Senior Research Technologist

Job Introduction

Job Description for Senior Research Technologist:

NNL is where you’ll experiment to help solve global challenges. As part of our Waste Management & Decommissioning capability, your work will impact the lives of generations. By finding new ways to avoid, reduce, store and treat nuclear waste, and drive down the cost of decommissioning, you’ll help to deliver cleaner energy and influence our nation’s energy future. You’ll face new challenges every day, working in unique locations on ground-breaking projects. Whichever area you specialise in this is a place to do great science for a good cause.

A Senior Research Technologist with a rig scale experience is required to provide technical leadership for the delivery of programmes primarily for Sellafield Limited, leading smaller projects within larger programmes.

As part of our Waste Management & Decommissioning capability, your work will impact the lives of generations. By finding new ways to avoid, reduce, store and treat nuclear waste, and drive down the cost of decommissioning, you’ll help to deliver cleaner energy and influence our nation’s energy future. You’ll face new challenges every day, working in unique locations on ground-breaking projects. Whichever area you specialise in this is a place to do great science for a good cause.

This role is to provide support to task and project delivery within the technical capability of Characterisation and Effluent Rig Operations at NNL’s Workington Laboratory, with an emphasis on providing support to key plants across the Sellafield site. The individual will work closely with Technical Leads and other team members as well as with a range of internal and external customers and undertaking and supervising a range of non-active bench and rig scale experimental programmes. It includes operational leadership and guidance of others, solving complex problems, applying expertise in novel situations and working with Universities and PhD students.

Main Responsibilities for Senior Research Technologist:

• Operational and technical provision in the fields of effluent chemistry, materials characterisation and rig operations, working independently on difficult and complex projects with little additional support.
• Leads on the development of experimental work programmes and conducts a range of bench and rig scale experimental work, with a focus on troubleshooting during runs.
• Ensures technical quality of experimental work through best practice and regular consultation with Technical Leads, Engineering & Line / Project Managers.
• Takes responsibility for accurate records of work carried out and reporting of results as required.
• Establishes and develops strong collaborative relationships with customers, suppliers and other technical leads etc.
• Takes responsibility for training and development of self and other team members including the provision of coaching to develop the teams skills and abilities.
• Ensures all relevant safety and quality rules and procedures are applied by team members working on their projects.
• Leads by example and taking responsibility particularly with respect to safety and following up and escalating any issues.
• Actively contribute to the team’s improvement and assurance activities, identifying improvements in ways of working and implementing as agreed.

Essential Criteria for Senior Research Technologist:

• BSc in relevant scientific subject, e.g. chemical engineering or chemistry, or equivalent industrial experience.
• Relevant experience working at rig scale including the planning of experiments and interpretation of results to consistently high standards of safety and quality.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• The ability to effectively train, mentor and coach others within the team.
• Flexibility in dealing with changing workloads and experience of being flexible and adapting the approach to experimental work and reporting, according to customer requirements.
• 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 Research Technologist:

• Experience supervising others, leading on projects and programmes.
• Track record of successfully developing work programmes with customers.
• Pre-existing technical understanding of effluent management and waste characterisation in relation to nuclear applications.
• Demonstrates evidence of involvement with improvements in safety and lab operations.

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