Principal Civils Engineer

Matchtech Group; Abingdon, Culham, West Burton; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Matchtech Group is seeking a Principal Civils Engineer to lead civil and structural design for the STEP Fusion Programme, fully embedded within the Design Authority team for the prototype fusion power plant.

You will define the civil design vision, governance, and technical review arrangements, act as technical authority on complex baselines, and ensure safe interfaces with buildings, groundworks and external utilities.

Qualifications

• Degree in Civil or Structural Engineering.
• Chartered Engineer status (CEng) with a recognised institution.
• Experience as Technical Authority or Design Authority on regulated projects.
• Proven governance of complex, safety-critical infrastructure design baselines.

Responsibilities

• Define and maintain civil plant design vision, governance and review arrangements.
• Act as the technical authority for civil/structural design outputs and baselines.
• Guarantee interfaces between civil structures, buildings, groundworks and plant systems.
• Support safety case development, regulatory engagement and construction readiness.

Skills

Technical Authority

Design Governance

Systems Integration

Interpersonal Skills

Education

Civil/Structural Engineering degree

Chartered Engineer (CEng)

Job description

Principal Civils Engineer - STEP Fusion Programme

• Location: West Burton / Culham (Abingdon) with programme travel.

• Type: Full-time (Flexible working options available)

• Security Clearance: UK BPSS Vetting Required.

• Client / Project: Major UK Infrastructure & Construction Group | Supporting STEP Fusion Programme (ILIOS Partner)

• Sponsorship: Candidates must have existing right to work in the UK (sponsorship not available)

About the Client:

Our client is a leading UK infrastructure and construction group operating as the primary Construction Partner (ILIOS) for the UK's world-leading Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP) fusion programme. Embedded within the central project leadership, their technical teams bring high-integrity engineering governance, design authority oversight, and major infrastructure delivery capabilities to world-first clean energy and nuclear-adjacent developments.

Role Overview:

Fully embedded within the STEP Design Authority team, the Principal Civils Engineer acts as a technical authority, applying authoritative civil and structural engineering judgement to define, integrate, and assure the design of buildings, civil structures, groundworks, and site-wide infrastructure for the prototype fusion power plant.

Key Responsibilities:

• Design Vision & Governance: Define and maintain the civil plant design vision, engineering principles, and controlled civil design basis. Establish proportionate civil/structural engineering governance and technical review arrangements.

• Technical Authority & Review: Act as the technical authority for reviewing and accepting civil and structural design outputs, exercising independent engineering judgement on complex design baselines.

• Systems Integration: Guarantee design integrity and seamless interface integration between civil structures, buildings, groundworks, fusion plant systems, and external utilities.

• Safety Case & Regulatory Support: Support safety case development, regulatory engagement, and construction readiness by providing authoritative advice on civil/structural safety and compliance.

Candidate Requirements:

• Education & Professional Status: Degree in Civil or Structural Engineering (or closely related discipline) and Chartered Engineer (CEng) status with a recognized professional institution (e.g., MICE / MIStructE).

• Technical Authority Experience: Proven track record acting as a Technical Authority, Design Authority Specialist, Intelligent-Client Engineer, or Independent Assessor in complex, highly regulated, or safety-critical sectors.

• Complex Design Governance: Experience managing technical verification, validation, and review processes on complex, multi-disciplinary infrastructure projects with evolving design baselines.

• Interpersonal Skills: Strong systems-integration capability and ability to make robust, defensible engineering decisions under uncertainty.