Associate Director - Nuclear Safety

Tetra Tech Europe; Basingstoke; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Tetra Tech Europe leads the UK nuclear safety consultancy space, delivering safety cases and critical engineering assurance across a varied portfolio. This Associate Director role combines technical authority with strategic leadership, guiding complex projects and shaping high-stakes decisions within a highly regulated environment.

You will manage multidisciplinary teams, mentor talent, and drive business growth through client engagement and opportunity identification, with career progression

Qualifications

• Degree in engineering or a scientific discipline with substantial nuclear sector experience.
• Experience leading multidisciplinary teams in regulated, safety-critical environments.
• Chartered status, or progression towards it, is advantageous.

Responsibilities

• Lead and deliver complex safety case projects and associated analyses.
• Strategic leadership of a high-value project portfolio across defence, decommissioning and energy generation.
• Engage with regulators and clients to secure approvals and strengthen partnerships.
• Prepare, review and assure technical reports and safety documentation.

Skills

Nuclear safety leadership

Regulatory compliance

Strategic program delivery

Client engagement

People management

Education

Engineering or scientific degree

Chartered engineer status (or progression towards it)

Job description

Lead the Future of Nuclear Safety

Join a role where technical authority meets strategic leadership. This is an opportunity to shape complex, safety-critical projects across the UK’s nuclear landscape, influencing high-impact decisions and driving excellence in safety case delivery within a highly regulated environment.

Purpose & Scope of the Role

This Associate Director position sits at the forefront of nuclear safety consultancy, combining deep technical expertise with leadership accountability across a varied and high-value project portfolio. You will lead the delivery of complex safety case assessments spanning defence, decommissioning and energy generation projects, ensuring outputs meet exacting regulatory and quality standards.

Operating at the intersection of engineering, safety assurance and compliance, you will coordinate multidisciplinary teams to produce, review and assure robust technical documentation. The role requires ownership of large-scale projects, including resource planning, project delivery and financial performance, while maintaining alignment with wider business objectives.

You will lead and develop a team of highly skilled consultants, fostering technical excellence and a strong delivery culture. Alongside technical leadership, you will play a critical role in business growth through client engagement, proposal development and identifying new opportunities across the nuclear sector.

Working within a safety-critical, highly regulated environment, you will contribute to projects ranging from focused safety studies to multi-year projects. The position also supports broader strategic priorities, working closely with senior leadership to shape the direction of the business.

Your Impact in this Position

In this role, you will directly influence the safe operation and development of nuclear facilities, ensuring that robust safety cases underpin critical engineering and operational decisions. Your ability to lead complex projects and engage with regulators and clients will help secure successful project outcomes and long-term partnerships.

You will initially focus on delivering high-quality, billable work while identifying opportunities to expand services and strengthen client relationships. Over time, you will take on greater people leadership responsibilities, shaping teams and developing future talent.

This position offers a clear pathway to Technical Director, with the flexibility to align your career with your technical interests and ambitions. It provides a platform to build industry influence, contribute to major national projects and progress into senior leadership roles.

Core Capabilities

Safety Case Delivery

You bring a strong command of nuclear safety case methodologies, with the ability to lead the development and assurance of complex safety cases. Your expertise enables you to identify hazards, apply proportionate risk assessment techniques and ensure compliance with regulatory expectations. You take ownership of technical outputs, producing clear, accurate and defensible documentation, while influencing decision-making to ensure safety remains central to project delivery.

Diverse Project Portfolio

You thrive in a dynamic environment, managing a broad portfolio of projects that range from short-term hazard studies to long-term, complex safety projects. Your adaptable approach allows you to transition smoothly between technical challenges, maintaining high standards of delivery while continuously learning and applying new methods to meet evolving client needs.

Regulator and Client Engagement

You are confident representing projects at the highest level, engaging with clients and regulators to present technical arguments and negotiate successful outcomes. You build trust through clarity, professionalism and insight, ensuring efficient approval processes. Alongside delivery, you contribute to business development by strengthening client relationships and identifying new opportunities, often acting as the primary point of contact for key accounts.

Reviewing and Writing Technical Reports

You lead the development and assurance of comprehensive technical documentation, including safety cases and supporting analyses. With strong analytical and communication skills, you translate complex technical data into clear, structured narratives suitable for varied stakeholders. You ensure rigorous peer review, maintain regulatory confidence and deliver reports that support informed, defensible decision-making.

Mentoring and Line Management

You are passionate about developing people and building high-performing teams. Through mentoring, coaching and structured feedback, you strengthen technical capability and support professional growth across all levels. You guide project delivery, support career progression and contribute to a collaborative, knowledge-driven culture that underpins organisational success.

Qualifications, Training & Experience

You will hold a degree in a relevant engineering or scientific discipline and bring significant experience within the nuclear sector, including leadership of complex safety case projects. You are recognised for your technical expertise and ability to deliver within regulated, safety-critical environments. Experience of leading multidisciplinary teams, understanding nuclear operations and applying regulatory frameworks is essential. Chartered status, or progression towards it, is advantageous.

Working Environment

This role operates within a hybrid working model, offering flexibility alongside collaboration. You can expect to work in the office two to three days per week, with the remainder of your time split between home working and client engagement as required. The team is primarily based across Warrington, West Cumbria and Basingstoke with flexibility to balance professional commitments and working preferences. This role can also be offered on a fully remote basis.

Why join Tetra Tech?

Tetra Tech is a leading provider of consulting and engineering services working across the full project lifecycle worldwide. We have a wide range of expertise across our teams, providing a global support network with a personalised approach to client relationships to better understand where we can add value. We provide a collaborative environment that supports individual performance, innovation, and creativity.

We support public and private sector clients on local, national, and international projects to deliver sustainable and resilient solutions. Our operations in the UK, Ireland, and the Netherlands include more than 6,000 employees who are Leading with Science® to solve our clients’ most complex problems.

In alignment with the Equality Act 2010, we will make reasonable adjustments to support candidates and employees requiring additional arrangements. This could include adaptations to work schedules, training approaches, or the physical workspace. Please inform us if you need any accommodations during the recruitment process or in your day-to-day role.