Chief Design Engineer Components and Mechanical Design

Role description

Thomas Thor are working in partnership with Morson Talent and Rolls-Royce SMR (Small Modular Reactor) to recruit a Chief Design Engineer Components and Mechanical Design to join their team in Derby or Warrington, who will be accountable for development of the fully integrated technical solutions and governance across all aspects of the Small Modular Reactor (SMR) Component Design.

The Company

Rolls-Royce SMR is a start-up joint special purpose vehicle (SPV) business, specifically created to design, construct and deliver a new fleet of Small Modular Reactors power plants that will be a critical and strategic player in the race to Net Zero carbon emissions globally. Spun out of Rolls-Royce with its pedigree in engineering excellence but also attracting world class inward investment this is an exciting new business with an optimistic opportunity to be a global player in the coming years. Their Intellectual Property and resource expertise has grown from an organization that has already designed and delivered over 35 nuclear reactors for use in the UK’s Royal Navy Submarine program. That’s combined with the knowledge and unique aerospace experience of manufacturing expertise, supply chain management and logistics.

SMR is an integrated power station, that takes well understood, existing nuclear technology and applies a factory-based philosophy to its fabrication and assembly to provide clean, affordable energy for all. Just one SMR can power one million homes for sixty years!

The Post

Reporting to the Chief Plant Engineer, the Chief Design Engineer (CDE) for Components and Mechanical Design role covers the senior technical and programme leadership of large multi-disciplinary teams, across all aspects of the Small Modular Reactor (SMR) Component Design. This includes: the overall direction and governance of the programmes of work under their scope; accepting the validity of the technical solutions developed under their direction; the delivery of a robust design and safety justification, supported by detailed mechanical analysis and Design for Manufacture assessment; the integration of this solution into the overall design; development of the engineering capability across component / mechanical design and problem resolution within this boundary.

The scope of component design leadership covers all areas across the power station, covering nuclear and conventional island components and commodities and will require extensive engagement with a wide supply chain and a diverse stakeholder group to ensure that the design is progressed in accordance with the programme’s standardisation strategy. The scope includes in house design and manufacture components as well as externally sourced components.

The candidate will be a senior expert in component design with a strong proven record of delivery of large complex programmes.

Key Responsibilities

• Technically lead and drive their specified elements of the design programme in line with the programme’s policies and processes.
• Manage large multidisciplinary teams to deliver the full scope of the component and mechanical design capability, covering Nuclear and Conventional Island applications.
• Own the delivery programme for their accountable scope of supply and create and manage suitable design milestone schedules.
• Deliver the required design documentation/definition to the programme for both in house manufacture and external supply chain components.
• Define and manage the required elements of all lifecycle management aspects of the design scope.
• Manage and agree requirements across the full scope and ensure requirements are satisfied in accordance with any required V&V plans and programmes.
• Develop design and product cost estimates, manage the wider technical attributes for their scope and maintain the associated opportunity and risk registers.
• Develop and implement robust governance processes for their scope of supply, integrating it into the wider power station / programme governance cycle.
• Deliver and own any generated engineering substantiation and safety cases.
• Develop and lead the team to provide the required technical expertise across the full commodity scope to support the supply chain and procurement teams in sourcing and commodity management strategies and ensure designs are produced in line with the standardisation policy.
• Own the design configuration control process for their area of accountability, integrated with the wider programme.
• Develop and lead the capability of the business across the component and mechanical design scope.
• Deliver capability strategies to ensure that the business has the capability to deliver all aspects of the component design and supporting mechanical analysis, covering in house and externally sourced capability.
• Implement the programme Health, Safety and Environment policy on all designated activities.

The CDE has delegated signing / approval authority from the Chief Engineer related to delivery of their defined scope.

Qualifications & Experience

• Relevant Technical degree level and extensive experience in Mechanical / Component design.
• CEng or equivalent status.
• Proven track record of large complex programme delivery
• Experience managing engineering teams