Emerging Materials and Manufacturing Development (EMMD) Manager

Job Description

We are looking for an experienced and highly motivated Emerging Materials & Manufacturing Development (EMMD) Manager to lead the development of novel materials and manufacturing technologies for the STEP programme—helping to deliver the UK’s prototype fusion energy plant and enable future commercial fusion power.

This is a unique opportunity to operate at the cutting edge of materials science, manufacturing engineering, and fusion technology, driving forward first-of-a-kind solutions that will underpin the success of next-generation energy systems.

The Opportunity

In this pivotal technical leadership role, you will define and deliver the strategy for maturing low Technology Readiness Level (TRL) materials, advanced manufacturing techniques, and industrial processes. You will work closely with industry partners, academia, and the Fusion Partner to translate ambitious design requirements into scalable, manufacturable, and qualifiable solutions.

Your work will directly influence technology readiness, design maturity, cost, risk, and plant buildability for both the STEP Prototype Plant and future commercial fusion programmes.

Key Responsibilities

Programme Leadership

• Lead the Emerging Materials & Manufacturing Development programme across critical STEP systems and components
• Define and deliver roadmaps for:
  • Novel structural and functional materials
  • Advanced joining technologies
  • Fabrication and assembly methods
  • Inspection and repair approaches
• Align development activities with design maturity, qualification requirements, programme milestones, and supply chain strategies
• Identify and prioritise development activities to mitigate technical and manufacturing risks

Materials Development

• Oversee the development and assessment of advanced materials, including:
  • High-temperature structural alloys
  • Copper alloys and heat sink materials
  • Refractory and plasma-facing materials
  • Ceramics, insulators, seals, and ancillary materials
• Lead the generation of material property data and design allowables
• Contribute to the development of a robust and defensible materials database

Manufacturing & Process Development

• Define and mature early-stage manufacturing routes, including:
  • Machining, forming, and additive manufacturing
  • Powder metallurgy and HIP processes
  • Advanced joining (brazing, diffusion bonding, welding)
  • Coatings and surface engineering
  • Assembly and integration techniques
• Lead process trials, prototype builds, and sub-scale demonstrations
• Establish process windows, critical parameters, and quality requirements

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Act as the organisation’s subject matter expert for emerging materials and manufacturing
• Support design reviews, manufacturing readiness assessments, FMEA, and lifecycle assessments
• Collaborate with engineering, supply chain, and regulatory teams to ensure solutions are scalable, inspectable, and deployable

About You

We are looking for a confident technical leader with a passion for innovation and delivery. You will bring:

• Degree (or equivalent experience) in Materials Science, Manufacturing Engineering, or a related discipline
• Strong experience in advanced materials development and manufacturing process engineering
• Proven track record of delivering low TRL technology development programmes
• Experience working across industry, academia, or large-scale engineering programmes
• Knowledge of qualification methodologies, testing, and materials databases
• Strong leadership and stakeholder management skills

Experience in nuclear, fusion, aerospace, or other highly regulated industries is desirable.

Why Join Us?

• Play a leading role in delivering fusion energy, one of the most transformative technologies of our time
• Work on first-of-a-kind engineering challenges with global impact
• Collaborate with world-leading experts across industry and research
• Competitive salary and benefits package
• Opportunity to shape the future of a growing fusion supply chain

Qualifications

Essential:

• PhD in a relevant discipline (or equivalent experience).
• World class expertise related to novel materials development, manufacturing R&D and scale up, ideally within the fusion sector.
• An international track record related to materials science and manufacturing technology.
• Demonstrated understanding of nuclear materials science issues, especially in fusion (e.g. irradiation effects, testing methodologies).
• Experience and research excellence in collaborative R&D teams (eg evidenced through publications and other research outputs), delivering under technical and time constraints.
• Demonstrable ability to set strategic direction, inspire and motivate.
• Demonstrable capability to initiate and develop a technical programme.
• Build and maintain trusted relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
• Demonstrable commitment to your team, respecting their views and expertise.
• Proven ability to anticipate, manage, and resolve conflict while fostering collaboration to achieve programme-wide goals.
• Outstanding communication skills, with the ability to influence at all levels; formulate a coherent argument; articulate ideas clearly; listen actively and respond appropriately.
• Demonstrable commitment to responsible and ethical innovation.
• Demonstrable experience of working in compliance with modern safety, health, environment and quality insurance standards.

Beneficial:

• Strong expertise in materials modelling.
• Experience of a wide range of experimental materials science (e.g. microstructural characterisation, corrosion testing, advanced micro-mechanical testing, digital image correlation, etc).
• Working with diverse stakeholders.
• Background in intellectual property generation and its management (writing patents, technology disclosures, etc).
• Familiarity of approaches related to Design for multiple attributes (e.g. reliabilitiy, maintainability, manufacture, disposal, etc)
• Experience in the development or interpretation of design codes for novel materials in harsh environments.

Additional Information

We welcome applications from under-represented groups, particularly women in STEM and individuals from British black and ethnic minority backgrounds, and individuals with disabilities. Our Executive team, supported by our 'Equality, Diversity and Inclusion' (EDI) Partner and Inclusion Ambassadors, actively promotes EDI and takes steps to increase diversity within our organisation. We reinforce best practices in recruitment and selection and evaluate approaches to remove barriers to success.

UKFE is committed to being accessible. Please email [email protected] if you have any questions or require help or adjustments to compete on a fair basis, for example, changes to the way we interview or share information.

This role requires employees to complete an online Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS), including the Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) checks for criminal convictions. Whilst not required at this time, there is a possibility of an SC Clearance being required in the future. If a candidate already holds an SC clearance, that clearance can be transferred to UKFE.

As we work towards our mission and goals, guided by our principles, STEP has six behaviours that are intended to capture the spirit of how we work: 

• We champion safety 
• We all matter 
• We act as one 
• We embrace change 
• We are pioneering 
• We deliver 

For applicants applying from outside the United Kingdom or those who have spent time outside the UK in the last five years, please visit the following link for information on criminal records checks: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/criminal-records-checks-for-overseas-applicants If your country of residence or previous residence is not listed on the website or if the UK Government does not have information on obtaining a criminal records check from that state, we regret to inform you that we cannot process your application.