UK Atomic Energy Authority
Plasma Exhaust Physicist 2 years FTA

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Company Description
By 2050, the planet could be using twice as much electricity compared to today. Are you interested in contributing and helping to shape the future of the world’s energy? If so, read on.
Fusion, the process that powers the Sun and Stars, is one of the most promising options for generating the cleaner, carbon-free energy that our world badly needs.
UKAEA leads the way in realizing fusion energy, partnering with industry and research for ground breaking advancements. Our goal is to bring fusion electricity to the grid, supported by tomorrow's power stations. In pursuit of our mission, UKAEA embraces core values: Innovative, Committed, Trusted, and Collaborative.
As an employee of UKAEA you will benefit from:
- Outstanding defined benefit pension scheme, details of which can be found at the end of this advert.
- Corporate bonus scheme up to 7% and a Relocation allowance (if eligible).
- Flexible working options including family friendly policies and the right to request flexible working from the start of your employment.
- Employee Assistance Programme and trained Mental Health First Aiders.
- Generous annual leave allowance starting with 25 days, plus 3 days Christmas closure and 2.5 privilege days, in addition to UK bank holidays.
- Wide range of career development opportunities.
- A vibrant culture committed to equality and being fully inclusive.
What to expect in our recruitment process:
For a step-by-step overview of how we hire from application to offer please see our Recruitment Process page: careers.ukaea.uk/join-us/recruitment-process
Job Description
The salary for this role is £48,290 (inclusive of a Specialist Allowance). Onsite working is expected for 3 days a week, however, we actively support requests for flexible working.
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This role can be based at any of the following sites: Culham, Oxfordshire.
This role requires employees to complete an online Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS), including The Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) checks for criminal convictions and possibly a search of open source data.
The Role
Are you looking for an exciting opportunity to make a difference? Join our team and contribute to the future of fusion energy. As Plasma Exhaust Physicist 2 years FTA, you will play a pivotal role in experimental analysis on current tokamak devices to drive the design of the STEP exhaust solution. The post holder will provide high fidelity edge simulations of the experiments with codes such as SOLPS and EDGE2D. The post holder will be focused on topics including SOL broadening and impurity induced transport in a tokamak.
Key Responsibilities:
- Proposing and guiding/contributing to exhaust research on current tokamak devices
- Providing interpretative modelling of current tokamak devices and predictive modelling of future devices
- Interface between modelling and experimental teams to provide insight
- Proposing experiments and guiding/contributing to research on current devices such as ST-40 and MAST-U.
- Disseminating results through conference and peer reviewed journal papers.
Qualifications
Essential Requirements:
- PhD in plasma physics or equivalent
- Knowledge of and/or experience of implementing software engineering best practices.
- Knowledge of and/or experience of data analysis and leading experiments
- Proven ability to conduct independent research
- Good team-player with an outward facing work-ethos as he/she will work closely with scientists around the world
- Good oral and written communications skills
- Theoretical and experimental understanding of exhaust physics issues


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Additional Information
A full list of our benefits can be found here https://careers.ukaea.uk/life-at-ukaea/employee-benefits/
UKAEA’s mission is clean energy for all, and we welcome talented people from all backgrounds to help us achieve this goal. We are committed to equality, diversity, and inclusion and strive to ensure fair representation across our workforce. We particularly encourage applications from groups currently underrepresented in STEM, including women and individuals from diverse ethnic backgrounds, while ensuring all appointments are made on merit.
UK Atomic Energy Authority is committed to being accessible. Please email [email protected] if you have any questions or require help or adjustments to compete on a fair basis, for example, changes to the way we interview or share information.
Please note that vacancies are generally advertised for 4 weeks but may close earlier if we receive a large number of applications.
Salary: £48,290 (inclusive of Specialist Allowance) + excellent benefits including outstanding pension
Division: Plasma Science and Fusion Operations
Site Location: UKAEA Culham, Oxfordshire
Confirmed Grade: Grade F
Department: Plasma Physics
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