Nuclear - Design Engineer - Tips?
Discussion
Hi All,
I'm a mechanical design engineer, with most of my experience being in machinery - steel processing for the most part.
I've an upcoming interview for a similar role though it's in the nuclear industry, an industry that I've no experience at all in. Think handling systems, automation, nuclear waste disposal and so on.
Does anyone have any advice they could offer? Things to be aware of, things to ask etc.
Ultimately designing a machine is designing a machine, but maybe I am over-thinking it due to it having the scary NUCLEAR bit tagged on as it's a little different than the oily dirty midlands metal-bashing that I'm used to.
The company aren't stating that nuclear experience is explicitly required, but I'd like to hear if anyone has similar experience
Thanks
I'm a mechanical design engineer, with most of my experience being in machinery - steel processing for the most part.
I've an upcoming interview for a similar role though it's in the nuclear industry, an industry that I've no experience at all in. Think handling systems, automation, nuclear waste disposal and so on.
Does anyone have any advice they could offer? Things to be aware of, things to ask etc.
Ultimately designing a machine is designing a machine, but maybe I am over-thinking it due to it having the scary NUCLEAR bit tagged on as it's a little different than the oily dirty midlands metal-bashing that I'm used to.
The company aren't stating that nuclear experience is explicitly required, but I'd like to hear if anyone has similar experience
Thanks
Sycamore said:
Hi All,
I'm a mechanical design engineer, with most of my experience being in machinery - steel processing for the most part.
I've an upcoming interview for a similar role though it's in the nuclear industry, an industry that I've no experience at all in. Think handling systems, automation, nuclear waste disposal and so on.
Does anyone have any advice they could offer? Things to be aware of, things to ask etc.
Ultimately designing a machine is designing a machine, but maybe I am over-thinking it due to it having the scary NUCLEAR bit tagged on as it's a little different than the oily dirty midlands metal-bashing that I'm used to.
The company aren't stating that nuclear experience is explicitly required, but I'd like to hear if anyone has similar experience
Thanks
PM me.I'm a mechanical design engineer, with most of my experience being in machinery - steel processing for the most part.
I've an upcoming interview for a similar role though it's in the nuclear industry, an industry that I've no experience at all in. Think handling systems, automation, nuclear waste disposal and so on.
Does anyone have any advice they could offer? Things to be aware of, things to ask etc.
Ultimately designing a machine is designing a machine, but maybe I am over-thinking it due to it having the scary NUCLEAR bit tagged on as it's a little different than the oily dirty midlands metal-bashing that I'm used to.
The company aren't stating that nuclear experience is explicitly required, but I'd like to hear if anyone has similar experience
Thanks
I've worked as a sub-contractor for similar companies and their level of detail is way above any other type of industry I've come across, so much red tape it's beyond belief and very frustrating at times.
Whether that level of consideration to every single task is actually justified or not is debatable. Just don't try and debate it with them, as it will take three weeks for them to tell you you're wrong without them even listening to your point of view.
Whether that level of consideration to every single task is actually justified or not is debatable. Just don't try and debate it with them, as it will take three weeks for them to tell you you're wrong without them even listening to your point of view.
Ex nuclear. Worked on the reactor side, fuelling machines, cooling etc.
Don’t over think it. You will be part of a team, there will be regs that you won’t have worked within before, you add a zero to the end of the price etc.
A master design engineer designed a new ventilation system for the resin encapsulation system. Not once did he bother to leave the office to look at it. He used old drawings and “online” measurements.
It arrived over budget and late. Did it fit. Did it f
k. Was about 300mm too short.
I think he still works there.
I had a good 7 years working for magnox but glad to get out. Now work in medical.
Don’t over think it. You will be part of a team, there will be regs that you won’t have worked within before, you add a zero to the end of the price etc.
A master design engineer designed a new ventilation system for the resin encapsulation system. Not once did he bother to leave the office to look at it. He used old drawings and “online” measurements.
It arrived over budget and late. Did it fit. Did it f
k. Was about 300mm too short. I think he still works there.
I had a good 7 years working for magnox but glad to get out. Now work in medical.
Edited by sam.rog on Monday 3rd July 15:05
I’m in a nuclear defence role – contract lead mechanical
The paperwork is epic, and I mean EPIC. The paperwork WILL take some getting used to. Some, like me, never truly get used to it, and start looking elsewhere….
As Gary29 has said, the level of detail is WAAAY beyond a great deal of “normal” engineering. However, mistakes are made and that means the equipment is built with issues. Its surprising what isn’t looked at as well…I'm finding concerns with calculations done Pre-COVID, signed off and reviewed 4 times since….The culture they have is “steady as she goes”. But for "steady" – read glacial…
One of the main problems is that many of the projects are so long, the engineer who starts on the project may not be the engineer who is there when it is signed off as they have gone elsewhere.
The "lessons learnt" on projects in this industry seem to be forgotten about as well… as the engineer who finishes the project may well be the fourth engineer to do that role in the 8 years since project conception. Guess how I know…
Engineering IS engineering as stated above, but again the paperwork beggar’s belief at times.
The paperwork is epic, and I mean EPIC. The paperwork WILL take some getting used to. Some, like me, never truly get used to it, and start looking elsewhere….
As Gary29 has said, the level of detail is WAAAY beyond a great deal of “normal” engineering. However, mistakes are made and that means the equipment is built with issues. Its surprising what isn’t looked at as well…I'm finding concerns with calculations done Pre-COVID, signed off and reviewed 4 times since….The culture they have is “steady as she goes”. But for "steady" – read glacial…
One of the main problems is that many of the projects are so long, the engineer who starts on the project may not be the engineer who is there when it is signed off as they have gone elsewhere.
The "lessons learnt" on projects in this industry seem to be forgotten about as well… as the engineer who finishes the project may well be the fourth engineer to do that role in the 8 years since project conception. Guess how I know…
Engineering IS engineering as stated above, but again the paperwork beggar’s belief at times.
Don't over think it, the job is the same however, from my experience, its all about culture....
Safety, Environment and Quality is EVERYTHING. You need to get your head around that - not hard to appreciate why!
Learning from mistakes, if you do something wrong / see something wrong, put your hands up and say so - questioning attitude (don't make yourself appear to be an ass about it though!), build to the design - question by all means, but don't go off piste, document everything - every last little change - quality, quality, quality. Not just in the part but the documentation backup. It can be frustrating at first, but go with the flow....
And remember a lot of what you do could be sensitive, so don't advertise who you work for, what you do, what you make anywhere, especially online. Number of times I have to pull some of our people up on this on LinkedIn and FB with open profiles.....
Its a great field to get into - as well as the 'A' stations, some 'B' stations will start to hit decommissioning over the next decade, and new 'C' stations coming online / to be built too. If you don't mind the travel from one arse end of the UK to the other, its a great industry, well paid, interesting and will give you many opportunities in a growing industry!
Safety, Environment and Quality is EVERYTHING. You need to get your head around that - not hard to appreciate why!
Learning from mistakes, if you do something wrong / see something wrong, put your hands up and say so - questioning attitude (don't make yourself appear to be an ass about it though!), build to the design - question by all means, but don't go off piste, document everything - every last little change - quality, quality, quality. Not just in the part but the documentation backup. It can be frustrating at first, but go with the flow....
And remember a lot of what you do could be sensitive, so don't advertise who you work for, what you do, what you make anywhere, especially online. Number of times I have to pull some of our people up on this on LinkedIn and FB with open profiles.....
Its a great field to get into - as well as the 'A' stations, some 'B' stations will start to hit decommissioning over the next decade, and new 'C' stations coming online / to be built too. If you don't mind the travel from one arse end of the UK to the other, its a great industry, well paid, interesting and will give you many opportunities in a growing industry!
Edited by dgswk on Wednesday 5th July 08:09
bucksmanuk said:
I’m in a nuclear defence role – contract lead mechanical
The paperwork is epic, and I mean EPIC. The paperwork WILL take some getting used to. Some, like me, never truly get used to it, and start looking elsewhere….
As Gary29 has said, the level of detail is WAAAY beyond a great deal of “normal” engineering. However, mistakes are made and that means the equipment is built with issues. Its surprising what isn’t looked at as well…I'm finding concerns with calculations done Pre-COVID, signed off and reviewed 4 times since….The culture they have is “steady as she goes”. But for "steady" – read glacial…
One of the main problems is that many of the projects are so long, the engineer who starts on the project may not be the engineer who is there when it is signed off as they have gone elsewhere.
The "lessons learnt" on projects in this industry seem to be forgotten about as well… as the engineer who finishes the project may well be the fourth engineer to do that role in the 8 years since project conception. Guess how I know…
Engineering IS engineering as stated above, but again the paperwork beggar’s belief at times.
Yes. The paperwork is epic, and I mean EPIC. The paperwork WILL take some getting used to. Some, like me, never truly get used to it, and start looking elsewhere….
As Gary29 has said, the level of detail is WAAAY beyond a great deal of “normal” engineering. However, mistakes are made and that means the equipment is built with issues. Its surprising what isn’t looked at as well…I'm finding concerns with calculations done Pre-COVID, signed off and reviewed 4 times since….The culture they have is “steady as she goes”. But for "steady" – read glacial…
One of the main problems is that many of the projects are so long, the engineer who starts on the project may not be the engineer who is there when it is signed off as they have gone elsewhere.
The "lessons learnt" on projects in this industry seem to be forgotten about as well… as the engineer who finishes the project may well be the fourth engineer to do that role in the 8 years since project conception. Guess how I know…
Engineering IS engineering as stated above, but again the paperwork beggar’s belief at times.
By all means try it, but I would not recommend it to people who like to feel any sense of achievement.
If you are somebody who enjoys paperwork for its own sake and endless re-work and reviews with people pretending to deliver (and often talking complete nonsense), whilst actually just kicking the can down the road, making very little progress then you might like it. It pays well (scandalous really, as it really comes from the taxpayer), especially given the lack of actual delivered solutions, although the risk-averse may see that a plus....
Soul-destroying.
If you are a engineer who actually enjoys engineering and seeing outcomes, I would suggest avoiding it.
Edited by Woodrow Wilson on Saturday 22 July 00:27
Lefty said:
See my experience is the opposite. One of my clients is in the fuel cycle and have billions worth of capex projects on the go. It’s real work, interesting work and very much hands-on.
Fair enough. I suspect that is quite rare, though.
Another issue is that there is a lack of knowledge as the people who did a lot of the work in previous decades have now retired or died.
Woodrow Wilson said:
Lefty said:
See my experience is the opposite. One of my clients is in the fuel cycle and have billions worth of capex projects on the go. It’s real work, interesting work and very much hands-on.
Fair enough. I suspect that is quite rare, though.
Another issue is that there is a lack of knowledge as the people who did a lot of the work in previous decades have now retired or died.
Some of the as-building isn’t as good as it should be, I’m working on old sites with piss poor record keeping and any new project involves brownfield work, undiscovered underground scope, contam etc etc etc.
Mind you, most of my career has been in O&G and it’s just the same. Lately picked up some pharma/life-science stuff and it generally isn’t nearly as bad.
It’s odd how contract rates differ for different disciplines in different industries. Process engineers for example, much higher paid in O&G than Nuclear. Same for structural, mechanical and piping but anything to do with sparky bits or 1’s and 0’s seem to be much higher paid in Nuclear.
I’m an economics/business-planning/risk-modelling guy and they’re about the same on a part-time SME/consultant type gig.
Lefty said:
It’s odd how contract rates differ for different disciplines in different industries. Process engineers for example, much higher paid in O&G than Nuclear. Same for structural, mechanical and piping but anything to do with sparky bits or 1’s and 0’s seem to be much higher paid in Nuclear.
Yes, and despite the high rates of pay that I have been offered, I still wouldn't go back to it.Lefty said:
Yeah there’s an eggs-in-a-basket situation. I am trying not to get pigeon holed in any one industry.
OP - any joy?
I sent a fairly extensive email to Sycamore a while ago (see previous posts) but got no response, but they are still posting on other threads. Bit annoying as I put a fair bit of time into it, but hey ho.OP - any joy?
ChevronB19 said:
Lefty said:
Yeah there’s an eggs-in-a-basket situation. I am trying not to get pigeon holed in any one industry.
OP - any joy?
I sent a fairly extensive email to Sycamore a while ago (see previous posts) but got no response, but they are still posting on other threads. Bit annoying as I put a fair bit of time into it, but hey ho.OP - any joy?
I did post a reply to here, though from my phone, and I've no idea where it has gone (or on which thread....
) Likewise, I did reply to your email, and that's sat in my bloody outbox.
New phone since then
Sorry!
Thank you to each of you for the responses here and to those of you that emailed me. It really did help and gave me a good footing for the interviews. I at least sounded like I knew what I was talking about somewhat
The first interview went well (over Teams) and their policy of having a second interview with someone different for a second opinion meant that I had that but I chose to do it on-site. That went well too and all seems positive. Company seems a nice place to work and are quite ambitious in terms of expansion.
I'm just waiting to hear back now regarding an offer (or not), as with various people on annual leave it has meant a bit of a delayed process.
Hopefully that will be in the next few days - Fingers crossed.
I owe each of you a virtual (or real) pint either way, as I'd not have gotten to this point had it not been for the advice in this thread and over emails.
If nothing else, it was interesting getting an idea on how the nuclear industry works compared to what I'm used to.
Edited by Sycamore on Monday 31st July 08:46
Edited by Sycamore on Monday 31st July 08:52
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