AWE

The overview

The Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) is responsible for the life-cycle of the UK’s nuclear warhead stockpile. This covers design; manufacturing and assembly of components; servicing and support; and decommissioning and disposal. AWE also contributes to wider UK national security efforts, as well as providing expertise and research to help the UK fulfil obligations relating to nuclear issues within the international community, such as monitoring to combat proliferation. It employs approximately 4,500 staff and 2,000 contractors at Aldermaston and Burghfield.

Government owned, contractor operated

AWE is ‘government owned, contractor operated’ (GOCO). The Ministry of Defence (MoD) owns AWE sites and facilities, but in 2000 the contract for operations at AWE was taken over by AWE Management Limited (AWE ML) and subsidiary AWE plc. AWE ML is owned by service company Serco, defence company Lockheed Martin, and engineering firm Jacobs Engineering Group. Under the contract, which runs until 2025, the MoD retains a ‘golden share’, which allows it to direct the overall strategy and monitor safety standards while taking advantage of the business and procurement expertise of private companies.

Trident and UK nuclear strategy

The UK is one of five nuclear-weapons states as recognised by the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty of 1970. The UK currently has four ‘Vanguard class’ submarines that are capable of launching Trident missiles – missiles which can be fitted with nuclear warheads.

AWE contributes to national security efforts.

The future of the UK nuclear weapons programme had been heavily debated, but initial consultation for the extension of the life of the system was approved in 2011 and a final decision will be made in 2016.

Research

The UK is party to the Comprehensive Test-Ban Treaty which outlaws the use of nuclear explosions for test purposes. As a result, AWE conducts research in a variety of areas in order to develop greater understanding of nuclear explosives and related fields, without the need for nuclear tests. Plasma physics is an important research area, enabling staff to simulate the conditions found in nuclear explosions.

Other specialisms at AWE include:

• Design physics.
• Hydrodynamics.
• Manufacturing.
• Materials science.
• Supercomputing.
• Systems engineering.

Partners and collaboration

AWE works with a variety of countries and organisations to promote research into nuclear technology and adherence to international treaties on nuclear weapons. Examples include:

• US: the 1958 US-UK Mutual Defence Agreement, which promotes development of the nuclear capabilities of both countries, has been extended until 2014.
• France: the UK France Nuclear Treaty set out plans to build new, joint-research and test facilities. Joint project work will be housed in a new radiography and diagnostics technology facility at AWE in the UK, in addition to a new facility in France.
• Comprehensive Test-Ban Treaty Organisation (CTBTO): AWE’s Blacknest monitoring station is a certified CTBTO radionuclide laboratory, for the purposes of monitoring international adherence to the treaty.
• Vertic: since 2007, AWE staff have worked with the Norwegian arms-control verification organisation Vertic to research processes for nuclear weapons inspections.

Salary and benefits

Graduate salaries
AWE has no fixed guidelines for salaries for graduates with bachelors and masters degrees. Many advertised graduate roles have a salary of at least £21,000 per year, although salaries are typically dependent on experience and may pay several thousand pounds more.

Salaries for PhD hires
Applicants with PhDs start on at least £26,000 per year.

Graduate employees attend a pay review every six months. They may also be eligible for a £2,500 ‘graduate package’.

Perks

• Annual leave allowance of 28 days.
• ’Celebrate success’ rewards scheme for exceeding targets – vouchers or cash sums are awarded.
• Childcare vouchers.
• Counselling services.
• Final salary pensions scheme including a tax-free lump sum on retirement. Pensions are also available for eligible adult dependents of staff, and participants have the option to increase the benefits of the scheme through additional voluntary contributions.
• Flexible working – this includes paid and unpaid special leave (paid leave can include work for community positions, such as school governor); parental leave; maternity, paternity and adoption leave that exceeds statutory government guidelines.
• Leisure and retail discounts.
• Life assurance.
• Professional membership fees – AWE will pay the fees for up to two professional association memberships.
• Relocation support – financial, including mortgage support, and practical (ie. assistance with finding a property).

Culture and values

As a ‘government owned, contractor operated’ (GOCO) organisation, AWE works towards the national interest, while making use of the business knowledge and skills of the companies who run it day-to-day. As a result, it works with partners in different ways – for example, research may be conducted in areas that may not be economically viable, while some research is contracted out in order to keep costs down.

Technical outreach scheme

The technical outreach scheme at AWE is a broad programme that is designed to promote collaboration between AWE and outside organisations. It works with a variety of organisations in different ways:

• Universities: AWE collaborates with universities by contracting out individual research projects and co-ordinating more long-term research programmes that encompass a variety of fields.
• Industry: AWE is an executive network member of Partnership Sourcing Limited, an organisation set up by the Department for Business, Industry and Skills and the CBI, to help businesses set up partnerships.

Research and education

Due to the company’s focus on research and its close links with universities, AWE has an academic culture. Staff from a variety of different fields are encouraged to complete further study; employees may be required to attend conferences, sometimes internationally; and internal staff supervise Masters and Doctoral work at universities. AWE also publishes a journal, Discovery, detailing research conducted by its staff.

Social events

The organisation has a recreational society that provides facilities for social and sports functions. The society caters to varied tastes – clubs range from weightlifting to Scottish dancing.

Its Aldermaston site is also home to the Boundary Players theatre group, which puts on around three shows a year at the 270 seat William Penney theatre. The theatre itself is named after former AWE employee Penney, a mathematician who worked on the Manhattan project to produce the first atomic bomb.