Full-Time
Advanced Nuclear Fuel
Technical Leader II
Posted on 6/13/2026
EPRI
1,001-5,000 employees
Independent nonprofit R&D consortium for electricity
Compensation Overview
$138k - $150k/yr
Remote in USA + 3 more
More locations: Knoxville, TN, USA | Dallas, TX, USA | Charlotte, NC, USA
Remote
Bachelor's, Master's, PhD
 Engineering Management (1) |
|---|
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- A bachelor's degree in a technical field is required.
- Eight to ten years of demonstrated experience in research and development projects.
- Advanced reactors fuel, fabrication, qualification, and performance experience, or equivalent technical experience.
- Experience with research and development project management and execution.
- Ability to communicate research results to diverse audiences through oral presentations and clear explanations.
- Ability to apply fuel performance and optimization knowledge across various fuel types and reactor concepts.
- Ability to develop and execute technical approaches addressing research gaps, performance uncertainties, and emerging fuel design challenges.
- Conduct and lead applied research in complex, high-impact technical areas related to nuclear fuel behavior and performance.
- Conduct research related to ceramic, metallic, coated particle, and molten salt nuclear fuels, applying experience from light water reactor fuel or advanced reactor fuel programs across multiple fuel types and reactor concepts.
- Define logical research pathways and sequence future work while executing near-term research and development activities.
- Work across programs and collaborate with internal teams and external partners.
- Manage contractors, including developing scopes of work, providing technical oversight, and reviewing deliverables.
- Deliver technical products supporting fuel development, performance understanding, and regulatory decision-making.
- Plan, manage, and lead research and development projects within the Advanced Nuclear Technology Program.
- Interface with EPRI members, original equipment manufacturers, national laboratories, and regulatory stakeholders to identify needs, shape research portfolios, and deliver technical products.
- Lead the creation and integration of experimental data, modeling results, and literature to develop defensible technical conclusions and recommendations.
- Identify priorities, sequence work, and distinguish near-term deliverables from longer-term research needs.
- Align technical work with evolving business strategies and stakeholder priorities.
- Coordinate activities across programs to ensure consistency, avoid duplication, and leverage related work.
- Apply familiarity with global regulatory requirements affecting nuclear fuel, including licensing, safety analysis, and performance acceptance considerations.
- Support development of technical bases for regulatory interactions, industry standards, guidance documents, and industry communications.
- Maintain and expand relationships with fuel developers, manufacturers, researchers, and regulators.
- Produce technical reports, analyses, and presentations for expert audiences, program members, and regulatory stakeholders.
- Communicate research methods, assumptions, results, and limitations in written and verbal formats.
- Participate in technical meetings, workshops, and conferences to share results and exchange insights with the broader fuel community.
- Familiarity with nuclear fuel-related regulatory frameworks and licensing processes.
- Experience across multiple phases of the nuclear fuel lifecycle, including front end, reactor operation, and back end.
- An established professional network within the nuclear fuel community, including developers, manufacturers, regulators, national laboratories, and universities.
- An advanced degree in nuclear engineering, materials science, mechanical engineering, or a related technical field, or equivalent applied experience.
- Significant relevant work experience may be considered in lieu of an advanced degree.
EPRI conducts objective scientific research on the electric power system, covering generation, transmission, and distribution to improve reliability, safety, and environmental performance. It funds and runs large R&D programs through member dues, tests technologies, analyzes data, and publishes guidelines and tools for utilities and regulators. It differs from competitors by being a member-owned, independent, non-profit consortium that pools resources from many utilities rather than a for-profit firm or single-company lab. Its goal is to provide foundational R&D that helps make the electric grid more reliable, safer, and cleaner for utilities, regulators, and the public.
Company Size
1,001-5,000
Company Stage
Grant
Total Funding
$22.7M
Headquarters
Palo Alto, California
Founded
1973
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Simplify's Take
What believers are saying
- Six utilities are testing EPRI's solid-state transformers on live feeders in 2026.
- EPRI's DCFlex expanded to nine demonstration sites by February 2026.
- EPRI's GridFAST now standardizes fleet electrification intake across 3,200 utilities.
What critics are saying
- Ceres attacked EPRI's SMARTargets on August 4, 2025, for weakening emissions targets.
- EnergyandPolicy.org cited EPRI's $238 million utility dues in 2024, fueling neutrality concerns.
- If utilities abandon EPRI's objectivity, member dues vanish and research financing collapses.
What makes EPRI unique
- In March 2026, EPRI launched Flex MOSAIC with 65-plus stakeholders for data centers.
- In August 2026, SAFERai.power united 25-plus members on utility AI risk.
- EPRI's March 2026 DCFlex and February 2026 demonstrations prove technology in live utility settings.
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↑ 0%NC State, New York Power Authority and EPRI demonstrate solid state transformer success under real world conditions. * Science * 18 Aug 2026 11:21 pm AEST * Share North Carolina State University, in collaboration with the New York Power Authority (NYPA) and EPRI, has designed and tested a high-efficiency solid state transformer (SST) capable of handling up to 1 MW of power under real-world conditions. Supported by NYPA and demonstrated at EPRI's laboratory in Lenox, Mass., the system underscores the technology's potential to improve energy efficiency, including at installations with significant power demand such as data centers, and to provide potential cost savings in grid operations. The SST can reduce heat loss associated with power production and due to its compact size can be used in areas with space constraints. "This is the first independently verified, megawatt-class solid state transformer validated on a live utility distribution feeder," says Srdjan Lukic, principal investigator on the SST project and Lampe Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at NC State. "This is a significant step in advancing power transformer technology." The SST prototype was designed, constructed, tested and deployed by NC State students and faculty. The prototype used in this NYPA-supported, EPRI-supervised demonstration was connected to a real distribution feeder at EPRI's power delivery laboratory. Electricity is transmitted across power lines in the form of a high-voltage alternating current (AC). However, applications that require large loads, such as data centers and electric vehicles, make use of lower-voltage direct current (DC). Conventional power systems use two pieces of technology - a transformer and a rectifier - to convert high-voltage AC into low-voltage DC. These two together- the conventional transformer and rectifier - are only about 96% efficient, meaning typically approximately 4% of the power is lost as heat during the conversion process. SSTs function as both the transformer and the AC/DC rectifier. They are significantly more efficient resulting in only about 2% of the power being wasted. Given the need to maximize system capacity to support data centers or other large-scale projects, a highly efficient SST can provide cost savings, produce less heat, and lessen the amount of electricity that needs to be generated and transmitted for the application. In addition, SSTs are smaller than the conventional transformer-and-rectifier technologies so can be better used in settings where there are space constraints, such as urban areas Discover more government Learning & Developmental Disabilities "SSTs take up less space," says Lukic. "That can be important when considering large-scale projects such as data centers that can have a large footprint but also require their own power source in close proximity." NYPA, the nation's largest state public power utility, collaborated with NC State to develop the transformer because of the significant potential benefits to its operations. SSTs enhance grid efficiency and support renewable integration, bidirectional power flow, and voltage regulation to handle increasing demand associated with data centers and electric vehicle charging stations. Ramadan Elmoudi, Senior Research, Technology and Development Engineer at NYPA, who served as a project lead noted, "We learned through the project's positive outcomes that solid state transformers can serve as another tool in our clean energy toolbox to enable New York State to operate and maintain a compact, efficient and resilient grid." "It is encouraging to see innovative technologies progress from university laboratories to full-scale testing," said Drew McGuire, EPRI senior director of transmission and distribution research. "This collaboration was a powerful way to accelerate understanding and development of technologies like this SST." EPRI's role in testing the technology is significant because the organization helps utilities test new technologies, like the SST, and then develop implementation strategies to adopt those technologies. Through this collaboration, this advancement can now be shared with the industry to benefit technology developers, utilities, and the public. This work was initially funded by U.S. Department of Energy's Transportation Technologies Office (TTO) under award DE-EE0008450. NYPA funded and contributed to the SST construction and in field testing aspects of the project. Discover more Executive Branch Newspapers
EPRI launches effort to reduce risk in AI power sector deployment. As artificial intelligence is rapidly moving from pilot projects to real-world deployment across the energy sector, there is a growing need for trusted, consistent methods to evaluate operational risk. EPRI this week announced SAFERai.power, a collaborative initiative that will equip utilities and technology providers with the tools, evidence, and guardrails needed to scale AI responsibly. Building on work from EPRI's Open Power AI (OPAI) consortium, SAFERai.power addresses the risks AI solutions may pose to critical power system attributes: safety, accountability, fairness, explainability, and reliability (SAFER). The initiative will develop a common operational risk framework and open-source assessment toolkit to help organizations evaluate whether AI systems are ready for deployment in utility environments. "AI is ready to transform how the power system operates-but only if we make it trustworthy in the real world," said EPRI President and CEO Arshad Mansoor. "With SAFERai.power, we are building the bridge between innovation and trust, applying guiding principles to the tools needed for operations. Working together, we can ensure these powerful capabilities are deployed in a way that is safe and reliable for everyone," he said. Delivering a Common Approach to AI Risk The initiative will focus on three key deliverables: * Risk Framework: This framework includes risk scenarios, failure modes, autonomy levels, guardrails, and use-case tiers. * Evidence Packages: These will include AI system risk file templates for provider and deployer evidence. * Assessment Tool: This open-source toolkit will provide for tiered and scalable use-case risk assessment. More than 25 founding members representing utilities, technology companies, regulators, market operators, and reliability organizations are contributing expertise to help ensure the framework reflects real-world operational requirements across the electric sector. Industry Collaboration As AI adoption accelerates, technology providers and utilities must work together to establish trusted practices for deployment in critical infrastructure environments. "Trust is the foundation for AI adoption in the power industry. Utilities operate some of society's most critical infrastructure, where reliability, security, and safety are non-negotiable," said Darryl Willis, corporate vice president of Energy and Resources at Microsoft Frontier Company. "To realize the full potential of AI, we must build solutions that are transparent, secure, and grounded in industry expertise so operators can act with confidence and deliver resilient energy systems for the communities they serve," he added. Regulatory Perspective Regulators also play an important role in advancing innovation while maintaining public confidence in the electric system. "State regulators support innovations that can allow utilities to strengthen the reliability, resilience, affordability, and security of the electric system. As AI becomes increasingly integrated into utility operations and grid management, initiatives such as SAFERai.power can help provide the collaborative framework and best practices needed to advance adoption of these technologies," said National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) President Ann Rendahl. "NARUC supports bringing together stakeholders to help ensure AI is deployed in ways that benefit customers while maintaining public trust." Reliability and Utility Operations Ensuring AI systems support grid reliability is a key focus of the initiative. Reliability organizations, utilities, and system operators will help shape the framework to reflect the power sector's unique operational requirements. "Understanding the potential applications for AI can help us understand both the benefits and work with industry to mitigate any risks," said Jim Robb, president and chief executive officer at the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC). "This effort will lay the foundation for that work." "The utility sector is unique in that it requires a heightened bar for responsible and secure AI use to ensure the ability to provide reliable, resilient, and affordable power is enhanced and not compromised," said Robert Piascik, senior vice president and chief information officer at the New York Power Authority (NYPA), the nation's largest state public utility. "As AI capabilities accelerate, utilities, including large public utilities like ours, need clear, evidence-based methods to evaluate risk and maintain trust. The SAFERai.power initiative will provide the tools and structure required to scale AI safely, ensuring these technologies strengthen AI use in the energy sector and contribute to safer, more secure, and consistent grid operations." Initial founding members of SAFERai.power include Alliant, Ameren, ATC, Arizona Public Service, Centerpoint Energy, Con Edison, Constellation, Cooperative Energy, CPS Energy, Duke Energy, Exelon, HData, Microsoft, Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc. (MISO), NERC, Nebraska Public Power District, New York Power Authority, NVIDIA, Omaha Public Power District, Pacific Gas & Electric, PJM Interconnection, Salt River Project, SHI International, Southern California Edison, Southern Company, TVA, WEC Energy Group, and World Wide Technology (WWT). [Source: EPRI]
China's power grid Sulfur Hexafluoride (SF6) emission reduction technology reaches world-leading level. BEIJING, July 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ - The 2025 National Science and Technology Award Conference was held in Beijing on July 8. At the event, a project led by Zhang Xiaoqin from State Grid Jiangsu Electric Power Co., Ltd. won the second prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award. Titled "Near-Zero Emission Reduction Technologies and Applications for Sulfur Hexafluoride, a Potent Greenhouse Gas, in Power Grids," the project has achieved near-zero SF6 emissions across the entire processâ€"from leak prevention and efficient recovery to purification and reuse. This offers a replicable solution for greenhouse gas reduction in the global power industry. Notably, Zhang is among this year's youngest award recipients. Her institute, State Grid Jiangsu Electric Power Research Institute (JSEPRI), has refined its talent mechanismâ€"fostering talent through projects and driving innovation through talent. This marks JSEPRI's third National Science and Technology Progress Award in a decade, following wins by Zhu Hongbin in 2016 and Huang Qifeng in 2018. Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) is a high-performance insulating medium widely used in power systems, but its greenhouse effect far exceeds that of carbon dioxide, making emission control a persistent global challenge for the industry. Following years of dedicated scientific research, Zhang and her team developed innovative technologies for SF6 leak sealing, efficient recovery, and comprehensive reuse, enabling near-zero emissions and the full life-cycle management of the gas. Backed by fully independent intellectual property rights, the project's overall technology was recognized as world-leading in 2023 by an expert evaluation committee. The evaluation was organized by the Chinese Society for Electrical Engineering and chaired by Academician Hao Jiming. Deployed across all 31 provincial-level regions on the Chinese mainland, the technologies support 18 major national projects, including the Baihetan hydropower transmission project. Exported to 16 countries, including Switzerland and Singapore, they significantly contribute to China's "dual carbon" goals and global greenhouse gas reductions.
EPRI launches new Data Center flexibility framework. How EPRI's Flex MOSAIC Framework Is Rewriting the Rules of Data Center Interconnection The race to power AI isn't just about gigawatts. It's about time. And right now, time is the one resource the data center industry can't afford to waste. As artificial intelligence and advanced manufacturing push electricity demand to levels the grid was never designed to handle, a single bottleneck has emerged at the center of nearly every major project: Time-to-Power. Interconnection queues stretch for years. Utilities model every new data center as a worst-case "black box." Developers face custom studies, mounting costs, and stalled timelines before a single server ever goes online. A new industry framework just changed that equation. EPRI launches Flex MOSAIC: A shared language for grid flexibility. On March 23, 2026, at CERAWeek in Houston, the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) announced Flex MOSAIC, a uniform flexibility classification framework for large electric loads, built through its DCFlex initiative in collaboration with more than 65 utilities, system operators, regulators, hyperscalers, and technology providers. The core idea is straightforward but transformative: rather than treating every data center as an unpredictable draw on the grid, Flex MOSAIC gives operators, utilities, and developers a common vocabulary to define and communicate exactly how flexible a load can be, based on the magnitude, timing, duration, and frequency of its response. As EPRI President and CEO Arshad Mansoor put it, "flexibility is becoming the third leg of the speed-to-power stool, alongside generation and transmission." Why the "black box" Problem has to end. Traditionally, utilities have had no reliable way to assess what a new data center would actually demand of the grid. Every project required custom modeling. Every interconnection study started from scratch. The result? Interconnection timelines measured in years, not months - and a growing gap between the speed of AI deployment and the pace of grid infrastructure. Flex MOSAIC solves this by introducing five performance-based DCFlex Flexibility Classes that describe exactly what kind of grid support a facility can provide: | Class | Capability | | Class A: Critical Peaking | Response to rare scarcity events (5 hours or less) | | Class B: + Peak | Response to frequent scarcity events (5 hours or less) | | Class C: + Prolonged | Adds response to prolonged events up to 24 hours | | Class D: /+ Fast | Adds fast response with short notification times | | Class E: Fully Dispatchable | Full combination of peaking, prolonged, and fast response | By classifying large loads based on performance rather than just technology, the framework enables utilities and developers to plan together with confidence, reducing the need for bespoke modeling, speeding interconnection, and preserving grid reliability as massive new loads come online. LandGate and KPMG: Committed to the Framework from Day One. At LandGate, in partnership with KPMG, LandGate Corp is proud to be early supporters of the EPRI DCFlex framework and LandGate Corp is already putting it to work for its clients. LandGate and KPMG have an established partnership focused on bridging the world of digital infrastructure and energy systems. KPMG's National Renewable Energy Group brings deep expertise in tax, valuation, and advisory services for large-scale energy and infrastructure projects. LandGate brings the most comprehensive land, grid, and infrastructure data platform in the U.S. including precise transmission and substation mapping, interconnection queue visibility down to the node level, and siting analytics that surface grid headroom before a single dollar is committed. Together, LandGate Corp is applying the DCFlex framework to help clients: * Design for flexibility from the start - not as an afterthought, but as a core siting and development criterion * Streamline interconnection by matching project capabilities to grid needs in the language utilities now recognize * Optimize site selection by identifying locations where a project's specific flexibility class unlocks existing capacity * Reduce deployment risk and increase ROI by getting to power faster What this means for the industry. The participants in Flex MOSAIC's initial launch include Google, Meta, NVIDIA, Siemens, Constellation Energy, Southern Company, Exelon, MISO, CAISO, and Arizona Public Service, among others. The framework is voluntary but the momentum behind it signals that standardization is no longer optional for serious players in the space. NERC President Jim Robb called a common framework like this "essential for maintaining a reliable grid." NARUC President Ann Rendahl noted that state regulators are watching closely, focused on ensuring that the costs of serving massive new loads don't fall on existing ratepayers and that frameworks like Flex MOSAIC offer a path forward that benefits all stakeholders. For data center developers and investors, the message is clear: Projects that can credibly demonstrate their flexibility class will move faster, face fewer regulatory hurdles, and access capital on better terms. LandGate and KPMG are committed to helping clients navigate this transition with clarity and confidence. In the coming months, look for new datasets, reports, white papers, and joint webinars designed to put the Flex MOSAIC framework into practice - helping you design flexible facilities, identify the right sites, and get to power faster. The grid now has a shared language. LandGate and KPMG are here to help you speak it fluently. Interested in how the DCFlex framework can accelerate your next project? Connect with LandGate and KPMG to learn more.
EPRI board names new leadership, board members. The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) introduced new leadership and appointed members to its board of directors. The EPRI board named Michael Innocenzo, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Exelon, and president and CEO of PECO, as its new chair. "I'm honored to continue to build on EPRI's strong foundation of collaboration and scientific rigor as we navigate a period of rapid transformation," Innocenzo said. "The crucial research and advanced insights EPRI provides are essential to powering the economic growth that customers, communities, and businesses around the country depend on." Matthew Ketschke, president of Consolidated Edison, was named first vice chair of the board. "EPRI is privileged to welcome Michael and Matthew into new board leadership roles at a pivotal moment for the energy sector," EPRI President and CEO Arshad Mansoor said. "Their deep operational experience and shared commitment to reliability and innovation will be invaluable as the industry is undergoing rapid transformation. I also want to extend my sincere thanks to outgoing EPRI Board chair Tom Kent, president and CEO of the Nebraska Public Power District, for his exceptional leadership and service over the past year, as well as the five outgoing board members who have helped guide EPRI during their tenure." In addition, 10 new directors were elected for four-year terms to the board. They include: * Edward H. Baine, executive vice president-Utility Operations and president-Dominion Energy Virginia. * Joseph P. Bergstein, Jr., executive vice president and chief financial officer of PPL Corporation. * Brian Bolster, president and CEO of NextEra Energy Resources. * Dan Eggers, senior executive vice president, Finance and Data Economy at Constellation. * Rudy D. Garza, president and CEO of CPS Energy. His term begins in August. * Craig Grooms, president and CEO of Buckeye Power and Ohio Rural Electric Cooperatives. * Kim Lauritsen, senior vice president of Enterprise Strategy and Growth at Ontario Power Generation. * Phillip May, president and CEO of Entergy Louisiana. * Lanny Nickell, president and CEO of Southwest Power Pool. * Georgios Stassis, chairman and CEO of PPC Group. EPRI's board is an independent body that helps support the institute's public benefit mission to advance safe, reliable, affordable, and environmentally responsible electricity through global collaboration, thought leadership, and science and technology innovation.