From Rail to Nuclear: How Jamie-Leigh Built a Thriving Career at Amentum

You don't have to have Nuclear experience to join the industry. Jamie-Leigh's career journey so far is one of many inspirational stories from people in the team who have joined Amentum from other sectors.

My Story

At 17 years old, I started an apprenticeship in railway signalling design. Following 10 years in the rail industry, I opted for a change and joined Amentum as an EC&I engineer on nuclear power stations and a few years later took on a team lead role within my area. I also achieved Incorporated Engineer registration. After five years in the role, I moved into the Project Management area looking after some framework projects as well as our ANSWERS Software Service and a Research & Development project looking into using software codes in a new tool. Additionally, I became a lead for the use of the ISO44001: Collaborative Management Standard on projects. Two years later, I am now the Operations Manager for the Safety Case, Risk & Reliability team.

My Team

I am responsible for a team of ~36 Safety Case Engineers working across both civil nuclear power and defence nuclear for customers including EDF Energy, the Ministry of Defence and GE Hitachi. The capability in my team spans several areas including Safety Case Assessment, Licensing, Hazards, and more. We have a mixed team, from Graduates through to Senior/Principal Engineers, and have recently taken on a couple of individuals who will be completing placements with us as they seek to apply their experience gained in academia to industry.

What Inspires Me?

My children inspire me to strive to do the best I can. I want to set the right example and show them the right attitude to take forward in their lives and careers going forward. I want them to be proud of me and what I’ve achieved, especially working in a traditionally male-dominated industry, just like I am proud of them and everything they achieve. I hope that my example shows them the benefits of careers in STEM and highlights that any traditional ‘male’ jobs shouldn’t be dismissed because of gender-related preconceptions. There definitely aren’t male/female job aspirations in our house - my eldest daughter wants to be a footballer and my youngest daughter wants to be an astronaut!

My Favourite Quote

“When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.” – Henry Ford

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