Senior Stress Engineer

Job Description:

Westlakes Recruit are currently recruiting for a Senior Stress Engineer. Candidates can be based in Derby and will be engaged on a contract basis.

Job Description

Your Missions:
Technical Delivery
You will lead project teams and technical work in client facing roles, delivering high-quality stress analysis and structural integrity assessments:

• Act as a technical lead for stress and structural integrity, providing expert advice, troubleshooting, and technical oversight.
• Serve as an Independent Technical Approver to ensure the highest engineering standards.
• Use Finite Element Analysis and traditional hand calculations to justify strength, fatigue, defect tolerance, and structural performance to international codes and standards (including pressure vessel and defect-tolerance codes).
• Collaborate closely with safety case authors, design engineers, and multidisciplinary delivery teams.
• Mentor junior engineers, offering technical guidance and helping shape our next generation of stress specialists.

Stress Capability Lead

A portion of your time will be dedicated to leading, developing, and growing internal stress capability:

Capability Development & Governance

• Define the strategic development roadmap for stress engineering capability
• Maintain and improve technical processes, methods, best-practice guides and quality frameworks.
• Monitor workload, skill gaps and training needs across the stress discipline.
• Lead technical upskilling initiatives, coaching frameworks and internal training pathways.
  

Team Growth, Recruitment & Retention

• Work with the Engineering Directors and Business Management teams to forecast demand, plan workforce requirements, and shape the long-term capability pipeline.
• Support recruitment campaigns, interviewing and selecting high-quality stress engineers.
• Ensure strong retention by fostering a supportive culture, mentoring talent, and providing growth opportunities.

Sales, Bidding & Business Development

• Collaborate with Sales and Business Development teams to identify opportunities where stress capability adds value.
• Contribute to bids, proposals, client presentations and technical sales materials.
• Represent stress capability during strategic planning, major pursuits, and innovation initiatives.

Internal & External Leadership

• Act as a visible leader and ambassador for stress engineering across the business and with clients.
• Build and maintain relationships with key technical stakeholders, partners and industry bodies.
  

Qualifications

Qualifications

We want someone who can

• Build high-performing teams supporting a range of customers and industry sectors.
• Lead stress and structural integrity assessments using modern techniques.
• Deliver and review high-quality technical assessments to recognised standards.
• Mentor and guide junior engineers while acting as a senior technical reference point.
• Work directly with clients to tackle complex stress and integrity challenges.
• Demonstrate expert FE analysis capability (strength, fatigue, defects, lifetime assessments).
• Apply ASME III / ASME VIII, API-579, BS7910, BS7608, R4/R5/R6 codes.
• Desirable: experience in CFD, dynamics, fatigue, and degradation mechanisms.
• Must have experience in the nuclear sector or a comparable highly regulated sector.

Your Toolbox Should Include

• Degree in engineering + Chartered Engineer (CEng).
• Experience in stress assessments in the nuclear sector.
• Strong communicator with excellent commercial awareness.
• Expert in ABAQUS (or ANSYS, LS-Dyna, etc.).
• Experience with Altair Hyperworks or similar tools.
• Familiarity with code assessments (ASME, PD5500, BS2573, BS EN 13001, R6).
• Coding and scripting using languages such as Python.
• Knowledge of manufacturing methods, materials, and inspection techniques.

For more information on this role or to register your interest for future job updates, please visit (url removed)

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