Configuration & data managerSalary, qualifications, career path and hiring demand, 2026 edition
A nuclear configuration & data manager keeps the authorised definition of a plant, product or mission system aligned with the technical evidence that proves it. They establish configuration baselines, control identifiers and change status, run configuration-control boards, maintain status accounting, audit physical and functional configuration, and govern the technical data delivered by designers and suppliers. The role sits between systems engineering, quality, document control and project delivery; its job is to keep every team working to the same approved configuration.
Established nuclear configuration data manager career professionals typically model around $110,000–$140,000 base in the US and £60,000–£80,000 in the UK. Current 2026 nuclear-command-and-control roles advertise $105,000–$125,000 at journeyman level and $115,000–$135,000 at senior level, while Rolls-Royce SMR advertises a Configuration Manager at £60,000–£78,750. The exact combined job description has no national wage series, so the ladders are TRX market models anchored to live roles.
There is no statutory licence. Employers gate the role on evidence that you have controlled complex technical baselines and configuration management data: configuration identification, program management CCB governance, change/discrepancy tracking, status accounting, functional and physical configuration audits, distribution statements or supplier-data control, and disciplined product lifecycle management (PLM) / EDMS use. Nuclear, defence and national defense programmes may add BPSS, SC, DV or US security-clearance requirements.
The role at a glance
Everything an employer will ask about in the first fifteen minutes of a screening call.
- Also called
- Configuration manager · configuration & data manager · configuration management lead · CM/DM manager · product configuration manager · technical data manager
- Entry qualification
- Engineering, systems, configuration, information / data management or equivalent regulated-industry experience; most managers enter after several years controlling technical baselines, design change or product data.
- Typical entry pay
- $90,000–$115,000 (US configuration / data specialist) · £45,000–£60,000 (UK configuration / data engineer).
- Senior pay
- $145,000–$200,000 (US programme lead through head of function) · £90,000–£135,000 (UK programme lead through head of configuration / data).
- Contract day rates
- £500–£650 for established configuration management · £650–£850 for senior, clearance-heavy, complex-asset and recovery assignments, TRX market model.
- Professional gate
- No licence. CMII, SAE/EIA configuration knowledge, systems-engineering credentials, CEng or PMP can help; appointment still depends on real baseline, CCB, audit and technical-data ownership.
- Security
- UK BPSS is common, with SC and DV material on defence and sensitive nuclear programmes. US national-security work can require Secret / Top Secret or DOE-equivalent access; commercial nuclear work may require only site access.
- Where the work sits
- Reactor developers, owner organisations, engineering authorities, EPCs, defence-nuclear programmes, fuel-cycle facilities and major-project teams, between systems engineering, design, quality, information management and project controls.
- Travel
- Low to moderate. Most work is office-based, with travel for supplier audits, configuration reviews and multi-site governance.
- TRX segments
- Large new build · New technology development · Operating fleet major projects · Defence nuclear · Fuel cycle · Decommissioning & dismantling
Six versions of the same job title
"Configuration & data manager" changes with what has to stay aligned: a reactor design, a constructed facility, mission-system hardware/software, supplier data or an operational plant baseline. The discipline is constant: identify configuration, control change, verify status and preserve evidence. Bar shows relative hiring volume across TRX's 2026 desk activity.
New reactor / SMR configuration
Controls product structures, design baselines, interfaces, change status and technical data as a standard reactor design matures through licensing and deployment.
Major-project design configuration
Maintains alignment between requirements, design packages, drawings, models, change records and constructed scope across a large nuclear project.
Defence nuclear / NC3 configuration & data
Combines formal CM with CDRL / technical-data management, review boards, audit and software / hardware status control under acquisition and security rules.
Operating-plant configuration
Keeps plant design basis, equipment records, modifications, set-points, drawings and authorised configuration aligned with the physical facility.
Supplier / product data configuration
Governs supplier technical data, part/item identifiers, approved data sets, baselines and change incorporation across the supply chain.
Decommissioning and complex-asset transition
Controls changing plant states, hazard-reduction modifications, temporary configurations and records while assets move from operations through POCO and dismantling.
What the week actually looks like
A composite day for a configuration & data manager on a nuclear engineering programme, working across systems engineering, design, quality, suppliers and project delivery. Baseline releases, change boards and audit findings set the rhythm.
What configuration & data managers are paid in 2026
There is no official US or UK wage series for "Configuration & Data Manager (Nuclear)". The ladders are a TRX market model anchored to current Rolls-Royce SMR, nuclear NC3 and UK nuclear contract hiring. Pay moves with baseline authority, security clearance, technical-data complexity, audit responsibility and the number of systems or suppliers under control.
How configuration & data management compares to adjacent roles
Sources are current 2026 employer postings for nuclear NC3, Rolls-Royce SMR and wider configuration/data roles, plus BLS May 2025 broader occupation data.
| Occupation | Median | P10 | P90 | What moves the number |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Configuration & data manager (nuclear) | $125,000 | $90,000 | $175,000 | Baseline authority, CCB ownership, audit scope, clearance and technical-data complexity; TRX market model |
| Configuration & CDRL Data Manager (NC3 live anchor) | $115,000 | $105,000 | $135,000 | Seniority, programme office, clearance and CDRL / acquisition responsibility |
| Project Management Specialists | $102,320 | $61,580 | $167,970 | Broader BLS occupation; project scope, delivery accountability and location |
| Document / information control lead | $97,000 | $65,000 | $138,000 | EDMS governance, supplier volume and handover responsibility; adjacent TRX model |
Sources are current 2026 employer postings for nuclear NC3, Rolls-Royce SMR and wider configuration/data roles, plus BLS May 2025 broader occupation data. Exact pay varies with clearance, technical authority, product complexity and programme accountability.
Baseline and CCB authority
Managers trusted to approve, reject or sequence configuration changes across safety-significant systems carry more value than administrators who only maintain registers.
Configuration audits and asset reconciliation
Functional / physical audit experience, field verification and recovery of records-to-plant mismatches are scarce because they combine engineering judgement with process discipline.
Security-cleared technical-data leadership
DV / high-level US clearance, CDRL expertise, data-rights awareness and hardware/software configuration on national-security nuclear programmes command a clear premium.
Three ways in, and only one of them starts with a configuration degree
Configuration & data management is rarely a direct-entry management role. Most people build depth in engineering, configuration analysis or quality before taking ownership of baselines, boards and teams.
Configuration engineering progression
Ten or more years to head of configuration / product data.
Document / product data into configuration
Seven or more years to configuration & data manager.
Engineering / quality transfer
Ten or more years to configuration & data leadership.
Are you actually ready to compete for a configuration & data manager role?
A CV that only says "maintained configuration records" will not clear the shortlist. Recruiters want the baseline or product structure you owned, CCBs chaired, changes governed, audits completed, tools used, CDRL/supplier-data volume, configuration discrepancies resolved and evidence that your controls survived design release, build, test or handover.
Free resume scoring on avua. Your score is yours; it is not shared with employers.Strong CVs prove baseline authority, CCB ownership, audit closure, supplier-data governance and measurable recovery of configuration discrepancies rather than listing PLM tools alone.
Illustrative TRX shortlisting pattern only.
The credentials that actually gate the work
This role is gated by configuration competence, technical credibility and programme access requirements rather than a statutory licence.
| Credential | Jurisdiction | Required for | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engineering / systems / technical degree or equivalent experience | All | Common entry foundation | 3–4 yrs / equivalent | Not universal, but technical literacy matters once the role carries baseline authority. |
| Configuration-management experience | All | Independent manager appointment | 5–10 yrs | Baselines, change control, status accounting and audits are the real gate. |
| CMII / EIA-649 / ISO 10007 knowledge | Global | Formal CM environments | Days–months | Useful frameworks; employer configuration plans and authority remain controlling. |
| PLM / CM tool competence | All | Day-to-day baseline and data control | Role-specific | Teamcenter, Windchill, PLM, change / requirements systems or client equivalents. |
| Functional / physical configuration audit competence | All | Verification / acceptance | Role-specific | FCA / PCA or equivalent evidence of record-to-product / asset verification. |
| CEng / systems-engineering credential | UK / global | Technical credibility | 4–7 yrs | Helpful where the role interfaces heavily with engineering authority; not universally required. |
| BPSS / SC / DV | UK | Sensitive nuclear / defence programmes | Weeks–months | DV can be material on the highest-sensitivity configuration roles. |
| US security clearance / site access | US | National-security or facility work | Programme-specific | Secret / TS or site access depends on mission, employer and facility. |
Nuclear configuration arrangements are employer- and programme-specific. Credentials help, but controlled baselines, change boards, audits and technical-data integrity are the real gate.
What appears on a 2026 configuration & data manager shortlist
Hiring managers are screening for true configuration authority, not records administration. Ordered by how often a hiring manager treats it as a hard filter rather than a nice-to-have.
Named on the specification
- Configuration identification and baselining — Configuration items, product / asset structures, identifiers, effectivity and approved baselines
- Change control / CCB governance — Assess, disposition and track engineering changes, deviations, waivers and implementation evidence
- Configuration status accounting — Accurate baseline, change, item and approved-versus-as-built status reporting
- Configuration audits and verification — Functional / physical audits, record-to-asset reconciliation and discrepancy closure
- Technical data / CDRL management — Supplier deliverables, data-item requirements, metadata, review status and contractual completeness
- PLM / EDMS / CM toolset — Teamcenter, Windchill, PLM, change / requirements systems and controlled repositories
What decides between two shortlisted candidates
- Nuclear / safety-critical configuration — Baseline control across safety-significant plant, design basis, modifications or high-consequence systems
- Hardware / software integrated CM — Controlling firmware, software, hardware builds and documentation as one configuration
- Supplier and CDRL recovery — Resolving late or non-compliant technical data without blocking procurement, qualification or acceptance
- Physical configuration audit experience — Proving authorised data matches the built / installed asset before acceptance or handover
- Security-cleared programme delivery — SC / DV or US cleared work with sensitive configuration data and handling rules
- Configuration recovery / legacy data migration — Rebuilding trustworthy baselines from inconsistent historic records or repositories
The 2026 demand map
Demand follows programmes where the technical baseline changes quickly: new designs, multi-supplier builds, major modifications, defence nuclear systems and long-life assets with complex configuration history.
| Programme | Location | Phase in 2026 | Engineering demand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rolls-Royce SMR | UK | Design / deployment | High; product baseline maturation |
| Sizewell C | Suffolk / Bristol, UK | Construction / design | Very high; multi-package design configuration |
| Hinkley Point C | Somerset, UK | Construction / commissioning | High; build and turnover alignment |
| AWE major programmes | Berkshire, UK | Capital delivery | Very high; secure asset / change control |
| Devonport nuclear infrastructure | Plymouth, UK | Upgrades / support | High; defence-nuclear asset configuration |
| Sellafield PPP | Cumbria, UK | Major projects | High; long-life asset / data control |
| US Air Force NC3 | MA / CO / NM, US | Acquisition / sustainment | Very high; live CM/DM and CDRL hiring |
| TerraPower Natrium | Wyoming, US | Construction | Rising; FOAK baseline and supplier data |
| Kairos Hermes 2 | Tennessee, US | Construction | Rising; design/build verification |
| X-energy Xe-100 | Texas, US | Licensing / development | Rising; product / supplier-data control |
Programme phases move. Confirm current status before making a relocation decision; TRX tracks these weekly.
Configuration is becoming programme-critical engineering
SMR, new-build and defence-nuclear programmes need formal baseline control as supply chains scale and designs move into build. Candidates who span engineering change, PLM/data governance and audit evidence are more portable than those limited to document workflow.
People who can reconcile engineering truth with data truth
Many candidates can administer a tool; fewer can establish the authorised baseline, run a CCB and verify physical configuration.
Adjacent and onward roles
Configuration & data management sits between systems engineering, design governance, information management and quality, so progression can stay in the discipline or move toward wider technical authority.
Questions we get asked every week
How much does a nuclear configuration & data manager earn in 2026?
Established US managers typically model around $110,000–$140,000 base, with heads approaching $200,000. UK managers commonly sit around £60,000–£80,000, rising to £90,000–£135,000 for programme leads and heads.
Live anchors include $105,000–$125,000 and $115,000–$135,000 on nuclear NC3 work, plus £60,000–£78,750 at Rolls-Royce SMR.
Do you need a licence or certification to be a configuration & data manager?
No statutory licence is required. CMII, systems-engineering or engineering credentials can help, but employers care more about baselines, CCBs, status accounting, audits and technical-data governance.
Sensitive programmes can add SC, DV or US clearance requirements. Understanding industry best practices and having technical expertise in information technology and configuration management are highly valued.
Can you move into nuclear configuration management from defence, aerospace or rail?
Yes. Defence and aerospace transfer especially well because they use formal baselines, engineering change, supplier data and configuration audits.
The nuclear learning curve is plant lifecycle, safety significance, site procedures and long-term records.
Is configuration & data management a good nuclear career in 2026?
Yes, particularly around SMRs, Sizewell C, defence nuclear, NC3 and major modifications. Demand rises as programmes digitise product and asset baselines.
The trade-off is governance: you may need to stop release until the technical and data state are demonstrably aligned.
What is the difference between a configuration & data manager and a document controller?
A document controller governs numbering, revision, issue, workflow and retrieval.
A configuration & data manager governs what technical configuration is authorised and whether every affected item and data set reflects it. Document control supports the evidence; configuration owns the baseline logic.
Which configuration & data skills are most in demand in 2026?
Formal baseline management, CCB governance, status accounting, audits and technical-data / CDRL control are the core filters.
PLM competence helps, but physical configuration audits, integrated hardware/software CM, supplier-data recovery and security-cleared nuclear work differentiate the shortlist.
We only recruit in nuclear. That is the whole point.
TRX can assess whether your experience fits configuration & data management or whether your stronger route is configuration engineering, technical data, information management, systems engineering or change control. Show us the baselines, CCBs, audits, PLM tools, supplier data, configuration discrepancies and programmes you owned, and we will tell you which nuclear configuration roles your CV is ready for.