James Palmer

James Palmer serves as the Chief Design Engineer for Reactor Plant and Systems at Rolls-Royce SMR since November 2021, after a long tenure at Rolls-Royce where positions included Reactor Systems Design Manager and Principal System Engineer. With extensive experience in technical leadership, programme delivery, and personnel management within multi-disciplinary design teams, James has successfully overseen various aspects of nuclear systems design, reactor performance, and radioactive waste management. Key contributions include leading cross-functional teams, developing strategies for modularisation and standardisation of power station systems, and fostering the development of junior engineers. James began the engineering career at Hills Group Ltd as a Site Technician before obtaining a Master’s degree in Physics and Mathematics from the University of Bath.