Mechanical Craft

United Kingdom National Nuclear Laboratory; Preston; Hybrid; GBP 41,000 - 43,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Family-focused policies

Pension plan

Annual leave 25.5 days

Job summary

United Kingdom National Nuclear Laboratory in Preston is recruiting a Mechanical Craft to join the Engineering team. You will perform routine examination, inspection, maintenance and testing on plant and equipment, and support project work while adhering to safe systems and quality standards.

The role offers 39 hours per week, with occasional weekends, salary £40,991–£43,108 plus allowances, and benefits including enhanced leave, pension, and a company bonus.

Qualifications

• Time served recognised apprenticeship in Mechanical Engineering discipline.
• Experience with safe systems of work.
• Ability to read engineering drawings.
• Willingness to obtain SC level security clearance.
• British citizenship or dual nationality as required.

Responsibilities

• Perform routine examination, inspection, maintenance and testing on plant and equipment.
• Carry out breakdown and recovery maintenance.
• Support project and improvement work.
• Assist with installation, modification and commissioning of plant equipment.
• Follow, complete and update maintenance instructions.
• Provide detailed feedback on maintenance tasks via CMMS.

Skills

Time served apprenticeship

Safe system of work

Engineering drawings

Teamwork

Pressure systems

Pumps & Pipework

Education

HNC or equivalent

Job description

# Mechanical Craft### Job Introduction**Job Description for Mechanical Craft:**UKNNL is where your solutions solve real-world problems. As part of our Engineering team, you’ll not only be able to get involved with a huge variety of projects, you’ll also have lots of opportunity to drive them through from start to finish — allowing you to see the impact your work has in a real-world environment. This is your chance to use your experience, expertise and ingenuity to collaborate with leading scientists. You’ll be part of a team that delivers work to benefit society by advancing cleaner energy, protecting the environment and keeping everyone safe.The Mechanical Craft is responsible for carrying out safe, quality, and efficient maintenance/ breakdown and project activities within Preston Laboratory. They shall ensure all activities are being undertaken in a safe and complaint manner, to meet all requirements of the Nuclear Site Licence (as applicable) and all Regulatory and Legislative purposes.The role is 39 hours Monday to Friday, based at UKNNL Preston Laboratory. Occasional weekend working is available dependent on customer work demands.**In addition to the advertised salary, this role attracts annual allowances of up to £7,000 per annum, paid monthly, these are subject to satisfying qualifications/experience criteria and working in active areas. More information will be provided during the recruitment process, to candidates who are selected for interview**.**Main Responsibilities for Mechanical Craft:*** Perform routine examination / inspection / maintenance and testing on plant and equipment.* Perform breakdown and recovery maintenance on plant and equipment.* Provide support to project and improvement work.* Provide support to the facility in the installation, modification and commissioning of plant equipment.* To follow, complete and update maintenance instructions.* Provide detailed feedback on maintenance tasks via CMMS.**Essential Criteria for Mechanical Craft:*** Time served recognised apprenticeship in a Mechanical Engineering discipline.* Experience working to a safe system of work.* The ability to work to engineering drawings.* Working with the team to ensure targets are met.* Pressure systems / pumps / Pipework / protective devices.* Maintain to the highest level, workmanship standards and quality.* Maintain a good housekeeping policy.* 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).* British citizen as defined in the British Nationality Act 1981 (British Nationality Act 1981 (legislation.gov.uk)). Please note if you hold a dual nationality, of which one nationality is British, you may still be considered but this is dependent on your dual nationality.**Desirable Criteria for Mechanical Craft:*** Working in a DSEAR environment experience.* MEWP operator.* LOLER experience.* Formal further education certificate to HNC or equivalent certificate.* Workshop machine operator experience (Lathe/Milling machine etc).**Why join us?**UKNNL 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.* UKNNL offers attractive pension plans. If you contribute 5%, UKNNL contributes 15%. Alternatively, if you choose not to contribute (0%), UKNNL 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**UKNNL 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**UKNNL has a vision for Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity (ED&I) where UKNNL aims to be an inclusive workplace that attracts diverse talent through transparent and equal policies and procedures, providing reasonable adjustments as appropriate. 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 and the ability to access to workplace in a way which works for you.**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 LaboratoryApply| | || --- | --- || Salary | Salary range £40,991 - £43,108 plus allowances || Job Reference | NNL/TP/34863/2484 || Contract Type | Permanent - Full Time || Closing Date | 11 November, 2026 || Job Category | Infrastructure & Compliance || Work Place Type | Office Based || Location | Preston, Lancashire, United Kingdom || Posted on | 21 October, 2026 |Apply