James is a Chartered Project Professional and Chartered Engineer with over 30 years’ working in the energy, defence, and security sectors. After an early career in the civil nuclear power industry, James moved to the UK Ministry of Defence, delivering complex major programmes across nuclear submarines, digital/cyber, capital infrastructure and collaborative international programmes.
In his current role as Programme Director for the UKAEA’s Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP) programme, James is responsible for overall programme delivery, integrating all aspects of STEP into an effective and efficient government major programme. He is also the STEP executive lead for West Burton, the future home of STEP in Nottinghamshire, including local and regional stakeholder engagement.
Dr. James Cowan
Director of Whole Programme and STEP Programme Director
