Principal Stress Engineer/Technical Lead

Scantec; Morley; On-site; GBP 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading engineering firm in Derby is seeking a Principal Stress Engineer to lead nuclear projects and ensure structural integrity. The ideal candidate will have strong experience in Finite Element Analysis and will play a key role in mentoring and guiding teams. This position offers a competitive salary with a comprehensive benefits package, including life assurance and pension contributions.

Benefits

Competitive salary

Life assurance

Pension contributions

Employee support programs

Qualifications

• Seeking a Chartered Engineer or equivalent.
• Experience in nuclear structural integrity is ideal.
• Must have proficiency in FEA and tools like ABAQUS.

Responsibilities

• Lead nuclear projects as a technical expert.
• Guide and mentor engineering teams.
• Oversee assessments using finite element and traditional methods.

Skills

Chartered Engineer (CEng) or equivalent work experience

Proven experience in structural integrity

Advanced proficiency in Finite Element Analysis (FEA)

Experience leading technical teams

Knowledge of pressure vessel and defect tolerance assessments

Tools

ABAQUS

ANSYS

Altair Hyperworks

Job description

Overview

Principal Stress Engineer/Technical Lead – Derby. Full Time on site (some hybrid flexibility).

A Global Engineering client is seeking Principal Stress Engineer to join their expanding team in Derby. This is an exciting opportunity to play a pivotal role in shaping the future of nuclear infrastructure and to contribute to critical defence projects and next-generation energy systems. As a recognised leader in nuclear and defence engineering, our client's work spans new build and life-extension programmes across the civil and defence nuclear sectors. They have been a leading name in UK Nuclear.

Role

As a Principal Stress Engineer, you\'ll take the lead in shaping and delivering high-profile nuclear projects, acting as the go-to technical expert for all aspects of structural integrity. You\'ll guide and support a talented engineering team, providing technical direction, mentoring, and ensuring every project meets the highest standards of quality, safety, and compliance.

You\'ll oversee and sign off detailed assessments using both finite element analysis and traditional calculation methods, applying recognised international codes such as ASME, API-579, and BS7910. As the Independent Technical Approver, you\'ll represent the business in client meetings, providing trusted advice, solving challenges, and building strong relationships.

Collaboration will be key, as you\'ll work closely with safety case engineers and other specialists to ensure each project is backed by solid technical evidence. You\'ll also play a hands-on role in resolving complex engineering issues, improving processes, and driving continuous improvement across the team.

This is a fantastic opportunity for an experienced engineer who enjoys combining technical leadership with practical problem-solving, someone who thrives in a collaborative environment and wants to make a genuine impact on major UK nuclear programmes.

Skills / Prior Experience

• Chartered Engineer (CEng) or equivalent work experience.
• Proven experience in structural integrity, ideally within the nuclear sector.
• Advanced proficiency in Finite Element Analysis (FEA) using tools such as ABAQUS (other tools like ANSYS or Dyna also considered).
• Experience leading technical teams and mentoring engineers.
• Experience with international codes: ASME (Sections III or VIII Div 2), API-579, BS7910, BS7608, and others.
• Knowledge of pressure vessel and defect tolerance assessments.
• Experience interfacing directly with customers in technical discussions.
• Familiarity with Altair Hyperworks or similar pre/post processing tools.
• Experience with customer-specific methodologies (R3, R5, R6) advantageous.

What\’s on Offer

In this role you will work alongside some of the greatest minds in the Nuclear industry. You will have access to the tools and support to develop your career, pathways that will allow you to grow, support for qualifications and certificates and ongoing access to world class engineering expertise.

This role comes with a competitive salary, generous benefits package including life assurance and pension contributions and a wider benefits offering including employee support and development programmes.

If this sounds like an opportunity you\'d like to explore simply click apply to learn more.