Fuel Cycle Process Engineer

We have an exciting opportunity for a FUEL CELL PROCESS ENGINEER to be based at our clients offices in Oxfordshire.

About the Project:

The STEP project is in the conceptual design phase working towards the development of an overall integrated concept. This role will be partially supporting ongoing development work within the FRS looking at the management of the plasma exhaust, seeded impurities and isotope separation. The other half of the role will be looking at developing the design and Aspen Plus models for the Coolant Detritiation System and Water Detritiation Systems to support work in the Breeder Blanket area. The role would also involve continued interfacing with the Power and Cooling team, alongside other parts of the Fuel Cycle team.

About the Role:

The scope of the job is to join the STEP Fuel Cycle Team in a 50/50 role split between the Fuel Recirculation (FRS) and Tritium Recovery Systems (TRS) (also referred to as in the inner and outer fuel cycles). This role will involve supporting the FRS Lead in the design development of FRS systems such as the Seeded Impurity Treatment, Hydrogen Purification and Isotope Separation Systems. The role will also be supporting the TRS lead through the production of process models for the Coolant and Water Detritiation Systems.

The successful candidate will have two distinct accountabilities:

Firstly, supporting the FRS lead in the design development of some of the key ‘inner fuel cycle’ technologies in areas such as Hydrogen Purification, Seeded Impurity handling and Isotope Separation. In this role the candidate would be expected to undertake design studies and optimisation of these systems to improve the design maturity and reduce the risks associated with the STEP FC design. This would involve a mixture of research (using online papers), calculations, modelling and report writing to identify solutions to known risks.

Secondly, the role would be supporting the TRS lead in the production of process models utilising Aspen Plus, for key TRS systems such as the Coolant and Water Detritiation Systems. The role would involve research into literature to identify modelling approaches and suitable validation data for the produced models. This modelling would be done in concert with, and with support from, the modelling team.

Alongside core technical work the role will also involve a substantial amount of communication to engage with interfacing teams such as other parts of the Fuel Cycle, the modelling team and the Power and Cooling team. Alongside this the person will also be required to maintain full and accurate records of work done and be expected to be able to present results of work via written reports, presentations, etc as necessary to share results.

Specific Qualifications and Experience:

The person in this role would be expected to have a degree in Chemical Engineering/a similar engineering/science subject. They would also have a minimum 5 years of professional experience, including the production of engineering calculations, authoring of technical reports and use of the Aspen Plus modelling software.