From McDonald's to Group Director: how Clare Eagle built a 16-year career in nuclear at Amentum

You do not need a nuclear or engineering background to build a career in the nuclear sector. Clare Eagle joined Amentum UK as a Project Controller after eight years in management and operations at McDonald's, bringing transferable skills in leadership, communication, problem-solving and adaptability. Over 16 years she has progressed through project controls, business development, integration management, transformation and operations to become Group Director.

Clare Eagle swapped weekend shifts at McDonald's for a project controls role in nuclear. Sixteen years and nine roles later she is a Group Director at Amentum. Her story shows how far transferable skills can take you.

Think you do not have the skills to work in nuclear? Clare Eagle's career suggests you should think again.

Clare joined Amentum UK after eight years in management and operations at McDonald's. Weekend working had become difficult while she was raising three young children, and she was looking for a role that fitted around family life. What she brought with her was not a technical qualification but a set of transferable skills: leadership, communication, problem-solving and adaptability. Those skills meant she could hit the ground running in her first role as a Project Controller.

That first role was the start of a career that has now spanned more than 16 years and several parts of the business. Clare's progression at Amentum, as set out in the timeline Amentum shared, runs as follows:

• 2008: Project Controller
• 2010: Project Controls Lead
• 2013: Senior Project Controls Lead
• 2015: Business Development Manager
• 2018: Founded the Leadership Academy Development Programme
• 2019: Programme Management Office, Integration Lead
• 2020: Operations Director
• 2022: Transformation Director
• 2024: Group Director

Along the way she has worked in business development, integration management, transformation and operations, and she set up the company's Leadership Academy Development Programme to help others develop the way she had.

What this means for jobseekers

Amentum UK and International works across nuclear and defence, sectors that can look closed to anyone without an engineering degree. Clare's story is Amentum's way of saying that the door is wider than it appears. Project controls, programme management, business development and operations all need people who can lead, communicate and solve problems, and those skills are built in plenty of other industries, including hospitality and retail.

If you are weighing up a move into nuclear from a different sector, the questions worth asking a prospective employer are the ones Clare's story answers: will the role fit around your life, will your existing skills be recognised, and is there a visible route to progress? Clare's timeline is one answer to all three.

You can search current Amentum vacancies through the VERCIDA Amentum employer page.