Evolve Graduate - ESH&Q Nuclear Safety

Our two-year Evolve graduate development scheme offers you an exciting opportunity to join our ESH&Q pathway. Here you will use your skills, develop new ones and work with remarkable people, in unique facilities, on extraordinary products.

How Evolve will help accelerate your career:

The first 3 months of the ESH&Q pathway will be spent immersing yourself within the ESH&Q function understanding fully about AWE business as a whole and the ESH&Q function. Following the initial 3 months you will specialise in Nuclear Safety.

As a nuclear safety case assessor, you will work as part of a team to assess the risk and consequences of design, engineering, and operational failures. This will include modelling accident scenarios and identifying controls to prevent them.

The role offers the opportunity to work across the whole project lifecycle including design of new facilities, large modifications of existing facilities, production facilities, research & development facilities, and decommissioning facilities as part of a structured two-year development programme. The role also provides the opportunity to develop an understanding of how AWE interacts with its regulators.

You will be engaged in technical problem-solving, preparing detailed reports to argue and justify the tolerability of nuclear, radiological, environmental, and conventional hazards, whilst liaising with a diverse group of people at many levels within the company including operators, facility management, engineers, and regulators.

The Nuclear Safety Case Assessor:

• Develop skills in major hazard assessment and support the analysis and assessment of nuclear, radiological, chemical, explosives and other major hazards associated with actual, planned and/or decommissioned facilities, plant, equipment, or product.
• Gain experience in the development of safety assessments and justifications (e.g., Safety Cases) in line with relevant legislation, industry standards and AWE's policies, procedures and guidance.
• Continuously develop their understanding of current health and safety legislation, the ONR licensing regime and the fundamental application of the ALARP principle.
• Whilst supervised, contribute to the production and review of safety assessments, justifications.

How Evolve will help accelerate your career:

As a member of our Graduate Development community, you will be involved in activities linked to our current or future nuclear warheads, nuclear threat reduction, manufacturing solutions or our huge building and infrastructure programme that is delivering the facilities to enable the creation of new products.

Due to AWE’s critical role, further technical details of our work are classified. But rest assured, you will be doing remarkably interesting things as part of our expert team!

Placements into real projects will be central to your development. The placement process will ensure that you develop the technical expertise required as well as a full understanding of our complex operations. It is flexible to allow a specific focus in a particular technical or business area.

All graduates also receive a core programme of leadership, business and ‘soft skills’ training. You will be supported to start working towards your professional registration.

The behaviours and qualities you will need:

• You are the sort of person who likes getting stuck into interesting problems.
• You are curious about what you see and eager to learn new things.
• You ask questions when you do not understand something and are resilient in the face of setbacks.
• You like working with others and you are dependable.
• You are comfortable working in a classified environment on defence projects.
• You welcome the chance to develop a work style that embraces AWE’s cultural behaviours:
  • We connect with respect
  • We keep our promises
  • We are safe and secure
  • We embrace simplicity

What AWE can offer you:

• AWE has a highly inclusive culture. You will be supported by colleagues and management to bring your unique contribution to our work.
• You will undergo ‘DV’ security clearance to allow you to work on classified programmes.
• From Day 1 you will be collaborating with like-minded people on challenging problems, and you will encounter many professional and personal development opportunities.
• Depending on your specific placements, you may have the opportunity to interact with UK and overseas partners and customers.
• There is a vibrant early careers community at AWE. You will have the opportunity to socialise with other graduates and undergraduate placement students through organised events, the on-site Recreation Society, and ad-hoc activities.
• You can join any of our six staff-led Equity, Diversity and Inclusion working groups to help guide our supportive work culture.
• You will gain a strong feeling of satisfaction that you are making a real difference to yourself, to AWE and to the safety and security of the UK!

What you will get:

A competitive total reward package including starting salary £31,000 per year and benefits including a market leading contributory pension scheme.

You will also get:

• Generous holiday entitlement (270 hours of leave annually including bank holidays)
• Excellent work/life balance and a vibrant and welcoming grad social scene
• 9-day working fortnight (this means you will not work every other Friday!)
• A salary-sacrifice benefit scheme
• A welcome payment
• An option of an interest free loan of £1,000 as well as regular Graduate pay reviews
• A structured and supported career progression
• Discounts – Access to savings on a wide range of everyday spending across retail, hospitality and leisure
• Employee Assistance Programme and Occupational Health Services

Alongside these benefits, you will get opportunity to learn from subject matter experts and to develop skills that are applicable across many industries.

Entry Requirements:

• You are a recent graduate or will graduate by September 2025.
• You will graduate with a minimum of a 2:2 in your degree, typically in any of these science or engineering subjects:
  • Science or Engineering. Typically, from Nuclear Engineering, Nuclear materials, Chemical Engineering, Chemistry or Physics but we would welcome individuals who have a science or engineering degree with an interest in safety.
• You must be able to join AWE in September 2025. We recruit on a rolling basis which means as soon as our positions have been filled, we will close.
• Candidates must be willing and able to obtain and maintain the necessary security clearance for the role.
• You are a UK national who has not lived overseas within the last 10 years

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 us will be used to encourage and support you through the application process and will be held only for this purpose in accordance with GDPR.

Please only make one Graduate role application. We encourage you to take the time to reflect on which programme you feel matches your aspirations and motivations. We can only progress one application per candidate, so we encourage you to think about which role you feel you are most suited too.