Senior Mechanical Engineer HVAC

Job description

Science and Technology Facilities Council
Salary: £46,444 (depending on skills and experience)
Contract Type: Fixed-term contract (23 months)
Hours: Full-time
Location: Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell, Oxfordshire OX11 0QX

Closing date: 16th November 2026

Together, our scientists, technologists, engineers and business support team explore the unknown and turn what they find into work that changes the world around us. Whether it's sending probes into space or finding new ways to treat cancer, everyone here plays a vital role in making a positive difference to society.

Come and discover how much you can achieve when you're surrounded by world-leading experts, encouraged to constantly learn and empowered to explore your curiosity.

Key accountabilities

The role is responsible for undertaking the efficient and effective day-to-day execution of maintenance activities relating to the heating and ventilation services. The role reports to the Mechanical Services Supervisor, undertaking maintenance to ensure the provision of safe and reliable mechanical services across the STFC estate. You will be responsible for ensuring services meet or exceed relevant industry standards and comply with STFC's health and safety codes and comply with the relevant statutory regulations.

You will be responsible for the continuous development of heating and ventilation standards through an ongoing proactive programme of maintenance regimes which are managed through the Estates Helpdesk. You will also have an active role in the installation of new/replacement mechanical services and systems across the estate.

Role Responsibilities

Duties and responsibilities include:

• Taking a lead role in the operation and maintenance of the Estates mechanical services (heating/air conditioning/chilled water and other piped services).
• Overseeing works carried by less experienced members of the team and third-party suppliers.
• Ensuring that all work carried out on STFC's estate is completed in an effective and professional manner and that all current safety and technical legislation is adhered to, including:
  • assess risk assessments and method statements submitted by contractors.
  • assess risk assessments and method statements produced for in-house staff.
  • safe systems of work (permits/isolation procedures/hot works/chlorination/testing and re-commissioning).
• Organising, implementing and undertaking maintenance, remedial works and upgrades, effectively communicating subsequent impact to the relevant STFC estate stakeholders.
• Carrying out works efficiently and effectively; acquiring and signing off work through the STFC designated computer-aided facility management package via a mobile device.
• Installation, operation, fault finding, repair and maintenance of a wide range of mechanical building services such as refrigeration, heating and ventilation systems.
• Ensuring that all work carried out on STFC's estate is completed in an effective and professional manner and that all current safety and technical legislation is adhered to.
• Ensuring that works are completed to a high standard and in a timely fashion in order to reduce their impact on scientific programmes.
• Attending training courses on future developments and technologies as required for the role.
• You may sometimes be required to take on additional authorised person responsibilities (eg. pressure systems/ HVAC).
• To be able to assist the Mechanical Supervisor with scheduling PPMs and reactive works across both the in-house and third-party resource.
• Ability to be on call during silent hours which will be compensated by an on-call allowance (one week in five, as part of a planned rotation).

Estates Responsibilities

As a member of STFC's Estates Services, the post holder will proactively support the Estates remit to deliver flexible, customer focused and efficient services that support the delivery of STFC's vision, values and objectives. The Estates Services team needs to be agile and able to adapt to the ever-changing needs of our diverse customer base; it is therefore expected that the post holder will demonstrate a flexible and adaptable approach.

All members of the Estates team will, from time to time, be expected to lead or participate (appropriate to Band level) in STFC and Estates projects that may be outside their normal remit.

Shortlisting Criteria
Qualifications
Essential

• City & Guilds Level 2/3 NVQ Certificate 6187 - Certificate in Servicing and Maintaining Air Conditioning and Heat Pump Systems. (S)
• Fluorinated gas training. (I)
• Sound understanding of health and safety legislation. (S&I)
• Basic knowledge of Computer Aided Facility Management (CAFM) systems. (I)
• Asbestos awareness trained. (S&I)
• IPAF and PASMA trained. (S)

Knowledge, Skills and Experience
Essential

• Good working knowledge of heating, ventilation, air conditioning and mechanical services. (S)
• Experience of fault finding in heating, refrigeration ventilation and mechanical plant systems. (S)
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Office. (I)

Personal
Essential

• Ability to work in a methodical and structured way. (I)
• Confidence in dealing with suppliers and service users. (I)
• Excellent interpersonal skills. (I)
• Conscientious with good attention to detail. (I)
• Ability to work with minimal supervision. (I)

Benefits

STFC values their employees by offering a benefits package designed to provide an excellent work/life balance including 30 days' annual leave, 10.5 public and privilege holidays, flexible working hours, a workplace nursery, exceptional average salary pension scheme, social and sporting activities and societies and a subsidised restaurant.

As one of Europe's largest research organisations, this is a place where there's always something new to learn about the world around us, about your career, but most of all, about yourself. Join us and discover what's possible.

Please note: if you will require sponsorship to work in the UK, as part of your sponsorship application, you (and any dependants travelling with you) will be required to pay costs directly to the UK Home Office for the application before you start your role with us. UKRI is normally able to reimburse some, or all of these fees after you have become an employee, and this can be discussed with the Hiring Manager. For more information, please visit https://www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa/how-much-it-costs or contact [email protected] .

UKRI - UK Research and Innovation
UKRI is an organisation that brings together the seven disciplinary research councils, Research England and Innovate UK. Together, we build an independent organisation with a strong voice and vision ensuring the UK maintains its world-leading position in research and innovation.

Supporting some of the world's most exciting and challenging research projects, we develop and operate some of the most remarkable scientific facilities in the world. We are pushing the frontiers of human knowledge through fundamental research and delivering benefits for UK society and the economy through world-class research, skills and business-led innovation.

More information can be found at www.ukri.org .

Choosing to come to work at UKRI means that you will have access to a whole host of benefits from a defined benefit pension scheme, excellent holiday entitlement, access to employee shopping/travel discounts and salary sacrifice cycle to work scheme. For more details, visit benefits of working for UKRI .

How we support EDI in the workforce

At UKRI, we believe that everyone has a right to be treated with dignity and respect, and to be provided with equal opportunities to thrive and succeed in an environment that enables them to do so. We also value diversity of thought and experience within inclusive groups, organisations and the wider community. For further information, please visit 'How we support EDI in the workforce'.

Disability Confident Employer

As users of the disability confident scheme, any candidate who opts into the scheme and best meets the essential criteria, will be shortlisted for interview. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.

How to apply

Online applications only preferred for this role. Please submit a CV and covering letter which clearly outlines how you fulfil the criteria specified along with your motivation for UKRI and the role. Ensure that the job reference number is included in the filename description of each document uploaded. Note that failure to address the above criteria or submit an application without a covering letter may result in the application not being considered.

UKRI seeks to ensure it creates and maintains a system of openness, fairness and inclusion - a collaborative, trusted environment, which is attractive to and accessible to everyone who is interested in developing their career with us.

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be rejected and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action.

As part of the pre-employment checks there is a requirement to undergo Baseline Personnel Security Screening. BPSS is a pre-condition of employment and failure to achieve it may mean that the employment offer is rescinded. UKRI reserves the right to run, or re-run, security clearance as required during the course of employment.

The Science and Technology Facilities Council is a world-leading multi-disciplinary science organisation where curiosity-driven, blue-skies thinking meets practical, application-led science and engineering. Our goal is to deliver economic, societal, scientific and international benefits to the UK and its people - and more broadly to the world.

One of Europe's largest research organisations, we're trusted to support, enable and undertake cutting-edge projects in an amazing diversity of fields. Through world-class facilities and people, we're driving ground-breaking advances in science, engineering, computing and technology. Our research seeks to understand the Universe from the largest astronomical scales to the tiniest constituents of matter, yet creates impact on a very tangible, human scale.
For more information about STFC please visit https://stfc.ukri.org/ You can also visit our careers site https://www.stfccareers.co.uk/