Senior Chemical Modeller

Job Introduction

Job Description for Senior Chemical Modeller:

This is where your skills play a critical role in keeping everyone safe. Working in Safety, Security & Safeguards gives you the chance to make your mark on some hugely interesting projects. NNL does work that nobody else in the sector is doing, and this means we need experts like you to make it possible, whilst keeping everyone safe. We’re committed to using nuclear science to benefit society for years to come. This means that you can build a long and successful career here whilst playing a meaningful role in delivering cleaner energy, reducing waste and keeping colleagues and the public out of harm’s way.

NNL has the purpose of “nuclear science to benefit society” which is supported by four focus areas: Clean Energy; Environmental Restoration; Health and Nuclear Medicine; Security and Safeguards. The Chemical Modelling team (CM) use computational modelling to address challenges within those focus areas, aligned to our purpose. 

Within the focus area of Clean Energy, we work areas including fuel performance for advanced nuclear reactors (advanced modular reactors) and areas including heat applications from nuclear systems. Projects include work to develop flowsheets for synthesis of hydrogen utilising nuclear energy and understanding the behaviour on nuclear fuel under irradiation. 

Within the focus area of Environmental Restoration, we use process models to support the decommissioning of legacy nuclear facilities, for example by supporting plants and technologies that store radioactive waste, treat wastewater, and immobilise waste, thus minimising its environmental impact. We develop chemical models to underpin these flowsheets for chemical plants supporting the clean-up and decommissioning of Sellafield site. 

Our capability is based on our ability to model chemistry across different length and time-scales (multi-scale modelling). Core capabilities include Density Functional Theory, Molecular Dynamics Simulation, thermodynamic modelling (CALPHAD and aqueous methods) and rate theory modelling. 

The chemical modelling team consists of a combination of scientists and engineers at graduate and PhD level. We are a vibrant team of 5 people, the majority of whom have less than 5 years industrial experience. In joining our team, the successful candidate will have the opportunity to work on a wide range of industrially relevant problems. 

Main Responsibilities for Senior Chemical Modeller:

• Supervise early career researchers delivering work for customers using chemical modelling methods.
• Lead on producing technical work scopes for projects in waste management, decommissioning and nuclear materials.
• Contribute to NNL research including helping develop new funding streams including UKRI.
• Deliver work to customers against a pre-defined schedule, agreed budget and to a high level of technical quality as defined.
• Report progress to team and project managers, flagging up issues and opportunities that arise when delivering the work. 
• Develop and maintain models including bespoke coding in scientific programming languages as required. 
• Carry out computer simulations as part of research and development activities. 
• Report findings to customers via technical reports. 
• Present work to customers and other external stakeholders. 

Essential Criteria for Senior Chemical Modeller:

• Chemistry or Materials Science First 1st degree. 
• PhD in related discipline including chemistry of materials. 
• Experience of thermodynamic modelling is essential.
• Experience of working in multi-disciplinary research teams is essential.
• Experience supervising early career researchers is essential. 
• Experience of writing technical report writing and/ or journal publications as first author.
• Ability to obtain SC level security clearance (this includes but is not limited to identity, employment, financial and criminal record checks plus 5 years’ worth of UK residency).

Desirable Criteria for Senior Chemical Modeller:

• Prior knowledge of the nuclear industry including the problems and challenges associated with reactor operations or nuclear decommissioning. 
• Strong academic track record on topics associated with the civil nuclear industry.
• Good mathematical background with knowledge of Statistics and or Machine Learning experience.
• Programming/ development experience with a scientific programming language (Matlab, Python, R, Fortran etc) is desirable.
• Experience of atomic scale or quantum mechanics simulation is desirable.

Why join us?

NNL isn’t just a place where you can do career-defining work that makes a real-world impact. It’s also a place where you’ll feel appreciated and valued. We’re creating an inclusive workplace where everyone is free to be themselves and feel like they belong. We put your wellbeing first, we push you to reach your potential, and we do everything possible to help you feel safe, supported and inspired.

We also offer a range of employee benefits:

• Sector leading Family-Focused Policies: celebrate life events, including enhanced maternity and paternity leave and a week off for your marriage.
• NNL offers attractive pension plans. If you contribute 5%, NNL contributes 15%. Alternatively, if you choose not to contribute (0%), NNL will still contribute 10%.
• Annual Leave: Benefit from 25.5 days of leave, plus 4 extra days to be taken during Christmas shutdown, plus Bank Holidays.
• Reduced gym membership with discounts of up to 25% from 3,700 gym and leisure providers across the UK
• Company Bonus: Be rewarded for your contributions.
• Learning Opportunities: Enhance your skills through excellent development programmes.
• Employee Assistance: Access support for personal and professional challenges.
• Cycle to Work: Stay active and eco-friendly.
• Life Assurance: Ensure peace of mind for you and your loved ones.
• Enhanced Sick Pay Benefits: Receive support during illness or injury.
• Access to ‘Mydiscounts’ which has a range of special offers and discounts from more than 200 suppliers, including medical insurance and dental insurance. 
• Health Care: Health savings plan which allows you to claim money back on visits to the dentist, optician and/or physiotherapist (limits apply).

About The Company

NNL is an incredible place to work. A place where people do things that have never been done before. A place where people push boundaries to further themselves, the business and society as a whole.

This is a place where personal and professional opportunities are limitless. If you want to change the world, if you want to tackle climate change, if you want to help advance medical science, if you want to help put things in space, if you want to answer the big questions, if you want to work with extraordinary materials, if you want to meet great people, learn new skills, challenge yourself, work flexibly, and build a long successful career with the power to make a real impact… you can do it all here.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

NNL has a vision for Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity (ED&I) where NNL aims to be an inclusive workplace that attracts diverse talent through transparent and equal policies and procedures. We want you and the diverse mix of people that we employ, customers that we service and stakeholders that we influence to feel valued. We encourage a workplace culture where everyone can thrive with a sense of belonging.

Recruitment Agency Notice

We operate a strict Preferred Supplier List (PSL) for the provision of recruitment services. Only agencies on our PSL may provide CVs and only when the role is released to them by our recruitment team. We will not accept unsolicited CVs from suppliers not currently on our PSL. We explicitly reserve the right to add candidate details from unsolicited CVs from non-PSL agencies into our own candidate database and to pursue/hire such candidate(s) without any obligation, financial or otherwise, to the agency concerned.

United Kingdom National Nuclear Laboratory