Senior Nuclear/Mechanical Engineer

Blue Energy; City of Edinburgh; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

Blue Energy seeks a Senior Nuclear/Mechanical Engineer to lead technical efforts in optimizing plant design and construction. This role involves coordinating with teams and addressing engineering challenges while ensuring compliance with safety and regulatory standards. If you are a skilled engineer with leadership capabilities and experience in nuclear contexts, we encourage you to apply and contribute to our mission of delivering safe and affordable nuclear power.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of engineering experience, focusing on plant design and construction.
• Experience in a leadership or senior engineering role preferred.
• Professional Engineer (PE) license or Chartered Engineer status preferred.

Responsibilities

• Collaboratively optimize technical aspects of the plant design and execution.
• Work closely with Engineering and Construction sub-contractors.
• Identify risks and implement mitigation strategies during design and construction.

Skills

Problem-solving

Analytical skills

Communication

Leadership

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Nuclear Engineering

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Civil Engineering

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering

Tools

AutoCAD

SolidWorks

MS Project

Primavera

Job description

Company Overview

Blue Energy’s mission is to unlock energy abundance, energy affordability, energy security, and turn-key decarbonization by developing the fastest path to deploying new nuclear MWs at scale. We are utilizing shipyard manufacturing supply chains and techniques from offshore oil and wind to reduce the cost of nuclear plants by over 60% and the manufacturing timeline to 24 months. Blue Energy is a platform technology that makes use of the latest NRC-approved reactors and is in negotiations with existing nuclear and industrial sites, enabling a much faster regulatory pathway to deploy our first unit. With our innovative centralized shipyard manufacturing approach, we can put nuclear power on a cost-reduction learning curve akin to wind, solar, and lithium-ion batteries.

As the Senior Nuclear/Mechanical Engineer, you are the asset owner’s representative in the engineering realm, collaboratively optimizing all technical aspects of the plant design, construction and execution with the goal of maximizing profits, by decreasing CapEX and OpEx while increasing generation revenue, while ensuring the new plant meets all operational, safety, and regulatory requirements.

Expectations:

• Raise issues and concerns quickly, we strive for a culture where everyone can communicate openly so problems can be resolved as quickly and efficiently as possible. This is as important for technical issues as it is for non-technical and personnel issues. The longer things go “unmentioned”, the longer they “fester” and the more painful they are to resolve.

• Budget and Schedule are important! Everyone, as owners and owners representatives, is ultimately accountable for accomplishing our goals on time and on budget. However, if “Doing it Right” means we need to spend a little more time or money, raise the issue to me and we will discuss the best path forward. It's a balance and we can address all “gray” areas as a team.

• People make mistakes, especially when developing a First of a Kind product. Be open with mistakes of yourself and others, we want to ensure we understand every error, potential error or near miss so that we establish engineered controls or procedural steps to prevent recurrence. These errors, omissions and oversights can be resolved in a professional manner without people fearing reprisal, if we build the culture the right way. We are all responsible for building this kind of working environment.

Responsibilities:

• Have an in-depth understanding of how all plant systems are designed, operated and will perform in the field. It is your responsibility to understand how everything works and works together. If you have questions, it’s likely someone else has the same question. Ask the question, get the answers and share the results.

• Work closely with our Engineering and Construction sub-contractors to identify issues with quality, communications and schedule that need to be resolved. If you realize you need help resolving an issue make sure you request assistance early and resist the urge to try and resolve all issues on your own (don’t try to be a hero!)

• We will have frequent interaction with the Licensing Team who rely on us heavily to ensure all questions, concerns and issues raised by the regulator are addressed accurately and timely

  • Proactively provide support to the Licensing team and identify issues that need oversight by leadership to ensure resolution

• Identify risks and challenges that may arise in the future and implement mitigation strategies during the design and construction phase to reduce additional costs during construction, commissioning and operations.

• From time to time special projects (e.g. setting up the QA Program, drafting a Topical Report, or troubleshooting a technical issue with newly installed equipment) will arise that will need leadership to ensure timely and efficient resolution of a specific issue or set of issues.

  • Team leadership will likely involve supervision of other Blue Energy employees and/or contracted staff.

  • There may be tight budgets and schedules to be managed in addition to the team’s goals, you will be provided with the appropriate support and guidance but if you need help reach out to me as soon as possible

• As you will be based in Edinburgh, to the extent that a large portion of the engineering is taking place in Edinburgh, you will be my primary representative in the office when I am not on site.

• Actively participate in construction and commissioning. This will involve frequent and potentially extended trips to the construction site to participate in, supervise and ensure the quality of construction and commissioning activities. Team leadership to address inevitable technical issues during construction and commissioning will be a key aspect of this portion of the job responsibilities.

Qualifications:

• Education: Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Nuclear Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Chemical Engineering, or a related field.

• Experience: 5+ years of engineering experience, with at least 3-5 years focused on plant design and construction. Experience in a leadership or senior engineering role is preferred.

• Technical Skills:

  • Proficiency in CAD software (e.g., AutoCAD, SolidWorks).

  • Familiarity with other relevant software and analytical tools such as MCNP, ANSYS, LS-DYNA, Abaqus, COMSOL, and Nastran.

  • Familiar with industry codes and standards such as IBC, ASCE, AISC, ACI, AWS, ASME, etc.

  • Strong understanding of engineering principles related to power plant design, including piping, structural, and electrical/I&C systems.

  • Familiarity with project management software (e.g., MS Project, Primavera).

• Certifications: Professional Engineer (PE) license or Chartered Engineer status preferred. PMP or other project management certifications are a plus.

• Soft Skills:

  • Excellent problem-solving and analytical skills.

  • Strong communication and interpersonal skills.

  • Ability to work independently and as part of a team.

  • Strong leadership and decision-making capabilities.

We look forward to your application and helping foster an era of safe, clean, affordable, and abundant energy.

Blue Energy is dedicated to building a diverse and inclusive workplace. If you’re excited about this role but your experience doesn’t perfectly align with every requirement, we encourage you to apply anyway. You might be the right candidate for this or other roles at Blue Energy now or in the future.