.

As part of the Electrical Engineering Unit you will support the delivery of the Unit’s project portfolio ranging from control & instrumentation and LV distribution to HV distribution and pulsed power supplies.

As Group Leader, you’ll grow and promote the Unit’s electrical design capabilities, harmonise technical functions to embed a collaborative ‘one-team’ design culture, and manage the Group’s activities, including full line management responsibilities. This is a unique opportunity to make a lasting impact in a highly innovative environment working at the forefront of clean energy development.

If you’re passionate about leading a forward-thinking and accessible Electrical Design Group, strategically guiding it to ensure its services remain relevant and impactful, while proactively building strong relationships across key engineering domains such as manufacturing, assembly, inspection, and commissioning to foster a true ‘one team’ approach, and are committed to growing capabilities beyond CAD to deliver robust, analytically justified design solutions, then we’d love to hear from you.

Key Accountabilities:

• Plan and allocate resources effectively by understanding current and future commitments, supporting financial planning for the Unit and its customers.
• Recruit, lead, and develop Team Leaders while upskilling the wider design team in emerging tools and practices.
• Implement and maintain BS/ISO/IEC standards, ensuring UKAEA’s design outputs are internationally recognised and represented.
• Oversee and optimise the Electrical CAD portfolio, and drive the introduction of efficient, standardised design processes.
• Report regularly to management, engage with stakeholders, and address challenges to ensure smooth day-to-day operations and high service levels.

Essential

• A degree in Electrical/Electronic Engineering, or a related discipline, and relevant professional experience in an electrical/electronic engineering role. Or an HND in an Electrical/Electronic discipline, or equivalent qualification level, with a greater breadth and depth of experience/knowledge.
• Proven ability to manage a large team delivering a diverse portfolio for multiple customers.
• Experience implementing new and improved ways of working within an engineering design environment.
• High level of familiarity with BS/ISO/IEC standards as applicable to engineering design.
• Experience developing products using Electrical CAD applications.

Desirable

• Experience working within a scientific research and development environment.

• Professional registration with an engineering institute.

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 [email protected] 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.