Technical Principal - Nuclear Quality Management

Mott MacDonald; Glasgow; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Private medical insurance

Health cash plan

Peppy menopause support

Wellbeing program

Flexible benefits

Employee ownership

Annual bonus schemes

Excellent pension

Job summary

Mott MacDonald in the UK is seeking a Technical Principal - Nuclear Quality Management to lead quality delivery across projects, embedding a right-first-time culture and ISO-aligned processes.

You will chair cross-disciplinary teams, advise senior stakeholders, drive continuous improvement, and ensure compliance with ISO 9001 and ISO 19443 for nuclear safety in a challenging, rewarding environment with a hybrid working policy.

Qualifications

• ISO 9001:2015 Lead Auditor qualification and CQI membership
• Minimum 15 years in a highly regulated quality supervision role
• Experience working on a nuclear construction project
• Experience with ISO 19443 implementation
• Experience in development and execution of 1st/2nd party audits

Responsibilities

• Build and lead a high-performing cross-disciplinary project team
• Develop and deliver robust quality strategies and plans
• Provide strategic quality guidance to SLT and SHEQ leads
• Ensure ISO 9001 and ISO 19443 compliance and lifecycle quality
• Lead NCR investigations and support effective resolutions
• Promote right-first-time delivery and lifetime records QA
• Drive continuous improvement and client engagement

Skills

ISO 9001 Lead Auditor

CQI membership

Quality management

Stakeholder engagement

Nuclear experience

Job description

Mott MacDonald is a global engineering, management, and development consultancy with over 20,000 employees across more than 50 countries and 140+ offices.

We work across incredible global industries, delivering exciting work that is defining our future and making an important societal impact in the communities we serve. Our people power our performance – we succeed when they do. With countless opportunities to collaborate, learn, and grow, the possibilities for excellence are as varied as every individual.

Whether you want to grow as a subject matter expert or broaden your experience with roles across our international community, you’re surrounded by global specialists who want to combine their expertise and champion you to be your best. As a proudly employee-owned business, we benefit our clients, our communities, and each other, investing in creating the right space for everyone to feel empowered, included, and valued. Whatever your ambition, Mott MacDonald is where people come to be brilliant.

About the business unit

The Energy unit delivers services to clients globally across several sectors including hydropower, nuclear, waste, renewable generation and transmission & distribution networks. Together we provide integrated engineering and project management services across the project lifecycle – from concept and design to construction and operations, to decommissioning or repowering and life extension. Together with our clients, we’re helping to deliver the energy transition globally.

Overview of the role

The role of Technical Principal - Nuclear Quality Management is a key leadership opportunity focused on setting and delivering the execution strategy across projects or portfolios. You will lead a cross-disciplinary project team to embed quality into every stage of delivery—ensuring issues are prevented rather than resolved retrospectively, and that continuous improvement is at the heart of everything we do.

Strong communication and stakeholder engagement skills are essential, as the role requires regular interaction with clients, senior leadership, and multidisciplinary teams.

Key responsibilities and duties include:

• Build, lead and maintain a high-performing, integrated project team, ensuring capability, collaboration and efficiency
• Develop and deliver robust project strategies and plans to achieve agreed baselines and objectives
• Provide strategic quality guidance to the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) and SHEQ Lead across the project or portfolio
• Ensure effective quality management systems are in place, aligned with ISO 9001 and ISO 19443 (nuclear safety) requirements
• Establish and maintain appropriate quality management plans, ensuring teams fully understand and apply them
• Act as the key point of contact for all quality-related matters across SLT, Functional Leads, Project Managers, Discipline Leads and Design teams
• Develop and oversee a risk-based audit programme, ensuring timely close-out of all compliance and audit actions
• Lead investigations into quality-related non-conformances (NCRs), supporting stakeholders and driving effective resolution
• Support delivery of project objectives by promoting a right-first-time approach, including quality assurance of Lifetime Records (LTRs)
• Drive a culture of continuous improvement, providing performance reporting, supporting Quality Integration Boards, and engaging regularly with clients

Collaboration:

• Interface closely with Project and Engineering Managers
• Collaborate across all project disciplines
• Build and maintain strong internal and external relationships

Candidate specification

Experience:

• ISO 9001:2015 Lead Auditor qualification
• Membership of the Chartered Quality Institute (CQI) / working towards Chartership to the CQI
• Minimum 15 years in a highly regulated industry in a Quality supervision role with a direct influence over Quality practice and outcomes
• Experience of working in a nuclear construction project
• Experienced in ISO 19443 implementation
• Experience of development, management and execution of 1st and 2nd party audit

Please be advised that offers for this role are conditional upon obtaining the appropriate level of Security Clearance.

UK Immigration

Mott MacDonald Ltd. are not currently offering sponsorship to candidates under the Skilled Worker visa route in the UK. This decision is as a consequence of the changes made to the Skilled Worker route by the UK Government in April 2024. We continue to welcome applications from candidates who are eligible for alternative immigration routes in the UK, that do not require sponsorship as a Skilled Worker now or in future.

Agile working

At Mott MacDonald, we believe it makes business sense for you and your manager to choose how you can work most effectively to meet your client, team, and personal commitments. We offer a hybrid working policy that embraces your well-being, flexibility, and trust.

Equality, diversity, and inclusion

We put equality, diversity, and inclusion at the heart of our business, seeking to promote fair employment procedures and practices to ensure equal opportunities for all. We encourage individual expression in our workplace and are committed to creating an inclusive environment where everyone feels they can contribute.

Accessibility

We want you to perform your best at every stage in the recruitment process. If you are disabled or need any support to enable you to apply or attend an interview, please contact us at [e-mail] and we will talk to you about how we can support you.

We offer some fantastic benefits including:

Financial wellbeing

• We match employee pension contributions between 4.5% and 7%.
• Life assurance equal up to 4 x your basic salary, with an option to increase the level of cover to 6 x your salary.
• Our income protection scheme provides a financial benefit, as well as absence and return to work support due to long-term illness or injury.
• Flexible benefits, including increased life assurance cover, critical illness insurance, payroll saving and will writing.
• As an independently owned business we share the financial success of the business with all our colleagues in various ways including annual bonus schemes.

Employee Ownership

• Our employee ownership model means no external investors, just us, creating a culture of shared success.
• Our employees have a stake and a voice in our business, giving them a direct connection to our success through our personal and group performance bonuses.
• As your career grows, so does your stake, recognising your long-term impact and contribution.
• Your voice matters, with the opportunity to connect directly with senior leadership through formal channels to help shape our future.
• For our senior roles you will have a direct pathway towards ownership from day one.

Health and wellbeing

• Private medical insurance for all UK colleagues.
• Health cash plan to support you with every day health costs and treatments.
• Access to Peppy, providing free support from menopause experts for all UK colleagues.
• A variety of wellbeing support is available through our comprehensive wellbeing program, including access for you and your family.
• Ability to flex your salary to opt into a wide range of health benefits, many of which can be extended to your family too.

Lifestyle

• A minimum of 33-35 days holiday each year, inclusive of public holidays and dependent on level, with the ability to buy or sell leave through our flexible benefits programme.
• Holiday entitlement increased to a minimum of 35 days after 5 years’ service.
• Variety of employee saving schemes and discounts from high-street retailers.

Enhanced family and carers leave

• Enhanced family leave policies, including 26 weeks paid maternity and adoption leave, and two weeks paid paternity/partner leave.
• Our shared parental leave matches maternity leave meaning we pay up to 24 weeks at full pay.
• Up to five additional days leave are provided for those with significant caring responsibilities, two of which are paid.

Learning and development

• Primary annual professional institution subscription.
• A broad range of opportunities to enhance both technical and soft skills through mentoring, formal training, and self-development options.

Networks, communities, and social outcomes

• Join a wide range of groups including our Advanced Employee Networks which support our LGBTQ+, gender, race and ethnicity, disability, and parents/carers communities.
• Make a difference within our communities through our social outcomes.