Year in Industry- Data Scientist

Atomic Weapons Establishment; Aldermaston; On-site; GBP 22,000 - 27,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

A market-leading pension scheme

Generous holiday entitlement

Excellent work-life balance

9-day working fortnight

Job summary

AWE is offering a Year in Industry Placement for a Data Scientist (Nuclear Threat Reduction) at Aldermaston. The role provides £24,500 per annum plus benefits, for a 12‑month contract starting 2 August 2027, with a 9‑day working fortnight and onsite work.

Applicants should be progressing toward a minimum 2:2 degree by August 2026 in relevant STEM fields and be UK national with security clearance considerations.

Qualifications

• Minimum 2:2 degree classification or equivalent by August 2026.

Responsibilities

• Work with data science techniques on nuclear threat reduction datasets.
• Apply data science methods to detect patterns and anomalies in large, complex data.
• Collaborate with a multidisciplinary team of scientists on project deliverables.

Education

Computer Science

Forensics

Physics

Chemistry

Mathematics

Job description

Year in Industry Placement - Data Scientist (Nuclear Threat Reduction)

Salary £24,500 per annum plus benefits

Location Aldermaston, near Reading, Berkshire; onsite

Contract 12 months

Start date 2 August 2027

Working pattern 9-day working fortnight

About AWE

What if you could work with remarkable people on extraordinary things? What if the end result was something a little bit special? What if your role was mission critical? For over 75 years, AWE has been at the forefront of nuclear weapons research and development. We have a critical mission: to provide the warheads for the UK's ultimate deterrent, Trident. We also use our unique skills to provide wider UK government with counter‑terrorism and nuclear threat reduction solutions. It takes a special sort of person to work at AWE. What if that person was you?

Role purpose

Nuclear Threat Reduction supports the Government on national security issues involving radiological and nuclear materials. Work ranges from fundamental and novel research to the applied development of technology demonstrators. The team supports the Ministry of Defence by providing technical advice on detecting nuclear and radiological material, nuclear forensics, and international treaty monitoring and verification. These mission areas involve collecting and analysing large, complex datasets spanning multiple scientific techniques. This project investigates how data science techniques can contribute to analysing and understanding data gathered in support of the Nuclear Threat Reduction mission. You will gain experience of working in a multidisciplinary team of scientists applying data science techniques across a range of datasets. Following your year with us, you may have the opportunity to secure a graduate role for when you graduate.

Entry requirements

• Computer Science
• Forensics
• Physics
• Chemistry
• Mathematics

Before starting with AWE, you must be able to provide evidence that you have achieved a minimum 2:2 degree classification, or equivalent academic performance to date, by August 2026.

Behaviours and qualities

• Growth mindset: You are full of grit and determination, clear about where you are going and how you will get there.
• Curious: You love to think outside the box, and may even want to take the box apart.
• Innovative: You are open to learning about new technologies and ground‑breaking ideas.
• Resilience: You advocate speaking up for yourself and others openly and constructively.
• Team worker: You are dependable and reliable, and interested in collaborating with and supporting others.

Salary and benefits

• £24,500 salary.
• A market‑leading contributory pension scheme.
• Generous holiday entitlement.
• Excellent work‑life balance.
• A 9‑day working fortnight, meaning you get every other Friday off work.

Recruitment process and key dates

Online application: Choose the pathway that best matches your interests and goals.

Online assessment: If eligible, complete numerical, verbal, logical and cognitive reasoning assessments. Practice materials will be available.

Virtual assessment centre: Successful candidates will be invited to a virtual assessment centre during November or December 2026.

Pre‑assessment support: Receive webinar guidance so you know what to expect.

Offer and clearance: Successful candidates will complete offer and security‑clearance stages before joining in August 2027.

Security requirements

You must be a UK national holding a UK passport to be eligible to apply to AWE.

You must have lived in the UK for 10 years to apply for Developed Vetting (DV) clearance for this role.

We encourage you to obtain and maintain the necessary security clearance for the role. This will be funded by AWE. The nature of our work does mean you need to be a British Citizen who has been resident in the UK for the past 5 years in order to apply for SC clearance and 10 years for DV. Please let us know on your application form if you need any adjustments/accommodations during the process.

Inclusion and diversity

Our ambition is to create workplaces where we recognise and celebrate differences, encourage diverse contributions and enable employees to feel able to be themselves at work. We strive to create a genuine culture of openness and inclusion and encourage diverse applicants. Any inclusion information you provide will be used to encourage and support you through the application process and will be held only for this purpose in accordance with GDPR.

Our ambition is to create workplaces where we recognise and celebrate differences, encourage diverse contributions and our employees feel able to be themselves at work. We strive to create a genuine culture of openness and inclusion and encourage diverse applicants. Any inclusion information you provide will be stored in accordance with GDPR and kept separate from your application form and CV, and the information will not be shared with anyone involved in interviewing or making hiring decisions.

Other information

We are at the start of a once in a generation – possibly two generations – programme to design and produce a replacement warhead for the UK’s continuous at sea deterrent. We will do this while continuing to deliver the Trident programme as well as managing ambitious state‑of‑the‑art capital and construction projects – some of which have never been done before. We are recruiting right across the business: from technical roles in engineering, science, manufacturing and industrial work to business roles in areas such as IT, project management/ controls, commercial, human resources and facilities management. We also have our Evolve graduate programme, or you may be interested in an apprenticeship with our award‑winning Skills Academy. What we do is vital to national nuclear security. Keeping our nation, everyone, our environment and everything around us safe and secure is a top priority for us. We are always looking for high calibre people to join our team, so why not explore the opportunities we currently have on offer. Whatever stage of your career, AWE is an exciting and challenging environment to develop your skills and achieve your potential.