Manager, Engineering Governance & Configuration

The TerraPower Isotopes® (TPI™) division has been established to pursue medical isotopes development--advancing nuclear science for significant human health benefits. We seek to support revolutionary radiotherapies for treatments of various cancers through the supply of radioisotopes. TerraPower currently has unique access to a supply of thorium for the long-term production of actinium-225 in the growing alpha therapy market and intends to expand into other nuclear related medical treatments.

The TerraPower Isotopes program is an integral part of the Washington State based TerraPower team, a company working to raise living standards globally. In 2006, the company originated with Bill Gates and a group of like-minded visionaries who evaluated the fundamental challenges to raising living standards around the world. TerraPower’s mission is to be a world leader in new nuclear technologies, while developing innovators and future leaders in the nuclear field.

TPI is seeking to hire highly motivated and forward-thinking professionals who are interested in focusing on advanced radiopharmaceutical applications and influencing change within nuclear medicine. TerraPower is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate in hiring on the basis of sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, religious creed, national origin, physical or mental disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law. 

Manager, Engineering Governance & Configuration (TPI)

TerraPower Isotopes (TPI) is seeking a Manager, Engineering Governance & Configuration to lead the systems engineering team supporting the Alpha2, Alpha5, and Alpha30 projects. This position will manage and develop system engineers across the three projects and establish consistent engineering practices for requirements management, system integration, configuration management, technical change control, and verification and validation.

The manager will own the development, implementation, and continuous improvement of TPI’s engineering procedures, ensuring they provide clear, practical direction for the work performed throughout the engineering lifecycle. This includes assessing existing procedures, addressing gaps, and establishing new processes such as engineering change management. The role will work closely with engineering discipline managers, project management, Quality, Operations, and other stakeholders to maintain alignment between technical requirements, approved designs, and delivered systems.

Responsibilities

Team Leadership and Cross-Project Coordination

• Lead, manage, and develop the system engineers assigned to Alpha2, Alpha5, and Alpha30, establishing clear responsibilities, performance expectations, and development plans.
• Support the Project Management Office with staffing, priorities, and assignments with project and engineering leadership to support project commitments and resolve competing resource needs.
• Establish consistent systems engineering practices across projects while tailoring their application to each project’s scope, complexity, risk, and lifecycle stage.
• Coach engineers in requirements development, interface management, technical decision-making, and system integration.
• Promote accountability, collaboration, and timely resolution of technical issues across engineering disciplines and project teams.

Engineering Governance and Procedures

• Own the engineering procedure framework, ensuring procedures collectively address the work needed to define, design, integrate, verify, and deliver TPI systems and facilities.
• Evaluate existing procedures for completeness, clarity, and usability; identify gaps and lead revisions or development of new procedures.
• Define engineering roles, responsibilities, approval authorities, required deliverables, and interfaces with other functions.
• Establish and maintain expectations for technical reviews, design maturity assessments, decision documentation, and closure of review actions.
• Coordinate engineering procedures with Quality, document control, project management, and commissioning and qualification processes.
• Lead procedure implementation through training, practical guidance, and monitoring of adoption and effectiveness.

Systems Engineering

• Oversee the development, allocation, and maintenance of stakeholder, facility, system, and subsystem requirements, including traceability to design outputs and verification evidence.
• Guide development and maintenance of system architectures, functional breakdowns, system boundaries, interface definitions, and design bases.
• Ensure system engineers coordinate interfaces among process systems, equipment, nuclear containment, facility infrastructure, and digital and control systems.
• Establish expectations for technical trade studies, assumptions management, technical risk identification, and documentation of engineering decisions.
• Oversee verification and validation planning, including clear acceptance criteria and coordination with testing, commissioning, qualification, and Operations.
• Support the selection and adoption of systems engineering tools, including model-based approaches where they provide practical value.

Configuration and Change Management

• Establish and maintain configuration management practices that identify controlled items, define technical baselines, and preserve alignment among requirements, design documentation, equipment configurations, and installed systems.
• Develop and implement an engineering change management process covering change initiation, impact assessment, review, approval, implementation, and closure.
• Ensure proposed changes are evaluated for impacts on safety, quality, requirements, interfaces, cost, schedule, operations, and applicable regulatory commitments.
• Define change approval authorities and coordinate cross-functional change reviews, escalating decisions as appropriate.
• Ensure approved changes are incorporated into affected documents, models, specifications, and other controlled records.
• Establish configuration status tracking and appropriate checks to confirm that documented and physical configurations remain aligned through project delivery and turnover.

Continuous Improvement

• Monitor the effectiveness of engineering processes using practical measures of requirements maturity, change closure, configuration accuracy, and review action completion.
• Capture lessons learned and apply improvements across all three projects.
• Work with internal teams, engineering partners, and suppliers to align deliverables and practices with TPI’s engineering expectations.
• Maintain an appropriate balance between engineering rigor and efficient execution.

Key Qualifications and Skills

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering or a closely related technical discipline.
• At least 10 years of relevant engineering experience, including leadership of engineering teams or technical programs.
• Demonstrated experience applying systems engineering methods to complex, multidisciplinary systems or facilities.
• Experience developing and implementing engineering procedures, configuration management practices, and technical change control processes.
• Strong understanding of requirements management, interface management, technical baselines, design reviews, and verification and validation.
• Ability to translate process expectations into clear, usable procedures and drive adoption across teams.
• Demonstrated ability to manage people, coordinate priorities across projects, and resolve cross-functional technical and organizational issues.
• Strong written communication, facilitation, and technical judgment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in radiopharmaceutical, pharmaceutical, nuclear, or other highly regulated engineering environments.
• Experience supporting projects from concept and design through procurement, construction, commissioning, and operational turnover.
• Familiarity with cGMP environments and the interfaces between engineering, Quality, and commissioning, qualification, and validation.
• Experience with requirements management platforms, engineering information systems, and model-based systems engineering.
• Experience coordinating design and configuration information across external engineering firms, equipment suppliers, and internal teams.
• INCOSE certification or comparable systems engineering training.

Job Functions

Job Functions are physical actions and/or working conditions associated with the position. These functions may also constitute essential functions for the job which the employee must be able to fulfill, with or without accommodation.  Information provided below is to help describe the job so that the applicant has a reasonable understanding of the job duties/expectations.  An applicant's ability to perform and/or tolerate these actions and conditions will be discussed and workplace accommodations may be made on a case-by-case basis following an individualized assessment of the applicant and other considerations, including but not limited to any governing safety standards.

• Motor Abilities: Sitting for extended periods, bending/stooping, grasping/gripping, fine motor control (hands)
• Physical exertion and/or requirements: Minimal, with ability to safely lift up to 25 pounds.
• Repetitive work: Prolonged
• Special Senses: Visual and audio focused work
• Work Conditions: Stairs, typing/keyboard, standard and/or sitting working environment of >8 hours/day
• Travel required 0-10%

TerraPower Isotopes' technology is controlled for export by various agencies of the U.S. Government.  TerraPower Isotopes must evaluate applicants who are foreign nationals (other than asylees, refugees, or lawful permanent residents) in accordance with U.S. Government export control requirements.  To facilitate TerraPower's export control reviews, you will be asked as part of the application process to identify whether you are a U.S. Citizen or national, asylee, refugee, or lawful permanent resident of the United States.  Government export authorization approval times vary.  Based on the business needs for a particular position, TerraPower Isotopes may not consider a foreign national from a country if it is impracticable to obtain timely Government export approval.

Job Details

Salary Range: $157,247 - $209,663

*Any salary offered within the posted salary band is based on market data and commensurate with the selected individual’s qualifications experience.  This range is specific to Washington State.

Benefits:

• Competitive Compensation
• Salary, eligible to participate in discretionary short-term incentive payments
• Comprehensive Medical and Wellness Benefits
• Medical
• Dental
• Vision
• Life and Disability
• Gender Affirmation Benefits
• Parental Leave
• 401k Plan
• Generous Paid Time Off (PTO)
• 21 days of annually accrued PTO
• Generous Holiday Schedule
• 10 paid holidays
• Relocation Assistance
• Professional and Educational Support Opportunities
• Flexible Work Schedule

TerraPower Career and Benefits information: https://www.terrapower.com/careers/