Electrical Design Group Leader

Fusion Energy Base; Abingdon; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 79,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Outstanding pension

7% bonus potential

Relocation allowance

Flexible working options

25 days leave + holidays

Job summary

UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) seeks an Electrical Design Group Leader to guide robotic and infrastructure electrical designs at Culham, Oxfordshire. You will ensure compliance with international standards and drive quality improvements across programs.

You will lead a ~20-strong team, manage budgets up to £500k, recruit as needed, and develop robust, environment-appropriate architectures. This is a senior, high-impact role at UKAEA.

Qualifications

• Chartered Engineer or working towards chartership with a technology degree or equivalent experience.
• Extensive experience designing and managing electrical systems for machinery, industrial, rail, or nuclear sectors.
• Proven ability to deliver complex engineering projects from requirements to commissioning.
• Strong governance, health and safety, and compliance knowledge.

Responsibilities

• Lead the delivery of electrical designs for robotic systems and infrastructure.
• Drive improvements in electrical quality processes and standardize designs for efficient outcomes.
• Manage a team of around 20 electrical designers and project engineers to deliver on time and within £500k budgets.
• Oversee recruitment, workloads, and resource scheduling to support project delivery.

Skills

Leadership

Electrical design

Project management

Governance & safety

People management

Education

Chartered Engineer

Engineering degree

Tools

Electrical CAD

Budgeting tools

Job description

Electrical Design Group Leader

Overview of Responsibilities

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.

The salary for this role is £71,815 (inclusive of Specialist Allowance) + excellent benefits including outstanding pension and onsite working is expected for 3 days each week. This role is based at Culham, Oxfordshire.

The Role

You’ll lead the delivery of electrical designs for robotic systems and infrastructure, ensuring they meet and exceed international legislative standards across diverse applications. You’ll also drive improvements in electrical quality processes and contribute to the standardization of designs for efficient, high-quality outcomes aligned with UKAEA Technical Control Systems. As an expert in electrical design, you will guide the strategic direction of our processes, support engineers in developing innovative system architectures, and ensure the selection of components suitable for challenging environments. You’ll also be responsible for leading a team of electrical designers and project engineers(around 20 people), ensuring projects are completed on time and within budget. If you’re ready to lead and innovate in a cutting‑edge field and you are eager to take on responsibilities that may include managing project budgets of up to £500k, leading recruitment activities to meet future strategic needs, and overseeing workloads and resource scheduling, ensuring engineers have the necessary technical support for successful project delivery,

Additional Responsibilities

• Define and implement strategies for efficient electrical system design processes, from robotic work cells to complex remote handling plants.
• Lead the electrical design delivery for large, complex robotics projects, managing resources, budgets, schedules, and ensuring high-quality output.
• Develop standardized approaches to electrical design in collaboration with project engineers, delivering robust and verified circuits for enhanced project efficiency.
• Evaluate electrical CAD designs through peer reviews to ensure compliance with relevant standards and directives, and provide documentation to support compliance.
• Authorize major project milestones and reports, while collaborating with UKAEA departments to establish global electrical processes for organizational growth.
• Promote a strong safety culture, manage contract engagements for low/medium value engineering projects, and oversee staff development within the Electrical Systems Design Group.

Essential Requirements

• Chartered Engineer or working towards chartership, with a degree in technology or equivalent experience.
• Extensive experience in designing and managing electrical systems for machinery, industrial, rail, or nuclear industries.
• Proven ability to deliver complex engineering projects from requirements to system commissioning.
• Strong understanding of governance, health and safety, and compliance issues.
• Effective problem‑solving skills and the ability to resolve technical conflicts while working with project stakeholders.
• Ability to manage people and develop skills to support the growth of the department and organisation.

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.

Additional Information

• This role requires employees to complete an online Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS), including The Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) checks for criminal convictions.

We welcome applications from under-represented groups, particularly individuals from black and other ethnic minority backgrounds, people with disabilities, and women.

Our Executive team, supported by our ‘Equality, Diversity and Inclusion’ (EDI) Partner and Inclusion Ambassadors, actively promotes EDI 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.

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

Salary £71,815 (inclusive of Specialist Allowance) + excellent benefits including outstanding pension

Programme RACE

Department Electrical

Discipline Engineering

Site Location UKAEA Culham, Oxfordshire

Type of Employment Full-time

Reference Number REF4530J