Fuel Manufacturing Lead Engineer

TerraPower is a nuclear technology company based in Bellevue, Washington. At its core, the company is working to raise living standards globally through a more affordable, secure, and environmentally friendly form of nuclear energy along with innovations in medical isotopes to improve human health. In 2006, TerraPower originated with Bill Gates and a group of like-minded visionaries who evaluated the fundamental challenges to raising living standards around the world. They recognized energy access was crucial to the health and economic well-being of communities and decided that the private sector needed to take action and create energy sources that would advance global energy deployment. TerraPower’s mission is to be a world leader in new nuclear technologies, while developing innovators and future leaders in the nuclear field. As a result, the company’s activities in the fields of nuclear energy and related sciences are yielding significant innovations in the safety and economics of nuclear power, hybrid energy and medical applications – all for significant human health benefits.”

TerraPower is seeking to hire highly motivated and forward-thinking professionals who are interested in focusing on advanced nuclear reactor research and development and influencing change within the nuclear power landscape and bringing forward the critical production of medical isotopes. 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. 

Fuel Manufacturing Lead Engineer 

TerraPower is seeking a Fuel Manufacturing Lead Engineer to join the Natrium Fuel Manufacturing team. The Fuel Manufacturing Lead Engineer will report to the Director of Fuel Manufacturing to provide broad technical leadership for all the technical elements of fabrication of fuel and non-fuel core components, including but not limited to enrichment, metallization of HALEU feedstock, fabrication, and transport. The Fuel Manufacturing Lead Engineer will interface extensively with leadership, internal teams, and fabrication partners to ensure technical integrity, integration and collaboration.

Responsibilities: 

• Provide technical direction and guidance to technical teams working on the fuel fabrication chain, acting as a matrix technical leader across Fuel Manufacturing.
• Lead technical development and scale-up of fuel and non-fuel manufacturing processes from laboratory and pilot scale to qualified production, including process definition, qualification, and continuous improvement.
• Provide technical direction to supplier projects, working with project managers and contract administrators to ensure delivery of data and other technical deliverables to meet TerraPower requirements, as well as coordination and performance of technical reviews of deliverables.
• Establish and/or maintain requirements and specifications related to nuclear fuel and non-fuel core components fabrication and transportation, owning the technical baseline and configuration for fuel manufacturing.
• Interface with reactor design, neutronics, thermal hydraulics, and safety analysis teams to ensure fuel and non-fuel assembly properties are adequately reflected in fuel fabrication efforts.
• Ensure Fuel Manufacturing activities comply with TerraPower’s nuclear quality assurance program and applicable codes, standards, and licensing basis requirements, championing strong nuclear safety culture.
• Mentor engineers to establish key competencies within the team and to support team development, staffing plans, and succession planning to enable program scale-up and long-term operational continuity.
• Represent Fuel Manufacturing team in other areas such as decision meetings, design reviews, change management, and issue resolution.
• Support Fuel Manufacturing team in NRC and/or DOE interactions related to fuel fabrication development, operations, supplier qualification activities, licensing, inspections, reportable events, and other topics.
• Support program planning by providing technical input to schedules, cost estimates, risk management, and technology readiness assessments for Fuel Manufacturing.
• Support risk identification and mitigation for technical topics within Fuel Manufacturing.
• Maintain continuous learning and application of nuclear industry best practices to maintain the highest quality of engineering and proactively identify process change/enhancement opportunities.
• Represent TerraPower in technical events related to fuel cycle and/or fuel manufacturing.

Key Qualifications and Skills 

• Education: 15+ years of experience with B.S. degree in Nuclear Engineering, Materials Science, Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, or a closely related field. Strong preference for nuclear materials, metallurgy, or nuclear fuel cycle engineering. Relevant M.S. and Doctorate degrees may be credited for up to three or five years of experience respectively.
• Demonstrated technical expertise in nuclear fuel design and/or fuel manufacturing, strongly preferred in metallic fuel for fast reactors or other advanced reactor fuels.
• Experience working under a nuclear QA program (e.g., ASME NQA‑1, 10 CFR 50 Appendix B, or equivalent), including audits, nonconformance disposition, and corrective actions.
• Experience with fuel fabrication facility licensing (10 CFR 70 or equivalent) desired.
• Experience managing or technically directing vendors or contractors for nuclear-grade component fabrication, including supplier qualification, source inspection, and nonconformance disposition.
• Proven ability to lead through influence in a matrixed organization, building alignment among diverse stakeholders.
• Experience mentoring and developing technical teams.
• Ability to handle projects that include many competing objectives and design constraints, with ability to resolve conflicts between objectives.
• Excellent writing and communication skills.
• Strong analytical/problem solving skills, creative thinker.
• Ability to set direction to solve challenging problems.
• Ability to work on multiple simultaneous tasks that require a multi-disciplinary approach.
• Attention to detail and aspiration for technical excellence.
• The successful candidate will possess a high degree of trust and integrity, communicate openly, and display respect and a desire to foster teamwork.

This position is subject to qualification requirements in accordance with ANSI/ANS 3.1. Candidates must meet the minimum education and experience criteria applicable to the role, including relevant nuclear industry experience where required. Verification of data will be part of the hiring process.

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’s technology is controlled for export by various agencies of the U.S. Government.  TerraPower 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 may not consider a foreign national from a country if it is impracticable to obtain timely Government export approval.

Job details

Salary Range: $173,579 - $231,439

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

Job Type: Full-time

Benefits:

• Competitive Compensation
• Salary, eligible to participate in discretionary short-term incentive payments
• Comprehensive Medical and Wellness Benefits
  • Medical
  • Vision
  • Dental
  • 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

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