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Lead Geotechnical Engineer

VINCI Construction

Join NUVIA UK as a Lead Geotechnical Engineer, where you will play a crucial role in defining, integrating, and assuring the geotechnical design basis for the STEP Prototype Plant. You will be responsible for ensuring foundation performance, ground stability, and soil-structure interaction for safety-classified and non-safety-classified structures. This position offers a hybrid work model and the opportunity to contribute to some of the UK's most innovative and strategically important programs in the nuclear, defense, and energy sectors.

Responsibilities

  • Definir y mantener la base de diseño geotécnico y los parámetros, alineados con los requisitos funcionales de seguridad del STEP.
  • Evaluar y gestionar los riesgos de licuefacción, asentamiento total y diferencial, capacidad de carga y estabilidad de taludes para el sitio del SPP.
  • Desarrollar y asegurar estrategias de mejora del terreno apropiadas para estructuras nucleares grandes, pesadas y sensibles a las vibraciones y sismos.
  • Define and maintain the geotechnical design basis and parameters, aligned with STEP safety functional requirements and classification.
  • Assess and manage liquefaction, total and differential settlement, bearing capacity and slope stability risks for the SPP site.
  • Develop and assure ground improvement strategies appropriate for large, heavily‑loaded, vibration‑ and seismic‑sensitive nuclear structures.
  • Provide authoritative input to:
  • Seismic hazard response and load transfer
  • Blast and extreme event assessments

Soil–structure interaction modelling

  • Integrate geotechnical data, models and assumptions into the STEP digital twin, supporting lifecycle change control and traceability.
  • Support safety case authors by providing defensible geotechnical arguments, limits and claims.
  • Interface with civil, structural, seismic, safety, CDM and construction teams to ensure design integration and buildability.
  • Identify geotechnical risks to programme, safety or cost and support optioneering to reduce uncertainty at early design stages.