Nuclear & defence hiring questions

What kind of vacancies does Cumbria Works advertise?

Only work linked to the nuclear and defence engineering cluster in Cumbria and the wider licensed supply chain: Sellafield decommissioning and waste operations, submarine build and support at BAE Systems Barrow, Nuclear Waste Services, Rolls-Royce Submarines, the NDA estate and their tier 1 to tier 3 contractors. That covers design and safety-case engineering, project controls, coded welding and fabrication, mechanical and E&I maintenance, quality and inspection, commercial and planning roles, and apprenticeships.

How do I post a vacancy?

Create an employer account, complete the short onboarding wizard and submit the vacancy through the post-a-vacancy form. Every listing is reviewed before it goes live so the board stays specialist, which normally happens the same working day.

What does it cost to advertise a nuclear or defence vacancy?

A standard listing is £180 per vacancy and runs for 30 days. A featured listing is £380 per vacancy and adds homepage placement, highlighted styling and priority position in search results. An employer subscription is £1,800 per year for unlimited postings, a branded employer profile and your logo on every listing.

How long does a listing stay live?

Standard and featured vacancies run for 30 days and then expire automatically, so candidates never apply to a closed role. Expired vacancies are removed from search and from the sitemap we submit to Google. You can repost or extend a role at any time from the employer dashboard.

Do you accept vacancies that need security clearance?

Yes. Much of the submarine and defence nuclear work in Barrow and on the Sellafield site requires BPSS, SC or DV clearance, or eligibility to obtain it. State the clearance level in the vacancy so candidates can self-select, and note whether you sponsor clearance for the right applicant. Never publish protected or export-controlled programme detail in a public advert.

How do job alerts work?

Sign up on the job alerts page with your email and the disciplines and locations you are interested in. We email new matching nuclear and defence vacancies as they are published — there is no charge, and every email carries a one-click unsubscribe link.

Where do the vacancies on the site come from?

Two routes. Employers post directly through their dashboard, and an automated daily feed imports relevant roles from employer career sites and licensed aggregator APIs, including Sellafield, EDF Energy, Nuclear Waste Services and Rolls-Royce Submarines. Imported roles are de-duplicated, filtered for nuclear, defence and engineering relevance and moderated before publication, and they always link through to the employer's own advert to apply.

Can I apply if I have no nuclear experience?

Often yes. Cumbria's nuclear and defence employers recruit heavily from marine, oil and gas, rail, process and general manufacturing backgrounds, and from the armed forces. Transferable trades and disciplines — welding, mechanical fitting, electrical and instrumentation, planning, quality, HSE — are in constant demand, and site-specific nuclear training is provided once you are through clearance and induction.

Do vacancies appear in Google search results?

Yes. Every vacancy page is server-rendered and carries JobPosting structured data with salary, location, employment type and closing date, so live roles are eligible for Google's job search experience. Expired vacancies are excluded from the sitemap so only current roles are indexed.

Do you cover defence engineering jobs outside Cumbria?

Cumbria Works stays focused on the Cumbrian nuclear and defence cluster. Wider UK defence engineering work — submarine build, shipbuilding and MOD supply chain vacancies elsewhere in the country — is published on our sister board Defence Jobs UK.

Still stuck? Contact the team and we will come back to you the same working day.