Plasma Control Engineer

Fusion Energy Base; Abingdon; On-site; GBP 43,000 - 45,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Excellent pension

Flexible working

Job summary

UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) Culham site is seeking a Plasma Control Engineer to lead the development, operation and maintenance of plasma control systems for fusion experiments. The role covers the full lifecycle from requirements and modelling to deployment, commissioning and decommissioning, with software support for plasma operations for national and international fusion programmes.

The successful candidate will contribute to publications and, depending on knowledge and interest, may

Qualifications

• Degree in a scientific, engineering or technical subject (e.g. Plasma Physics, Control Engineering, Robotics, Software Engineering)
• Demonstrable experience of developing working, understandable software in at least one language used in scientific or engineering applications (particularly Python, C/C++, Fortran)
• Knowledge and experience of real time control systems
• Appetite and ability to learn and apply new technologies
• Ability to communicate effectively and collaborate well on projects
• Phd or equivalent research experience working in an academic or industrial research environment
• Knowledge of plasma physics or fusion fundamentals
• Experience of Plasma Physics or experimental experience at a fusion research institution
• Knowledge and experience of developing FPGA solutions for real time applications

Responsibilities

• Develop and operate Plasma Control Systems (PCS) for fusion experiments
• Support MAST-U and STEP and other tokamaks globally
• Provide software support to maintain and develop tools for plasma operations
• Collaborate with European Fusion community on software related to plasma control and operations
• Undertake software/control system development for internal and external projects
• Manage tasks with attention to quality and deadlines
• Prepare technical presentations for internal and external forums

Skills

Python

C/C++

Fortran

Real-time control systems

Communication

FPGA

Education

PhD or equivalent research experience

Bachelor's/Master's in scientific/engineering

Tools

FPGA

Job description

Plasma Control Engineer

Overview of Responsibilities

The salary for this role is £43,703 (inclusive of Specialist Allowance) + excellent benefits including outstanding pension. Onsite working is expected for 3 days a week, however, we actively support requests for flexible working. This role can be based at any of the following site: Culham, Oxfordshire This role requires employees to complete an online Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS), including The Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) checks for criminal convictions and possibly a search of open source data. Are you looking for an exciting opportunity to make a difference? Join our team and contribute to the future of fusion energy. As Plasma Control Engineer, you will play a pivotal role in the development and operation of Plasma Control Systems (PCS) to ensure that experiments can be conducted on fusion devices. Primarily focused on MAST-U and STEP, the role will also support other tokamaks around the world. This role covers the full lifecycle of control systems development—from defining requirements and system specification to modelling, implementation, commissioning, operation, and eventual decommissioning. Provide software support to maintain and develop tools and models to support plasma operations for national and international fusion programmes. Expected to contribute towards publications in technical journals and international conferences. Dependent on their knowledge, experience, and interest, the successful candidate will be encouraged to train for a role within the MAST-U control room, working with the operational team to configure and safely operate the MAST-U device to achieve experimental goals.

Additional Responsibilities

• Contribute to the development, operation and maintenance of software, tools and models for MAST-U Plasma Control System and for the STEP programme. This involves evaluation, testing and refining software as well as maintaining suitable documentation of both the physical hardware and software configuration of systems.
• Collaborate with, and provide advice to, external organisations within the European Fusion community in the development of software related to plasma of control and operations.
• Undertake software/ control system development for other (non- MAST-U) projects for internal and external customers. This involves working with scientists and engineers to understand project requirements, architect solutions and discuss potential areas for future collaboration.
• Manage own tasks over days or weeks with attention to quality, timescales and communication. Ensure progress reports are submitted to task managers/project leads on time.
• Prepare and delivery technical presentation for internal and external forums.

Salary

£43,702 (inclusive of Specialist Allowance) + excellent benefits including outstanding pension

Programme

Programme MULTIPLE

Department

Department Sensors and Control

Discipline

Discipline Engineering

Site Location

Site Location UKAEA Culham, Oxfordshire

Type of Employment

Type of Employment Full-time

Reference Number

Reference Number REF3823D

Qualifications

• Degree in a scientific, engineering or technical subject (e.g. Plasma Physics, Control Engineering, Robotics, Software Engineering)
• Demonstrable experience of developing working, understandable software in at least one language used in scientific or engineering applications (particularly Python, C/C++, Fortran)
• Knowledge and experience of real time control systems
• Appetite and ability to learn and apply new technologies
• Ability to communicate effectively and collaborate well on projects
• Phd or equivalent research experience working in an academic or industrial research environment
• Knowledge of plasma physics or fusion fundamentals
• Experience of Plasma Physics or experimental experience at a fusion research institution
• Knowledge and experience of developing FPGA solutions for real time applications

Additional Information

A full list of our benefits can be found here https://careers.ukaea.uk/life-at-ukaea/employee-benefits/. UKAEA's mission is clean energy for all, and we welcome talented people from all backgrounds who want to help us achieve our mission.

We are under-represented from some groups and so want to encourage applications in particular from women in STEM, people from Black British Caribbean and African backgrounds and from Pakistani and Bangladeshi British backgrounds.

Our Executive team, supported by our 'Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion' (EDI) and Wellbeing and our EDI Networks actively promote Inclusion 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.

UK Atomic Energy Authority is committed to being accessible.