Role: Head of Cooling Water Island (CWI) / Balance of Plant (BOP)
Location: Hybrid working with one of the following locations: Derby, Manchester or Warrington
Our mission
Our mission is to deliver clean, affordable energy for all. Our Small Modular Reactor (SMR) provides a British solution to a global energy challenge. We are in pole position to become a world leader in SMRs and the UK’s premier green export technology.
The team
The Conventional Island Engineering organisation designs and integrates the non-nuclear plant systems critical to SMR performance, safety and licensability. Within this, the Cooling Water Island (CWI) and Balance of Plant (BOP) teams provide technical leadership across the systems that underpin plant operability, efficiency and long-term performance, ensuring seamless integration between generic and site-specific designs.
Role summary
We are seeking a Head of Cooling Water Island (CWI) / Balance of Plant (BOP), reporting to the Chief Design Engineer – Conventional Island. Acting as the direct delegate to the Chief Design Engineer, this senior leadership role provides technical authority, engineering governance and programme leadership across Cooling Water Island, Balance of Plant, Fire Extinguishing Systems and HVAC, ensuring technical integrity, design integration and delivery alignment throughout the programme lifecycle.
Key deliverables / duties
We'll need you to:
Acting as the technical authority for Cooling Water Island, Balance of Plant, Fire Extinguishing Systems and HVAC, providing leadership, oversight and challenge across design, integration and delivery activities
Maintaining ownership of design intent across both generic and site-specific designs, ensuring performance requirements, assumptions and engineering decisions remain aligned, justified and traceable
Leading the adaptation of generic plant designs to site-specific conditions, including seismic, geotechnical, climatic and infrastructure requirements, whilst safeguarding regulatory and safety expectations
Providing multidisciplinary technical leadership across engineering disciplines, ensuring interfaces are effectively managed and system integration risks are identified and resolved early
Working closely with Programme, Planning, Safety and Delivery teams to ensure engineering maturity, delivery milestones and programme objectives remain aligned
Leading engineering governance, assurance and configuration control activities, ensuring design decisions can withstand internal review and external regulatory scrutiny
Acting as the primary technical interface for CWI and BOP matters, engaging with engineering teams, suppliers, delivery partners, site developers and regulators
Driving the identification, assessment and mitigation of technical, programme and delivery risks, ensuring issues are escalated and resolved effectively
Overseeing supplier technical performance, supporting requirements definition, design reviews, technical query resolution and collaborative optimisation of cost, quality and performance
Championing systems engineering, digital engineering, MBSE and modularisation approaches, driving innovation, consistency and continuous improvement across the Conventional Island organisation
Providing visible and credible senior leadership, influencing at all levels of the business and leading resolution of complex cross-functional engineering and programme challenges
This is a highly visible leadership role, suited to an experienced engineering leader who thrives on technical authority, integration, stakeholder influence and delivering complex safety-critical programmes at scale.
Skills, knowledge and experience
Degree-qualified in a relevant engineering discipline (Mechanical, Nuclear or related); Chartered Engineer (CEng) or working towards equivalent professional status
Significant experience delivering complex mechanical systems, equipment design or major plant engineering programmes within a highly regulated industry
Strong capability in engineering governance, technical assurance, systems integration and design authority responsibilities
Demonstrable experience leading multidisciplinary engineering teams and delivering outcomes across complex stakeholder environments
Broad understanding of conventional power plant systems, including Cooling Water Island, Balance of Plant and associated plant interfaces
We'll ask about your experience influencing senior stakeholders, managing technical risk and maintaining design integrity across large-scale engineering programmes
Location
This role offers hybrid and flexible working. Regular attendance will be expected at Derby, Manchester or Warrington, aligned to programme delivery, collaboration and stakeholder needs.
What's in it for me?
We anticipate paying a salary of £85,600 to £108,400 depending on experience.
Bonus – Performance-related target opportunity of up to 30%
Benefits Allowance – £8,500 per annum, enabling you to create a bespoke package
Pension – 12% employer and 6% employee contributions
Holidays – 28 days holiday (+ public holidays) and the ability to buy or sell up to 4 days
Private Medical Insurance – BUPA single cover healthcare
Life Assurance – 6x pensionable pay
£250 one-off payment for home office purchases
You'll be joining a forward-thinking organisation that values transparency, fairness and innovation. We offer a flexible and inclusive environment, outstanding development opportunities and the opportunity to help shape one of the UK's most exciting clean energy programmes.
Selection process & screening
The recruitment process will include an initial conversation with Talent Acquisition, followed by interview stages with senior engineering stakeholders.
Due to the nuclear environment, offers are subject to:
Our commitments
We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from all backgrounds. As a Disability Confident organisation, we are committed to inclusive recruitment practices and will make reasonable adjustments where required.
Confidence can sometimes hold people back. There's no such thing as a "perfect" candidate — if you feel you meet around 75% of the criteria, we would love to hear from you. We also welcome applications from those considering a sector move or bringing transferable skills.
Pay Range:
£85,600.00
£112,350.00
Why Join Us?
You’ll be joining a forward-thinking organisation that values transparency, fairness, and innovation. We offer:
A flexible, inclusive, and supportive working environment.- Opportunities for career growth in a rapidly scaling business.
- A culture that values diversity, innovation, and continuous learning.
We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from all backgrounds. Inclusivity is important to us, and as a Disability Confident organisation, we are committed to fair, supportive, and continually improving recruitment practices that ensure everyone has the opportunity to thrive.
Confidence can sometimes hold us back from applying for a job. But we'll let you in on a secret: there's no such thing as a 'perfect' candidate. If you feel you meet 75% of the requirements for this role, we would love to hear from you.
Also, if you are considering a career move or a sector-jump, please get in touch – we welcome applications from people with transferable skills.
Our Application Process
Due to the safety regulations within the nuclear industry, applicants will be required to participate in additional screening. These are:
Obtaining Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) clearance- Satisfactory completion of a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check
- Satisfactory completion of a basic financial probity check
#LI-SM1 #LI-Hybrid
