Senior Nuclear Control & Protection Engineer

Closing Date: 25/10/2024

Locations: Manchester / Gloucester / London

About newcleo

Privately funded and headquartered in London, newcleo was launched in 2021 – and since raised a total of EUR 400m – to be an innovator in the field of nuclear energy. Its mission is to generate safe, clean, economic and practically inexhaustible energy for the world, through a radically innovative combination of existing, accessible technologies.

With visionary co-founders, newcleo capitalises on thirty years of R&D activity in metal-cooled fast reactors and liquid-lead cooling systems, and our senior management and advisory team can boast hundreds of years in cumulative hands-on experience. 

newcleo’s technology, mostly comprising a novel approach to already qualified solutions, addresses equally well the three challenges affecting the nuclear industry to date: waste, safety and cost.

• Waste: fast reactors are capable of efficient use of depleted uranium, plutonium and Minor Actinides. When operated with MOX fuel generated from reprocessed nuclear waste, newcleo’s reactors not only ensure sustainability by closing the fuel cycle, but can also boost energy independence.
• Safety: lead-cooled reactors operate at atmospheric pressure. The properties of lead (thermal capacity and conductivity, boiling point, chemically inert, low neutron activation, shielding properties) together with newcleo’s passive safety systems ensure very high levels of safety.
• Cost: newcleo’s reactor design has been optimised over the last 20 years leading to the concept of an ultra-compact and transportable 200MWe module with improvements in energy density compared to other technologies. Costs are kept low by means of simplicity, compactness, modularity, atmospheric pressure operation and elevated output temperature.

newcleo is also working to significantly invest in MOX fuel manufacturing in developed countries, extracting energy from the current nuclear industry by-products.

newcleo is ready to develop a new, sustainable, and completely safe way of generating nuclear energy that will help humanity reach zero emissions, and mitigate of global warming.

Overview of the role:

Due to continued expansion, we are looking to speak with Protection & Control Engineers at all levels of seniority (Principal / Senior / Engineer / Junior) to join our team!

The roles will involve collaborating on our Lead Fast Reactor (LFR) design activities focusing on I&C (Instrumentation and Control) reactor protection systems, autonomous systems (such as radiation protection, seismic, vibration monitoring systems), special instrumentations, control rooms and industrial simulators.

Reporting to our Head of Unit, the key duties of the role include:

• Defining the objectives to be achieved using the System Engineering approach.
• Defining technical solutions during the whole V&V cycle: architectures, qualifications...
• Defining associated needs (methods, processes, subcontracting, collaborations).
• Proposing partners and subcontractors, draft the technical parts of contracts.
• Planning and coordinating the progress of internal and external studies, with numerous interfaces (safety, electricity, processes, BOP, subcontractors, or partners), and lead on regular progress reporting including risks and issues management.
• Carrying out complex studies, write reports and specifications.
• Participating in and preparing single and mulit disciplinary reviews, presenting your own results & inputs / suggestions
• Supporting Safety and Design Authorities, contribute to licensing strategies.
• Representing newcleo in expert communities (IAEA, IRSN, etc.).
• Promoting know-how and excellence (conferences, trade fairs, teaching).
• Coaching & mentoring younger engineers.
• Participating in and fostering a work environment that is based upon openness, trust, communication, teamwork, empowerment, innovation, and satisfaction.

This role will offer opportunities for development & progression towards management or expert activities depending on your career motivations

Is this role right for you?

We would like to speak to people who have:

• A background & experience in I&C design of power plants within the nuclear sector
• Knowledge of nuclear industry standards (IEC 61508/61513, RCC-E, ISA…) & processes (instrumentation, design, architecture).
• Knowledge of nuclear safety principles applied to I&C.
• Knowledge of System Engineering approaches (SysML, Capella…).
• Knowledge of Office® suite and Visio®.
• A basic knowledge or appreciation of Matlab/Simulink, Dymola or similar 

• Right to work full time in the UK & can achieve a national security clearance equivalent to a BPSS standard, or higher, within a reasonable period.

Please note if you meet some but not all of the requirements above, we would still been really keen to hear from you!

If you are not ready to apply just yet, or have a few questions? Contact Cameron Emerson at Cameron.emerson@newcleo.com

Please note, all applications will need to be made via our online portal.