Engineering & Maintenance placements

Engineering & Maintenance face some of the most unique & challenging work in the industry. Our profession enables us to accelerate hazard reduction in a safe, responsible and cost-effective manner.

At Sellafield, Engineering & Maintenance presents unique challenges, driving high-hazard reduction through safe, sustainable, and cost-effective solutions.

  • Summer Placements
    • 10 week placement in one area of the business
    • Disciplines include: Electrical, Mechanical, Chemical
    Industrial Placements
    • 12 month placement in one area of the business
    • Disciplines include: Electrical, Mechanical, Chemical, Civil

  • Electrical
    • Electrical/Electronic Engineering
    • Instrumental Engineering
    • Power Systems Engineering
    Mechanical
    • Mechanical Engineering
    • Aerospace
    • Robotics
    • Manufacturing & Production
    • Materials Engineering
    • Energy Engineering
    • Mechatronics
    • Thermodynamics
    Chemical
    • Chemical Engineering
    • Process Engineering
    • Nuclear Engineering (with Chemical Engineering modules)
    • Biochemical Engineering
    • Environmental Engineering (with Chemical Engineering modules)
    Civil
    • Architecture/Architectural Technology
    • Building Surveying
    • Civil Engineering
    • Civil Asset Management
    • Structural Engineering

  • If you’re looking for a way to enhance your degree while gaining practical, hands-on experience, a placement at Sellafield could be the perfect opportunity.

    A placement allows you to develop valuable workplace skills and industry knowledge that go beyond what can be learned through academic study alone, helping to build a strong foundation for your future career.

    It may also contribute to improved academic performance. Throughout your placement, you’ll take on meaningful and challenging work while receiving support from experienced colleagues, mentors, and fellow students.

    Things to Consider

    Many of the skills and competencies required in engineering are best developed through real-world experience.

    Working in a professional environment enables you to apply your academic learning in practical situations, helping you better understand and navigate the challenges of a constantly evolving engineering industry.

    Our placement programmes provide an excellent opportunity to experience life at Sellafield while enhancing and complementing your university studies.

  • Our Students Programmes are structured schemes and feature one placement for the duration of your time with us, designed to enhance your technical expertise and professional capabilities.

    We align you to a Business Portfolio from day one and the placement is set to offer a variety of experience, with an aim to broaden your skill set and develop attributes towards chartership.

    Beyond your core placements, you’ll engage in diverse projects, contribute to community initiatives through social impact and STEM activities, and focus on personal growth.

    Examples of Extra Curricular activities include
    • Supported use of The Skills Builder Universal Framework (the world’s leading tool for measuring and building essential behavioural skills)
    • Development Days i.e. in conference facilities within Cumbria
    • six weeks Sprint Project (real life problem solving) within a facility in West Cumbria (optional for our Industrial Placement students)
    • Plantwide Tours on Sellafield Site and other facilities
    • STEM Ambassador Responsibilities & Outreach
    • Social Impact (supporting projects in the local community)

    Following a successful placement with us and subject to suitable vacancies, our Recruitment Team will be in touch post scheme with next steps. This means you won’t need to reapply, as you will either be offered a position on our Graduate Scheme or invited back to Assessment Centres. We will record your graduation year on file, along with your future aspirations. This is an excellent way to secure a role ready for when you graduate.

  • Our Students are developed towards one or two key roles including Reliability Engineer (for Mechanical, Electrical and Chemical disciplines) and Equipment Services Engineer (Civils, Infrastructure for example) but the department is incredibly diverse and made up of several.

    Student Scheme Roles
    • Reliability Engineers, who consider the whole system from a holistic point of view. They understand how each piece of equipment affects their system’s design intent and ensure the systems are maintained within their operational and safety requirements. The focus is on increasing the mean time between repair of assets and equipment reliability process to meet business requirements.
    • Equipment Services Engineers in the Civil Equipment Programme are responsible for the inspection, surveying and maintenance of the existing civil/structural nuclear and non-nuclear infrastructure on the Sellafield site.
    Other roles across Sellafield (for information purposes)
    • Equipment Engineers who are responsible for specific equipment which can range from sensitive Radiometric and Robotic solutions to Control Systems, LV Electrical Equipment, Pumps, Motors and Gas Turbines.
    • Plant Engineers contribute to the delivery of a front line plant engineering service to ensure that the maintenance and operation of the system are performed and managed safely, meeting legal obligations and business requirements efficiently and effectively.
    • Maintenance Engineers provide front line maintenance support to improve and maintain the effectiveness of our plants and facilities. Working day to day with our maintenance teams, they provide solutions to problems, input their technical knowledge into work packages and ensure that modifications to processes/plant are effectively recorded and processed.
    • Plant Facing Design Office (West Cumbria based) are responsible for providing multi-discipline design solutions for our plants and facilities; from refurbishment, adaptations and new build schemes; together with substantiation of structures and assets across the site (developed from the separate Design scheme).
    • Our central teams provide leadership and direction on Engineering and Maintenance processes and provide arrangements to manage configuration, spares and obsolescence, equipment reliability and standards, as well as Asset Information Systems.

    • Deliver an engineering reliability service, increasing the mean time between repair of assets and equipment reliability process.
    • Monitor and evaluate asset performance to maintain awareness of current condition, performance and environmental impacts. Ensure appropriate mitigation is in place to achieve short and long-term resolution.
    • Develop, implement and maintain asset strategies for their assigned system / equipment to meet business requirements.
    • Support the development of modifications including identification of need, requirements and design work to enable optimal system performance.
    • Review and maintain the configuration of the defined assets to enable optimal system performance.
    • Prepare periodic health reports and maintain long range plans for the assets to ensure optimal asset performance.
    • Contribute to the review all design proposals, testing and installation procedures and modification reviews providing technical guidance as required to ensure effective and smooth change transitions.
    • Contribute to internal investigations to identify root cause and share learning from experience to ensure best practice and understanding.
    • Represent and provide engineering advice to internal and external audiences to provide information on and recommendations to improve asset performance.
    • Comply with legal obligations such as PUWER, LOLER, PSSR’s, Legionella, etc. regulations are clearly understood, appropriate arrangements implemented and managed across the site physical assets.

  • West Cumbria, including Seascale and its surrounding areas such as Whitehaven Albion Square.

    Not all placements are based on Sellafield Site. We have a variety of offsite locations. Location of workplace will vary based upon placement.

  • We have Summer Student & Industrial Placement Student Training plans including mandatory training and outlining specific training that would be beneficial to your role.

    Your work will align with UK SPEC, supporting your progression toward EngTech, IEng and CEng. A professionally registered Technical Mentor (*for Industrial Placement students) and Senior Co-Ordinator (discipline specific) will assist you during the scheme and beyond throughout your career at Sellafield Ltd, with an expectation of achieving professional registration and becoming a real asset to the business.

    Our early career schemes are recognised and accredited by the IMechE, IET, IChemE, IOP and ICE, as a structured and supported approach to enable developing engineers to gain the required competence and proficiency to make a CEng application.

    • Communication skills – The ability to convey information clearly, listen actively, and adapt your message to different audiences. This minimises misunderstandings and ensures team alignment.
    • Teamwork and Collaboration skills – Working harmoniously with others to achieve a shared goal. This involves sharing ideas, respecting diverse perspectives, and supporting your colleagues.
    • Problem-solving skills – The capacity to identify complex problems, evaluate viable options, and implement logical, effective solutions. It requires staying calm under pressure and thinking on your feet.
    • Adaptability skills – Being flexible and open to change. Adaptability allows you to seamlessly pivot when faced with unexpected challenges, new technologies, or shifting workplace priorities.
    • Time Management skills – Effectively prioritising tasks, meeting deadlines, and maximising your productivity. This skill ensures you can balance multiple responsibilities without sacrificing the quality of your work. Also, having a strong work ethic and displaying good conduct behaviours.
    • Striving to succeed – Being driven by a strong desire to gain knowledge, develop skills and deepen understanding through continuous learning and personal growth.
    • Being able to gain UK security clearance eligibility (due to the sensitive nature of our work).
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