Senior Engineer - Human Factors

Purpose

Our client is responsible for supporting the maintenance of the Royal Navy’s Fleet of surface ships and nuclear submarines both within the U.K. and oversees.  Due to an increase in business demands, there is an exciting opportunity for a highly motivated and experienced human factors professional at our U.K. Devonport Royal Dockyard (DRD) site.

Working within a human factors team, your role will be to support engineers and other scientific disciplines operating in the high hazard nuclear regulated industry in:

• The design development of new or modifications to existing site systems,  processes and facilities;
• Provide human factors input into the nuclear safety assessment process;
• Support the successful implementation and validation of the human performance elements of the safety case within the operation business setting.  

The rate of pay for this role is negotiable inline with experience and market rates. 

Responsibilities

Reporting to the Principal Engineer (Human Factors) the Senior Engineer (Human Factors) is responsible for:

• Providing professional support to the Principal Engineer (Human Factors) who is the professional authority for the Human Factors discipline covering design, safety assessment and human performance related aspects of the DRD business.
• Providing support to the professional growth, development and mentoring of junior members of the human factors team including those who are on the HF graduate scheme.
• Undertaking human factors assessment work in support of ergonomic design development, safety assessment and the verification / validation of the human performance elements of high hazard systems, processes and facilities.  Such assessment work to include but not limited to task analysis, error analysis, workload analysis, ergonomic design, and human reliability analysis.
• The preparation of scopes of work, cost estimates and programmes for human factors assessment work to be undertaken in support of business programmes.
• The checking of human factors assessment work undertaken by other members of the human factors team.
• Supporting the business on engaging with regulatory bodies on Human Factors related issues (e.g. ONR, DNSR, EA).
• Promoting the concept of human centred design within the business and to influence the design development of socio-technical systems, processes and facilities that are human centred.
• Providing professional human factors advice, guidance and support to the business across the seven human factors domains: Human Factors Engineering, System Safety, Health Hazard Assessment, Personnel, Manpower, Training, Organisation and Social.
• Ensuring that the application of behavioural science thinking within the business is based upon evidenced based practice.
• Keeping abreast of the latest concepts, ideas and thinking within the field of Human Factors / Human Performance / Industrial Psychology to ensure that human factors best practice is adopted within the business.
• Supporting the development and delivery of human factors training to the business.
• Being a professional point of contact for wider engineering disciplines who are seeking professional advice on Human Factors Engineering related problems.
• Undertaking site incident investigations to analyse the anatomy of an incident, to identify causes and make recommendations to prevent the reoccurrence of such incidents.

Qualifications

• First degree in Psychology plus MSc in Occupational Psychology, Applied Psychology or, Industrial Psychology,
• or
  • Ergonomics based discipline or an engineering degree with high psychological / ergonomics content (or equivalent).

The individual should be a Registered Member of the Chartered Institute of Ergonomics and Human Factors or a Chartered Member of the British Psychological Society with experience of working in the Human Factors field within high hazard industries.

Experience

• Have significant experience working within high hazard process industries (e.g. nuclear, defence or petrochemical);
• Have a sound understanding of nuclear safety assessment principles and safety case production;
• Be familiar with both HF qualitative and quantitative HRA techniques (e.g. HEART, THERP,  APJ);
• Be experienced in the application of human factors knowledge / understanding in support of engineering  system / process design;
• Have a sound knowledge in the principles underpinning training development in a structured manner;
• Have the ability to clearly understand engineering concepts and to communicate effectively with engineers and other scientific disciplines on human factors related matters;
• To be able to manage their time effectively and to deliver work packages against tight programme deadlines;
• Have (or able to obtain) UK security clearance to SC level;
• Be experienced in the application of psychological ethics associated with the undertaking of research and professional practice;
• Incident / event investigation.

Other information:

• IR 35: Inside
• Duration: 66 weeks
• Pay Rate: Determined against experience/per hour
• Level of Security: UK - Security Check (SC)
• On site visits required every couple of weeks