Senior Core Transport and Turbulence Modeller

About the role

Are you looking for an exciting opportunity to make a difference? Join our team and contribute to the future of fusion energy. As Senior Core Transport and Turbulence Modeller, you will play a pivotal role in leading, proposing, and conducting turbulence and transport analysis using advanced transport codes and integrated modelling frameworks like JINTRAC and TRANSP, while exploiting state-of-the-art core turbulence and gyrokinetic codes. The postholder will carry out such analyses for a range of existing and future tokamaks, including MAST-U and the conceptual high-β spherical tokamak power plant, STEP. Additionally, you will direct, propose, and execute experiments on MAST-U, aiming to validate and guide the development of reduced transport models, ultimately enhancing confidence in predictive simulations of core transport.

Responsibilities

• Provide scientific leadership and guidance in developing and validating turbulence models to produce predictive simulations of the core plasma transport in support of the UK's STEP programme.
• Maintain and guide the development of Prokinetics, the Python library used for gyrokinetic code analysis.
• Direct, propose and execute experiments on MAST-U, especially in the area of the role.
• Act as the scientific point of contact for core plasma modelling on MAST-U.
• Nurture and grow existing collaborations, and seek new opportunities for national and international collaborations.
• Provide guidance and expertise, directing the future of development of transport and turbulence analysis at UKAEA.
• Report results at science and other regular progress meetings. Disseminate results through presentations, conferences, and peer reviewed journal papers.
• Guide. and mentor Early Career researchers in areas relating to turbulence and transport modelling.
• A demonstrably strong scientific and technical aptitude, and a growth mind-set for acquiring any new specific knowledge or experience needed to deliver the role.
• PhD level research experience in plasma physics or in a related discipline and post-doctoral experience in plasma modelling
• Proven ability to conduct independent research.
• Demonstrable high-quality outputs in areas very relevant to the role, i.e. track record of publications in one or more of:
• Core turbulent transport models based on gyrokinetics and/or reduced quasilinear models
• Heat, particle and momentum sources
• Transport analysis and integrated modelling of tokamak plasma scenarios
• Ability to interact with physicists and understand their requirements.
• Good oral and written communication skills.
• The post-holder must be a good team-player with an outward facing work-ethos as they will work closely with scientists from around the world.
• A full list of our benefits can be found here https://careers.ukaea.uk/life-at-ukaea/employee-benefits/
• UK Atomic Energy Authority is committed to being accessible. Please email talent@ukaea.uk 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.
• Please note that vacancies are generally advertised for 4 weeks but may close earlier if we receive a large number of applications.

Benefits

Additional Information

The salary for this role is £57,117 (inclusive of a Specialist Allowance) [. Onsite working is expected for 3 days each week, however, we actively support requests for flexible working. This role can be based at any of the following sites: Culham, Oxfordshire. This role requires employees to complete an online Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) , including The Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) checks for criminal convictions and possibly a search of open source data.

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