Nuclear Methods Manager

TITLE: Nuclear Methods Manager

LOCATION: Bellevue, WA, USA

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. In addition, as a federal contractor, TerraPower has instituted an Affirmative Action Plan (AAP) in an effort to proactively recruit, hire, and promote women, minorities, disabled persons and veterans.

Nuclear Methods Manager

The Nuclear Methods Manager is responsible for leading a geographically diverse team of nuclear engineers supporting methods development for the Natrium project. The group develops methods, models, and tools that support evaluating the neutronic performance of various reactor core components, reactor structures, and nuclear island components in Natrium. The Nuclear Methods manager works closely with the Nuclear Analysis manager and reports directly to the Core Design and Methods (CDM) Senior Manager. The Nuclear Methods Manager will work as part of a high functioning team of engineers and scientists focused on developing the design of next generation advanced nuclear reactors.

Responsibilities

• Responsible for coordination and oversight of a geographically-diverse methods team to develop reactor models, methods, and tools. The team members include TerraPower employees, subcontractor employees, and partner engineers and teams.
• Manage and guide development of neutronics methodologies in areas such as in-core flux and energy deposition, depletion, and decay heat.
• Manage and guide development of neutronics benchmarks such as Zero Power Physics Reactor (ZPPR), Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF), and Experiment Breeder Reactor II (EBR-II) to support validation of neutronics methodologies
• Manage and guide activities supporting commercial grade dedication of neutronics solvers such as MCNP and DIF3D
• Manage and guide activities supporting software development of in-house neutronics tools
• Define and monitor partner activities supporting Nuclear Methods
• Define and monitor Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) activities with US National Laboratories supporting Nuclear Methods
• Assign proper quality assurance levels of work packages and verify their compliance to current procedures
• Support employee professional development and growth through mentoring, training, and challenging assignments within the specific program engineering efforts as assigned.
• Perform personnel management support, such as the recruitment, onboarding, indoctrination of new engineers, promotion, termination, etc.
• Plan, monitor, revise, and report on the team’s performance against the schedule baseline and manage corrective actions to areas of underperformance. Take proactive action to correct negative trends and resolve conflicts in quality, priority, and forecast completion dates.
• Participate in management discussions on strategy, budget, goals, resources, and team performance.

Key Qualifications and Skills

• S., M.S., or Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering from accredited university. M.S. and Ph.D. are preferred.
• Minimum of 6 years of experience in nuclear methods and analysis with a B.S. degree, or 5+ years with an M.S. or Ph.D. degree.
• 2+ years in either a technical leadership or management role with demonstrated success.
• Strong understanding of fast reactor physics, design principles, and tools (e.g., DIF3D and MC2-3).
• Experience with code validation such as comparing to experimental benchmarks (e.g., ZPPR, FFTF, and EBR-II).
• Experience with common physics tools such as MCNP, SERPENT, ORIGEN, and CASMO/SIMULATE.
• Experience working with multi-contributor code development projects.
• Comfortable with ASME NQA-1 and directing technical work under evolving procedures
• Experience interfacing with other engineering disciplines, especially mechanical, fuel performance, and thermal/hydraulics.
• Familiarity with project management concepts. Ability to develop and maintain schedule of group activities jointly with project controls team. Familiarity with Primavera P6 is valuable.
• Exceptional communication skills to integrate with a geographically diverse engineering team.
• Ability to manage numerous competing priorities concurrently during a given work week and work with minimal direction to manage and guide technical work.
• Possess a high degree of trust and integrity, communicate openly, and display respect and a desire to foster teamwork.

Bonus Skills

• Familiarity with scripting and programming languages, especially Python. C++ and Fortran are also valuable.
• Familiarity with Linux high performance computing platforms. Experience with Slurm and the bash shell are valuable.
• Familiarity with programming paradigms such as version control and integrated development environments (IDE).

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 and/or standing 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 hrs./day
• Travel required: 0-5%

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: $157,405- $218,119

*Typically, our employee salaries are within .90 – 1.0 of the mid-point of the posted salary band. Any salary offered within the posted salary band is based on market data and commensurate with the selected individual’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
• 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/contact-us/careers/

Please visit www.terrapower.com to apply