Principal Testing Rigs & Labs Technician

The salary for this role is £57,117 (inclusive of a Specialist Allowance). Onsite working is expected for 5 days each week. 

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. 

The Role

We are recruiting a Principal Testing Rigs & Labs Technician to provide senior‑level technical leadership within our experimental laboratories. 

This is a highly practical role, combining deep hands‑on expertise with day‑to‑day operational responsibility for testing rigs, laboratory equipment and experimental activities. You will be the principal technical authority for laboratory operations, ensuring experiments are built, commissioned and run safely, efficiently and to a high technical standard. 

Working closely with engineers, scientists and programme teams, you will translate experimental designs into robust, real‑world test setups, mentor technicians and apprentices, and help evolve laboratory capability to meet the needs of novel and emerging technologies. 

Key Accountabilities:

• Take day‑to‑day ownership of the safe and effective operation of testing rigs and laboratory facilities 
• Act as the technical lead for experimental build, commissioning, operation and decommissioning activities 
• Translate experimental designs into safe, buildable and high‑quality physical test setups 
• Provide hands‑on leadership during complex or novel experimental work, troubleshooting issues and reducing technical risk 
• Ensure laboratory assets, tooling and equipment are maintained, organised, calibrated and fit for purpose 
• Lead risk assessment, safe systems of work and incident investigation within laboratory environments 
• Generate and maintain technical procedures, experimental documentation and high‑quality test data records 
• Support continuous improvement of laboratory processes, workflows, tooling and instrumentation 
• Supervise, mentor and develop technicians and apprentices, setting high standards of professionalism and safety 
• Engage with internal and external stakeholders to clarify requirements, provide expert guidance and manage expectations 
• Deputise for the Testing Rigs and Labs Operations Manager when required