Robotics Technician

Charlotte's job title is Mechanical Engineering Apprentice at the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA)

What I do

I programme and maintain robots that we rely on to do repetitive and dangerous tasks.

Science is for everyone. You don’t have to be a brainiac to be a scientist, just do a bit of research and you can soon understand it.

Hear more about Charlotte's role by watching the video below...

How I became a technician

I was originally going to go to university to study Mechanical Engineering, and then I found out about this job, which was doing an apprenticeship, so I applied and got the job.

I have always wanted to be an Engineer. My strongest subjects at school were maths, physics and product design, and I did these at A-level.

A typical day
in my working life

Every day is completely different. Some days I work on design jobs, other days I operate robots that go inside the fusion energy machine.

We have a machine in the control room that controls our remote handling system, Mascot, and my training is playing Jenga with Mascot! This may sound silly, but it is a brilliant way to hone my own skills moving objects.

Also at the moment, in the training centre we are doing marble runs with the robots, which are my worst enemy as it’s much harder to work with than the Jenga blocks as it’s trickier and more complex.

Is my workplace dangerous?

It can be, as certain areas are highly radioactive, but we can’t send humans in, so the best way to perform the tasks is remotely through the robotics systems that we have.

A surprising fact about me!

I play for Oxford City Football Club. My job works well alongside it as my hours are flexible, so it fits in with football training days. I’ve been playing football since I was seven.

A little more
about my everyday role

The most exciting thing I've achieved so far in my job

One of the biggest thrills for me so far is that I have completed part of the control room training. Mascot belongs on a boom, which is like those plastic snake toys that rotate on different axis, the boom is effectively that and holds Mascot on the end. I am now trained to be able to drive that boom, which is very exciting!

The next steps in my career journey

I want to become a mechanical lead, to be in charge of my own teams and projects. That’s what I am aiming for. I could see that being with UKAEA - I can see fusion being a part of my life for a long time. There may be an opportunity to work in the South of France too.

Find out more about this role

Discover what qualifications you’ll need, how much you can earn, and what the next steps are.

Nine apprentices sitting on sofas socialising

Meet other technicians

Read more real life technicians stories, see what they do every day, and how they got started.