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OCONUS-Poland, Poland
Hybrid
At Amentum, we're challenging today to reinvent tomorrow by solving the world's most critical problems for thriving cities, resilient environments, mission-critical outcomes, operational advancement, scientific discovery, and innovative manufacturing, turning abstract ideas into realities that transform the world for good. With $13 billion in revenue and a talent force of approximately 52,000, Amentum provides a full spectrum of professional services including consulting, technical, scientific and project delivery for the government and private sector.
Work-life balance and flexibility is a key focus area for Amentum. We are happy to discuss hybrid, part-time and flexible working hours, patterns, and locations to suit you and our business.
The selected candidate will be employed by Amentum Clean Energy Poland, part of Amentum.
We are seeking a Technical Project Director, who will be based in Poland, UK or Slovakia.
Regular travel to client's office in Warsaw and occasional travel to the site (Northern Poland) will be required.
Position Summary
The Technical Project Director is a senior executive leadership role within the Client organisation, accountable for the technical integrity, engineering leadership and regulatory readiness of a GW-scale Nuclear Power Plant Programme in Poland. The role serves as Deputy to the Project Delivery Director and is a key member of the Programme Senior Leadership Team.
Delivered through a single EPC contract comprising the nuclear technology vendor and construction partner, the programme requires the Client to exercise effective ownership, oversight and control of a highly complex nuclear design and delivery environment. The Technical Project Director will provide the Client-side technical leadership and authority necessary to ensure engineering, nuclear safety, licensing, Design Authority and technical governance activities enable the safe, compliant and successful delivery of the programme.
A defining accountability of the role is to establish, lead and progressively mature the Client's Design Authority and Intelligent Customer capabilities. The Technical Project Director will build the organisation, governance, competence, systems and technical knowledge required for the Client to understand, challenge, accept and ultimately assume enduring ownership of the plant design and technical baseline.
The role will ensure that knowledge and design authority progressively transition from the technology vendor and EPC delivery environment into the Client organisation, enabling the Client to fulfil its future responsibilities as nuclear licensee, asset owner and operator.
As a senior representative of the Client, the Technical Project Director will exercise informed and authoritative oversight of the EPC consortium, providing strategic technical direction, challenge and assurance while maintaining effective relationships with nuclear regulators, government stakeholders, the technology vendor and key delivery partners.
The Technical Project Director will ensure that nuclear safety and technical integrity remain fundamental to programme decision-making, while driving the engineering maturity, regulatory confidence and organisational capability necessary to achieve the programme's safety, quality, cost and schedule objectives.
Key Responsibilities
Executive Leadership and Programme Delivery
Serve as Deputy to the Project Delivery Director, exercising delegated executive authority for engineering, technical, Design Authority and regulatory technical matters.
Provide strategic technical leadership across the full programme lifecycle, from development and licensing through design, procurement, construction, commissioning and transition to operations.
Ensure engineering, licensing, nuclear safety and technical activities are fully integrated with the programme strategy, delivery plan and critical milestones.
Drive alignment across Engineering, Procurement, Construction, Commissioning, Operations and other programme functions to ensure technically coherent and executable delivery.
Provide executive leadership in the resolution of significant technical, regulatory and delivery challenges that threaten programme objectives.
Ensure major programme decisions appropriately balance nuclear safety, technical integrity, constructability, operability, schedule, cost and whole-life asset performance.
Act for the Project Delivery Director when delegated and represent the programme at senior executive and stakeholder forums as required.
Engineering and Design Authority
Establish, lead and develop the Client's Engineering Directorate and Design Authority, ensuring capability matures in line with programme and licensing requirements.
Define the Design Authority operating model, governance framework, organisational structure, technical authorities, processes and competency requirements.
Establish clear technical authority and accountability across engineering disciplines and programme interfaces.
Ensure the Client develops and retains sufficient technical competence to act as an effective Intelligent Customer for the EPC consortium, technology vendor and key suppliers.
Maintain Client ownership and understanding of the plant design, design intent, safety basis, technical baseline and key engineering decisions throughout the asset lifecycle.
Establish robust arrangements for design acceptance, technical assurance, engineering change control, concessions, deviations and technical decision-making.
Ensure effective configuration management and control of the plant technical baseline from design through construction, commissioning and operations.
Direct the structured transfer, capture and retention of engineering knowledge from the technology vendor, EPC consortium and supply chain into the Client organisation.
Ensure Design Authority capability develops progressively to support commissioning, nuclear licensing, operational readiness and eventual transfer into the operating organisation.
EPC Consortium Technical Oversight
Provide authoritative Client-side oversight, challenge and assurance of the EPC consortium's engineering and technical performance.
Establish clear expectations for engineering performance, design maturity, technical deliverables and engineering assurance.
Ensure the Client possesses sufficient capability to independently understand and challenge significant EPC technical recommendations and decisions.
Monitor engineering maturity and ensure design development remains aligned with procurement, construction and commissioning requirements.
Identify emerging technical risks, systemic engineering issues and interface challenges and ensure timely executive intervention.
Ensure proposed design changes are rigorously assessed for their implications to nuclear safety, licensing, configuration, constructability, operability, schedule, cost and whole-life performance.
Hold the EPC consortium accountable for the timely resolution of significant technical issues and engineering commitments.
Nuclear Safety, Licensing and Regulatory Engagement
Provide executive leadership to ensure nuclear safety is the overriding priority in technical and programme decision-making.
Ensure engineering and programme activities support development, maintenance and implementation of the plant safety case and licensing basis.
Lead senior-level technical engagement with nuclear regulatory authorities and provide credible representation of the Client on significant engineering and nuclear safety matters.
Ensure technical and engineering activities support the timely achievement of licensing, permitting and regulatory milestones.
Establish effective governance for regulatory commitments and ensure engineering commitments are understood, owned and delivered.
Ensure compliance with applicable Polish regulatory requirements, relevant international nuclear standards and recognised good practice.
Promote a strong nuclear safety culture across the Client organisation and its delivery partners.
Technical Governance and Assurance
Establish the programme's technical governance and engineering assurance framework, including delegated technical authorities and decision rights.
Chair or sponsor senior technical governance and design review forums as appropriate.
Ensure independent technical assurance is proportionate to nuclear safety significance, programme risk and design maturity.
Maintain clear visibility of significant technical risks, assumptions, decisions, dependencies and regulatory commitments.
Ensure technical risks are appropriately represented within programme-level risk and opportunity management.
Provide the Project Delivery Director and executive leadership with clear, evidence-based assessments of technical health, design maturity and engineering readiness.
Organisational Capability and Transition to Operations
Build and lead a high-performing Client engineering organisation capable of supporting both project delivery and future plant operations.
Establish competency frameworks, succession plans and capability development strategies for critical technical roles.
Identify future Design Authority and operational engineering capability requirements sufficiently early to enable recruitment, development and knowledge transfer.
Establish effective interfaces between the programme organisation and the future operating organisation.
Lead the progressive transition of technical authority, engineering knowledge and design ownership from project delivery into the future licensed operating organisation.
Ensure the Client enters commissioning and operations with the people, knowledge, processes, systems and technical records required to safely own and operate the asset.
Key Accountabilities
The Technical Project Director is accountable for:
The technical integrity and engineering coherence of the programme from development through transition to operations.
Establishing and maintaining the Client's Design Authority and Intelligent Customer capability.
Ensuring the Client possesses sufficient technical knowledge, competence and organisational capability to discharge its responsibilities as future licensee, owner and operator.
Effective Client-side technical oversight, challenge and assurance of the EPC consortium and technology vendor.
Maintaining Client ownership and control of the plant technical baseline, design intent, configuration and critical engineering decisions.
Ensuring engineering maturity supports procurement, construction, commissioning and operational readiness milestones.
Delivery of engineering and technical commitments supporting nuclear licensing and regulatory approvals.
Establishing effective technical governance, engineering assurance and configuration management arrangements.
Identification, escalation and management of significant technical and regulatory risks.
Effective transfer and retention of technical knowledge from the EPC consortium and technology vendor.
Development of engineering leadership, organisational capability and succession necessary for long-term plant ownership.
Ensuring technical decisions protect nuclear safety, quality, programme schedule, affordability and whole-life asset performance.
Essential Qualifications
Degree in Engineering, Nuclear Engineering, Physics or another relevant technical discipline.
Chartered Engineer (CEng) or equivalent internationally recognised professional registration.
Demonstrable senior technical leadership credentials within the nuclear or similarly highly regulated sector.
Advanced technical, engineering management or business qualification desirable.
Major programme/project management qualification desirable.
Essential Experience
20+ years of progressive experience in engineering and delivery of major capital programmes within nuclear or similarly complex, highly regulated industries.
Significant senior executive leadership experience within nuclear new build or major nuclear programmes.
Proven experience operating at Project Director, Technical Director, Engineering Director, Chief Engineer or equivalent level on complex capital programmes.
Demonstrable experience establishing, developing or leading a Design Authority, Intelligent Customer or major Client-side engineering organisation.
Strong understanding of nuclear licensee responsibilities, nuclear safety, safety case development and regulatory engagement.
Extensive experience engaging with nuclear regulators, government bodies and other senior external stakeholders.
Deep understanding of EPC contracting and delivery models, including the respective responsibilities of the owner/client, technology vendor, EPC contractor and supply chain.
Demonstrable experience exercising Client-side oversight and challenge of major engineering contractors and technology vendors.
Proven experience governing complex multidisciplinary engineering organisations and major design interfaces.
Experience of configuration management, design change control, engineering assurance and technical governance within a nuclear environment.
Experience transitioning major infrastructure or nuclear assets from design and construction through commissioning and into operational readiness.
Proven ability to build senior technical organisations, develop leadership capability and establish effective succession and knowledge-transfer arrangements.
Strong commercial and programme awareness, with the ability to understand and influence the interaction between technical decisions, nuclear safety, risk, cost and schedule.
Leadership Profile
The successful candidate will be an authoritative nuclear and engineering leader capable of operating credibly at Board, executive, regulatory and major contractor level.
They will combine deep technical judgement with strong programme and commercial awareness and will be comfortable making and governing consequential decisions in a complex, highly regulated environment.
They will demonstrate the ability to challenge constructively, influence senior stakeholders and create organisational alignment while maintaining independence of technical judgement and an unwavering commitment to nuclear safety.
Critically, they will have the leadership capability to transform the Client from a programme sponsor into a technically competent nuclear owner and licensee with enduring ownership of its plant design and safety responsibilities.
Project Lifecycle
Development/ Licensing/ Design/ Procurement/ Construction/ Commissioning/ Operational Readiness/ Transition to Operations
Authority Level
The Technical Project Director operates with delegated executive authority from the Project Delivery Director for engineering, Design Authority, technical governance, engineering assurance and regulatory technical matters.
Within that delegation, the role has authority to establish technical governance requirements, require appropriate engineering evidence and assurance, challenge EPC technical decisions, escalate unacceptable technical or nuclear safety risk, and recommend intervention where engineering maturity or technical performance threatens the safe and successful delivery of the programme.
The Technical Project Director serves as the senior Client authority for programme technical matters, ensuring that the Client maintains informed control of the design and develops the enduring technical capability required to become the future nuclear licensee, owner and operator.
Our Culture
Our values are built on a strong foundation of safety, integrity, and respect for every individual. People are at the heart of our mission, and we believe in supporting one another through a culture of care and collaboration.
We strive to create a workplace where everyone feels they belong and can thrive. Supporting mental wellbeing and fostering a sense of connection are essential to how we work.
When we embrace different perspectives and work together, we become more innovative, more agile, and more successful.
Compensation Details:
Information regarding the salary for this position will be shared at later stages of the recruitment process, in a way that ensures transparent and well-informed negotiations.