Case Study: Sean Butler
About Sellafield Ltd
Sellafield Ltd is a specialist site management and nuclear clean-up business, employing around 14,000 people. Part of the BNFL Group, our strategy and focus is clear - to deliver accelerated nuclear clean-up programmes, safely and cost-effectively for our customers in the UK and overseas. The end result will be a safe environment, both now and for future generations. We are also known for power operations, fuel production and international transportation.
What made you apply for a job at Sellafield Ltd?
As part of my degree I applied for a year in industry with the company and was successful. From day one I was part of a manufacturing support team doing a very real and demanding job. I was very impressed that even as a ‘fresh faced’ undergraduate I was relied upon for my process engineering judgement, and when I was asked to apply for the graduate assessment centre towards the end of the year, I did so without hesitation.
Is there the option for variety in your job?
Definitely so! In the first few years of my career I have worked on various projects across several sites and the highlights have been commissioning an inactive test facility, working as shift team leader on a production plant, and leading the process design on the decommissioning of a high hazard nuclear facility.
What do you most enjoy about your job?
Being a chemical engineer in the nuclear industry is definitely challenging and I love the technical demands that come from seemingly the simplest of jobs. In my current role I enjoy the responsibility attached with being Lead Process Engineer – I have to make and technically justify decisions on all aspects of the process design, from simple calculations through to complex control systems.