Spie, EDF, Bouygues, Engie, Orano: 5 nuclear companies in search of talent

The French nuclear revival: an unprecedented recruitment context

A nuclear company is an industrial organization that is involved in all or part of the nuclear energy cycle: uranium extraction and enrichment, design and construction of reactors, operation of nuclear power plants, maintenance, reprocessing of spent fuel or dismantling of facilities.

The French nuclear recovery program is based on several simultaneous pillars:

• The construction of six EPR2 reactors, including the first in Penly (Seine-Maritime), with a target of commissioning by 2035-2037
• The Grand Carénage, a programme to extend the life of the 56 existing reactors in the French nuclear fleet beyond 50 years
• The development of the Nuward SMR, a small modular reactor designed by EDF, whose design should be finalized by 2030
• The dismantling of nine reactors at the final shutdown, which mobilizes very specific skills

According to France Industrie, the nuclear industry represents about 220,000 direct and indirect jobs in France (France Industrie, 2025). The challenge is not only quantitative: it is also a question of training profiles capable of mastering the nuclear safety requirements specific to this industry, in a context where the age pyramid is causing massive retirements.

1. SPIE: multi-technical services for nuclear power plants

The SPIE France Group, which specialises in multi-technical services related to energy and communications, has considerably increased its workforce since the launch of the nuclear revival. The company, which supports its customers in the energy and digital transitions, works directly on French nuclear power plants for maintenance, electrical installation and compliance missions.

SPIE has more than 400 sites in France and is mobilizing its teams on the Grand Carénage sites as well as on the preparation of future EPR2 sites. The group recruits at all levels of qualification, from the vocational baccalaureate to the engineering degree.

Among the positions sought by SPIE in the nuclear sector:

• Fitter and welder (nuclear qualifications)
• Industrial Electrician (Low and High Current)
• Nuclear Maintenance Technician
• Energy Efficiency Engineer
• Nuclear Works Supervisor
• Network and Telecom Engineer
• Cybersecurity Specialist for Nuclear Facilities
• Energy network activity manager

2. EDF: the world’s leading nuclear operator and project manager of the EPR2

The EDF Group is the world’s leading nuclear operator. The company operates a fleet of 56 nuclear reactors in France and manages the entire EPR2 program as project manager. According to EDF’s annual report, the group employs around 180,000 people and has intensified its recruitment to meet the double constraint of the Grand Carénage and the construction of new reactors (EDF, 2025 press releases).

The EDF ( Électricité de France) company has launched the construction of the first EPR2 in Penly, Normandy. Preparatory work is underway, and the industrial ramp-up requires thousands of additional recruitments at the Penly, Gravelines and Bugey sites — the three sites selected for the first six EPR2 sites.

EDF’s recruitment campaigns cover several strategic regions: Normandy, Hauts-de-France, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Centre-Val de Loire, Île-de-France and Grand Est.

The most sought-after jobs for EDF in the nuclear industry include:

• Rotating machine mechanics
• Boilermakers and nuclear pipefitters
• Automation engineers and instrumentalists
• Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection Engineers
• Experts in nuclear civil engineering
• Project planners and pilots
• Power generation site maintenance professionals
• Information systems specialists (cybersecurity, IS architect, product owner, project manager)

EDF actively encourages the diversification of its teams and conducts targeted campaigns to attract more women to the nuclear energy sector in France.

3. Bouygues Construction: nuclear civil engineering and dismantling

Bouygues Construction, a subsidiary of the Bouygues Group, plays a structuring role in the French nuclear revival through its subsidiary Bouygues Construction Services Nucléaires. This nuclear company brings together skills in six trades directly related to the life cycle of nuclear facilities:

• Nuclear civil engineering (construction of reactor buildings, containment structures)
• Decommissioning of nuclear facilities
• Maintenance in an irradiating environment
• Radioactive waste management
• Robotics and design of special machines for intervention in controlled areas
• Ventilation of nuclear power plants and treatment of radioactivity to ensure nuclear safety

Bouygues Construction is directly involved in the EPR2 projects for civil engineering. The group has strengthened its work-study programs, with the ambition of integrating a significant proportion of young graduates into its nuclear workforce. Young graduates already represent a majority of the company’s recruitments.

4. ENGIE: skills across the entire nuclear chain

A long-standing player in the transition to carbon neutrality, ENGIE (formerly GDF Suez) has expertise in the entire nuclear chain. The group has around 9,000 employees in the nuclear industry and recruits new profiles every year in various sectors:

• Nuclear Engineering and Design Studies
• Construction and installation of equipment
• Operation and maintenance of nuclear power plants
• Radioactive waste management and reprocessing
• Nuclear power plant decommissioning operations
• Specialized Purchasing and Logistics

ENGIE is also active internationally. The group has operated nuclear reactors in Belgium via Engie Electrabel (Doel and Tihange sites), and is capitalising on this experience to support extension and decommissioning programmes in Europe. The gradual closure of the Belgian fleet also reinforces the need for decommissioning experts — a know-how that ENGIE is redeploying on the French market.

5. Orano: the nuclear fuel cycle, from uranium to recycling

Orano, formerly the Areva group, is the leading French multinational in the nuclear fuel cycle. The group, which employs around 17,000 people worldwide, has announced ambitious recruitment plans to support the sector’s ramp-up (Orano, 2025 strategic report).

Orano is involved in the entire uranium cycle: mining, conversion, enrichment, fuel manufacturing, spent fuel recycling and radioactive materials management. The group is also a key player in decommissioning and is developing activities in the medical nuclear sector.

This nuclear company is looking for talent in a wide range of areas of expertise:

• Uranium mining and mining
• Uranium chemistry and enrichment processes
• Nuclear Engineering and Process Design
• Recycling of spent fuel (La Hague plant)
• Dismantling and remediation of nuclear sites
• Logistics of radioactive materials
• Medical nuclear (radioisotope production)

Orano is also investing in skills related to SMRs and advanced reactors, anticipating the fuel needs of future modular reactors.

Interim management: a response to HR tensions in the nuclear industry

The pressure on recruitment in the nuclear sector is not limited to a problem of volume. It raises an organizational question: how to quickly structure the HR functions of an industrial site that is ramping up? How can critical skills be mapped, recruitment processes accelerated and the integration of hundreds of new employees into positions with high safety requirements?

This is precisely the type of mission that Wayden accompanies. For example, the firm has deployed an interim Human Resources Director on an industrial site, with the aim of restructuring the HR policy, piloting a massive recruitment plan and implementing skills management processes adapted to the regulatory constraints of the sector. This type of intervention allows nuclear companies to save several months on their ramp-up objectives, without compromising the quality of recruitment or compliance with nuclear safety requirements.