AWE

What if you could work on something that you can’t test… but cannot afford to fail? That could have spent years on a submarine, is launched into outer space (where the temperature is below -250c); comes hurtling through the atmosphere, being heated up and shaken and then must work? Some challenge. 

That’s exactly what the team over of over 6,500 people at AWE do every day: delivering important work, in support of the most important mission – keeping the nation safe. 

So, who is AWE and what do they do? AWE plays a crucial role in national nuclear security. Working to support the defence of our country, we have a clear mission: to keep everyone, our environment, products and information, our sites and everything around us safe and secure. Our role in nuclear defence and the specialist expertise we provide to the government, is vital in the defence against the most serious threats faced by the UK. We are proud to play our part in developing the warheads for the UK’s nuclear deterrent. We are also proud to support the government with our unique technical assistance to arms control, nuclear security, and response to nuclear or radiological accidents and terrorism – a collection of specialised activities that we group together as ‘Nuclear Threat Reduction’. 

There has never been a more exciting time to join AWE. We are at the start of a once-in-a-generation – possibly two generations – programme to design and produce a replacement warhead for the UK’s continuous at sea deterrent. We are also managing one of the most important infrastructure programmes – delivering a cutting-edge, sustainable environment for the future – as well as effectively maintaining an estate that spans over 1,000 acres and has some unique buildings.