Nuclear reactor desk engineer

This occupation is found in the engineering sector, in the commercial nuclear power industry and within the Ministry of Defence Royal Navy submarine fleet. Nuclear power in the United Kingdom (UK) generates around one fifth of the country's electricity. The UK currently has 15 operational commercial nuclear reactors at seven plants, 14 advanced gas-cooled reactors (AGR) and one pressurised water reactor (PWR). Reactor desk engineers are based within the main control room of a nuclear facility or the manoeuvring room in a nuclear submarine environment. The demand for this role is increasing with the advent of new nuclear build and developing technologies.

The broad purpose of the occupation is to operate, monitor and control the nuclear reactor and associated equipment in normal operational mode, as well as abnormal conditions. They exercise this control during incident scenarios. This includes emergencies, such as system failures, security threats, fire or external events that may impact health & safety. The reactor desk engineer is the human interface between the reactor instrumentation and control systems and all personnel working on or interacting with these associated systems. They start up and shut down the nuclear reactor, observe system trends, control and monitor routine operation and maintenance activities and determine appropriate corrective action. They may take direct action from the control room/manoeuvring room itself or instruct operations and/or maintenance teams to take action. They ensure that all relevant operational parameters are logged and handed over to the incoming shift team, in a concise and easy to understand manner.

To carry out these duties, they must understand and apply complex engineering operating procedures. The role requires a high level of professionalism, the ability to interact with people at all levels in the organisation and to operate under pressure on their own.

In their daily work, an employee in this occupation interacts with other members of their shift team. They report directly to the control room/manoeuvring room supervisor and liaise with other members of the operations team such as the technicians and operations engineers outside the control room/manoeuvring room. They interact with the outgoing and incoming shift team as part of the handover activity.

In a power station environment, they exert control and direct personnel involved with activities on the plant which impact on safety. The reactor desk engineer has overall control over maintenance teams, operations technicians and systems engineers working on the plant in all modes of operation (normal, abnormal and fault modes). In emergency situations, the reactor desk engineer interacts with the emergency services and the on site emergency teams that respond as part of the emergency arrangements for their site, via the control room supervisor.

In the defence sector this role is more focussed on the system operation/control. In abnormal and fault conditions, the reactor operator will interact with the duty engineer or manoeuvring room supervisor.. An employee in this occupation will be responsible for the operation of a nuclear reactor, as a duly authorised person, in accordance with the nuclear regulatory legislation for the control and supervision of operations. They are ultimately responsible for the safety of individuals, the environment and operational assets. They must achieve and maintain competency in accordance with nuclear regulations.

The role requires the appropriate level of security clearances/vetting to work within the nuclear industry.