Lead Specialist

Role Title: Lead Specialist – Radiation Physics

Locations: Hybrid working with one of the following locations as your primary site: Derby, Manchester or Warrington.

We anticipate paying a salary between  £57,600-£75,600 DOE.

The Performance & Analysis team is the centre of excellence within Rolls-Royce SMR (RR SMR) for the engineering analysis used to substantiate the performance and safety of the power station. Radiation Physics and Shielding (RP&S) analysis is a key tool for supporting the design and development of the RR SMR, as we must design and substantiate radiation shielding and radiological zoning to ensure ALARP dose to workers and the public and support a broad range of other technical disciplines with inputs derived from our analysis work.    

About the role: 
The Lead Specialist – Radiation Physics will be responsible for the technical excellence and quality of RP&S analysis across the organisation. The role will act as the go-to technical authority for RP&S analysis, developing methodologies for complex analysis, leading teams to deliver work that aligns with technical/organisational objectives and engaging with a wide range of stakeholders. The role will involve developing the capabilities of the RP&S Team through mentorship and collaboration, supporting the strategic growth required to achieve business objectives.  

The role will cultivate a culture of technical excellence, disseminating and applying best practices to the delivery, management and validation of RP&S analysis. This will include providing governance and critical review to RP&S analysis done by external partners, ensuring that all RP&S analysis used by RR SMR complies to the relevant quality and method requirements, and is ultimately fit-for-purpose. 

The applications of RP&S analysis to support the RR SMR are broad, with some of the key scenarios and technical disciplines this role would support being: Radiation shielding and dose rate assessments, dose assessments for normal operations, generation of gamma and neutron flux and fluence data, Displacements per Atom (DPA) assessments, gamma heating assessments, detector response assessments, neutron activation assessments, radioactive source term generation, manipulation, and decay calculations, decay heat, burn-up and depletion calculations, support to radiological consequence calculations, support to Equipment Qualification studies (EQ), and support to radiation protection safety case activities. 

Due to the safety-critical nature of the modelling we undertake, excellent quality-management processes are essential. The development of robust and automated analysis routes around the analysis codes, including clear documentation of pre/post-processing scripts (in Python) and the use of our high-performance computing resources is an important aspect of this. Additionally, the role will support the capability growth of the RP&S Team by guiding the use of analysis codes, software, licenses and hardware in line with business and strategic objectives. 

As RP&S analysis supports the development and substantiation of many aspects of the power station design, effective communication and collaboration with teams across a wide range engineering and non-engineering disciplines is essential. Lead Staff should be flexible to the evolving nature of the ongoing design programme and proactive in collaborating with other teams in developing analysis requirements and communicating results. This will involve pragmatically making trade-offs between conflicting demands to ensure workstreams deliver both to the required technical standard, but also in-line with time and cost expectations. 

As we strive to find the best fit for this position, we are seeking individuals with a minimum level of experience, training, and qualification. But we'll let you in on a secret: there's no such thing as the 'perfect' candidate. If you feel you meet 75% of the requirements for this role, we would love to hear from you.

What Does Success look like?
After the first year with us: 

• You will be acting as the go-to technical authority for RP&S analysis, leading and reviewing complex RP&S analysis work packages whilst providing mentorship and collaboration to the RP&S Team. 
• You will understand the activities performed by the RP&S Team and be comfortable working independently to deliver RP&S analysis, with a good comprehension of the required governance and quality procedures relevant to your work. 
• You will have helped grow and developed within a team of engineers who are enthusiastic about the project and keen to work together, supporting colleagues within and external to the team. 
• You will have taken up a leadership role in the team, driving the analysis methods and processes and team capabilities. 
• You will be working to a strategic plan for the area that you will help to develop and maintain, working with internal and external capability, maximising delivery whilst maintaining a healthy work/life balance. 
• You will have supported the business in meeting the definition maturity gates, delivering Step 3 of GDA, and in securing orders. 
• You will be known by and have the confidence of senior members of the business within the Engineering Directorate. 
• Longer term, you will support RR SMR to become a centre of excellence for RP&S analysis. 

The key selection criteria for this role are:

• MSc (or equivalent) in Nuclear Engineering or Nuclear Reactor Physics, with excellent understanding of radiation transport and radiation physics. 
• Chartered status with a relevant professional body (e.g., IoP). 
• Significant experience applying structured, high-quality analysis methods in radiation physics and shielding. 
• Extensive hands-on experience with radiation physics and shielding codes such as MCNP, Attila/Attila4MC, SCALE; familiarity with SpaceClaim (pre-processing) and Tecplot/Python (post-processing). 
• Proven ability to develop analysis methods and technical approaches to support design and safety cases, including uncertainty quantification and statistical methods. 
• Strong understanding of ALARP principles and the role of radiation physics and shielding analysis in safety case development. 
• Track record of delivering complex analysis tasks to time, cost, and quality, with excellent communication and stakeholder management skills; experience leading technical teams. 
• Knowledge of radiation physics applications in safety-critical industries (civil nuclear, defence, medicine); experience interacting with nuclear regulators (e.g., ONR) desirable.

Salary and Package:

• We anticipate paying a salary of between £57,600-£75,600 DOE
• Bonus - Performance related target opportunity 12.5%  
• Benefits Allowance – £2,200 per annum, enabling you to create a bespoke package   
• Pension - 12% employer and 6% employee contributions. 
• Holidays - 28 days holiday (+ public holidays) and the ability to buy or sell up to 4 days.   
• Private Medical Insurance - BUPA single cover health care   
• Life Assurance - 6x pensionable pay  
• £250 - One-off payment for new starters for home office purchases

Why Join Us?

You'll be joining a forward-thinking organisation that values transparency, fairness, and innovation. We offer:

•    A flexible, inclusive, and supportive working environment.

•    Opportunities for career growth in a rapidly scaling business.

•    A culture that values diversity, innovation, and continuous learning.

We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from all backgrounds. Inclusivity is important to us, and as a Disability Confident organisation, we are committed to fair, supportive, and continually improving recruitment practices that ensure everyone has the opportunity to thrive.

Confidence can sometimes hold us back from applying for a job. But we'll let you in on a secret: there's no such thing as a 'perfect' candidate. If you feel you meet 75% of the requirements for this role, we would love to hear from you.

Also, if you are considering a career move or a sector-jump, please get in touch – we welcome applications from people with transferable skills.

Our Application Process

Due to the safety regulations within the nuclear industry, applicants will be required to participate in additional screening. These are:

•    Obtaining Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) clearance

•    Satisfactory completion of a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check

•    Satisfactory completion of a basic financial probity check