Senior Core Physics and Radiation Protection Engineer

THORIZON; Lyon; Sur place; EUR 60 000 - 90 000; Plein temps

Avantages offerts par ce poste

Innovative work environment

Opportunities for professional development

Dynamic projects in clean energy

Résumé du poste

THORIZON is seeking an experienced professional in core physics based in Lyon, France. The role involves developing methods and tools for core physics, radiation protection, and criticality studies, as well as collaborating on innovative nuclear solutions. Candidates should have strong expertise in simulations and proven leadership abilities within multidisciplinary teams.

The position emphasizes scientific computing skills and the application of methodologies to enhance project outcomes in a dynamic nuclear power environment.

Qualifications

• Minimum 8 years of experience in core physics, radiation protection, and criticality simulations.
• Experience in multidisciplinary code coupling.
• Strong command-line skills in Linux.

Responsabilités

• Set up core physics computational train using probabilistic and deterministic approaches.
• Automate studies and their pre- and post-processing.
• Guide junior colleagues and share knowledge.

Connaissances

Core physics simulations

Radiation protection

Criticality safety

Linux proficiency

Scientific computing (Python, R, MATLAB)

Formation

Master’s degree or PhD in science or engineering

Outils

MCNP

SERPENT

APOLLO3

SCALE

Description du poste

Your mission

Are you passionate about core physics, radiation protection and criticality? Are you motivated to apply your expertise and know‑how to the ongoing design studies for the Thorizon One reactor? Are you passionate about designing cutting‑edge neutronics systems and solving complex engineering challenges? Do you get energized when working on innovative solutions?

You will be a major contributor of the core physics, radiation protection, and criticality expertise center, whose primary missions are, on the one hand, to provide comprehensive support and expertise in this area to the system design teams in charge of the fuel cycle, the reactor design and safety studies and, on the other hand, to define, execute, and adapt where needed the validation program using experiments carried out through shared initiatives, designed to ultimately prove that the innovations in our solution are feasible within the performance, cost, and time constraints of our project.

Within this general framework you will develop methods and tools to perform core physics, radiation protection and criticality studies, possibly in collaboration with external specialists, perform high quality studies with the appropriate computational tools, and validate the computational tools.

In your role, you can carry out an analysis to meet any core physics, radiation protection and criticality needs for Thorizon projects (Pioneer nuclear demonstrator design, FOAK/NOAK design), including budget, planning, tools selection, calculations, report issuance. You interact easily with other areas of expertise (such as nuclear safety, thermal‑hydraulics, chemistry and mechanics).

Your level of expertise allows you to prioritize based on the importance of the needs, and as an expert, you have the power to recommend any necessary actions for the project related to your area of expertise.

Furthermore, you participate in external networks, including international initiatives, to stay at the forefront of industry developments.

In this environment, you get the unique opportunity to put your knowledge to the best use, develop your ideas, and explore various aspects of thermal‑hydraulics engineering.

This role is based in Amsterdam, Netherlands or in Lyon, France.

In This Role You Will

• Set up an effective core physics computational train, using both probabilistic (MCNP, SERPENT, for example) and deterministic approaches (APOLLO3, SCALE, for example), as well as providing numerical/physical insights and practical approaches to establish appropriate coupling with thermal‑hydraulics for effective transient analyses.
• Set up core radiation protection or criticality models for simulation of shutdown, storage, handling and transport.
• Set up and maintain scientific computing environments on Linux, including installing and configuring scientific software, libraries, and data analysis tools.
• Automate the studies and their pre‑ and post‑processing.
• Contribute to the definition and justification of the safety case.
• Contribute to or establish effective exchange with other codes and results from other disciplines, such as thermal‑hydraulics, salt composition chemistry and structural mechanics.
• Participate in specifying, selecting, and managing external contractors and suppliers that support the project.
• Guide junior colleagues in the same discipline, and share your knowledge with your teammates.
• Create transparency on development progress, identify issues and challenges, and propose solutions that will help team problem‑solving and design iteration.
• Implement a learning loop and ensure lessons learned are systematically integrated in way of working and the design itself.
• Contribute to the definition, execution, and adaptation where needed of the validation program using experiments, designed to ultimately prove that the innovations in our solution are feasible within the performance, cost, and time constraints of our project. This program includes the qualification of the core physics, radiation protection and criticality computational tools to be used for design and safety, applying national (e.g., ASNR guide 28) or international (IAEA in particular) approaches.
• Participate in meetings with regulators with the aim of defending in‑house positions and contribute to maintaining an active dialogue with regulators (in particular ASNR, ANVS and FANC).
• Be involved in various international initiatives (IAEA, Euratom…) dedicated to your discipline.
• Stay updated on industry trends and advancements in approaches, methodologies, computational tools in core physics, radiation protection and criticality.
• Report to the Core Physics lead, and work in different project teams.

About You

• You have a master’s degree or a PhD in science or engineering, experience in the nuclear field is mandatory.
• You have minimum 8 years of proven experience in core physics, radiation protection and criticality simulations and analyses. A PhD is regarded as work experience, if the subject of study is relevant to the job position.
• You have experience with multidisciplinary code coupling from the fundamental data to the real world application and (simulation) experience in other disciplines is regarded a plus.
• You know the MSR specificities related to core‑physics, radiation protection and criticality.
• You have proficiency in Linux (Ubuntu, CentOS, Fedora, etc.) with strong command‑line skills and knowledge of shell scripting.
• You have experience with scientific computing tools like Python, R, MATLAB, SciPy, NumPy, or similar libraries.
• You have a good knowledge of national or international (IAEA, NRC, ASNR or other) standards on scientific computing tool qualification.
• You have strong organizational and multitasking abilities, with drive for quality and accuracy.
• You get inspired by an organisation with a large variety of people, with different experiences and background.
• You are eager to learn and like challenges.
• You are creative and innovative: You rethink issues to find practical solutions to difficult problems and you demonstrate agility by minimizing complexity. You have a pragmatic and constructive mindset.
• You have a good sense of judgement: you think strategically (in your field and taking into account all the dimensions of the project), and you know how to prioritise your actions according to the key issues at stake.
• You have excellent communication skills: you listen before you react, you are concise, you treat people with respect, you keep calm in stressful situations, you have excellent writing skills. You are an excellent communicator in English, and preferably also French or Dutch, both spoken and written.
• You create impact: your productions are models for your colleagues.

About Us

At Thorizon, we’re a passionate team spread across Amsterdam and Lyon, all working together to develop new nuclear power solutions. We design and create frontier technology for Molten Salt Reactors (MSRs).

Our purpose is to accelerate the availability of clean energy and help solve the climate crisis.

We are in the development phase and aim to solidify our design through analyses, simulations, experiments, prototyping, and partnerships. At Thorizon, we believe a strongly coupled multidisciplinary technology development requires a culture of full openness and transparency. That’s why we foster values like unity, communication, and support to ensure we grow together as a team while achieving our purpose.