Fuel Lifecycle Lead

BlueCore Energy; Long Beach (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

BlueCore Energy, based in Long Beach, CA, seeks a Fuel Lifecycle Lead to manage the nuclear fuel program for Nautilus, a floating barge-based power plant. You will oversee procurement, licensing, and long-term fuel storage and disposal, interacting with regulators and port authorities.

The role spans procurement, reactor engineering, operations, licensing, transport logistics, and maritime safety, with global scope beyond Nautilus.

Qualifications

• Deep experience in nuclear fuel management, fuel handling operations, or fuel cycle project management.
• Working knowledge of PWR fuel design, core loading, and refueling outage planning/execution.
• Familiarity with regulatory frameworks for nuclear fuel (10 CFR Part 50/52/53, 70, 71, 72).
• Strong project management with vendor contracts, outages, shipping logistics, and submittals.

Responsibilities

• Own the fuel handling program from receipt through disposition including inspection, loading, outages, spent fuel pool ops, and dry storage.
• Develop fuel handling procedures and coordinate with reactor engineering on core design and reload analyses.
• Author regulatory-grade safety analyses for DOE/NRC submissions and license applications.
• Lead licensing for fuel transportation including 10 CFR Part 71 and coordination with DOT, USCG, NRC.
• Plan and execute refueling outages with cross-functional teams to ensure safety and schedule.
• Develop spent fuel management strategy including interim storage and long-term DOE disposal.
• Navigate NRC/DOE/USCG/ABS/DOT/Port of Long Beach regulatory intersections for fuel handling.
• Build relationships with ports and fuel service providers to enable commercial port fueling operations.
• Coordinate with engineering, operations, licensing, training, and leadership to embed fuel handling in design and procedures.
• Travel to fabrication facilities, NRC HQ, INL and vendor sites for coordination.

Skills

Nuclear fuel management

Project management

Regulatory knowledge

Technical writing

Travel readiness

Job description

Our Mission Is Simple: Democratize Access To Clean Energy

Welcome to BlueCore Energy! We are on a relentless mission to democratize access to clean energy. By designing and building advanced floating Pressurized Water Reactors (PWRs) on barges right here in Long Beach, CA, we are bringing scalable, clean, and reliable power to the world. Joining our team means getting in on the ground floor of a revolution in marine small modular reactors (SMRs). If you are passionate, driven, and ready to tackle some of the most exciting challenges of our time, we want you on our team!

Our Values

• Humility — We hold strong opinions loosely, say “I don’t know,” ask for help early, and let the best idea win regardless of who it came from.
• Inclusivity — The best engineering comes from many perspectives. We build a team where everyone is heard, and we mean it.
• Pragmatism — We solve the real problem in front of us, reuse what already works, and value a tested answer over an elegant one.

About the Role

The Fuel Lifecycle Lead will build and manage the nuclear fuel program for Nautilus, BlueCore’s flagship floating nuclear power plant, from procurement through final disposition. Sitting within the Certification Department, this role is equal parts project manager, licensing contributor, and operations planner. You will manage the contracts and logistics that bring fuel to the reactor, the procedures and equipment that handle it on site, the regulatory submittals that authorize every step, and the long-term planning for storage and ultimate disposal. For a barge-mounted PWR operating at a working port, you will solve challenges unprecedented in commercial nuclear energy: fuel receipt at a marine facility, refueling operations on a floating platform, and spent fuel storage and transport under overlapping NRC, DOE, USCG, DOT, and port authority requirements.

Beyond Nautilus, you will lay the groundwork for fleet-wide fuel receiving, handling, storage, and disposal across commercial ports globally. This means building relationships with port authorities, developing floating fuel-handling infrastructure standards, and working with regulators to establish new regulatory precedents. In any given month, your work will cross procurement, reactor engineering, operations, licensing, transport logistics, and maritime safety.

Responsibilities

• Own the fuel handling program from receipt through disposition, including new fuel inspection, core loading, refueling outage planning and execution, spent fuel pool operations, and dry cask storage.
• Develop fuel handling procedures and coordinate with the reactor engineering team on core design, fuel management strategy, and reload analysis for each operating cycle.
• Author and support fuel-related sections of the DOE safety basis (DSA, TSRs) and NRC license application (FSAR Chapters 4, 9, and applicable portions of Chapters 11 and 15), including fuel handling accident analysis, spent fuel pool cooling, criticality safety, and radioactive waste management.
• Lead the licensing effort for fuel transportation, including 10 CFR Part 71 shipping cask certification, route approvals, and coordination with DOT, USCG, and NRC for marine transport of fresh and spent fuel.
• Plan and execute refueling outages, coordinating cross-functionally across operations, maintenance, engineering, and contractors to ensure safe, on-schedule execution.
• Develop the spent fuel management strategy for a barge-based facility, including interim storage, ISFSI licensing under 10 CFR Part 72 (if applicable), and long‑term planning for DOE spent fuel acceptance.
• Navigate the regulatory intersections between NRC, DOE, USCG, ABS, DOT, and the Port of Long Beach for fuel receipt, handling, storage, and transport.
• Build strategic relationships with port authorities and fuel service providers to establish the logistics, infrastructure, and regulatory agreements needed for commercial port fueling operations.
• Coordinate cross-functionally with engineering, operations, licensing, training, and executive leadership to ensure fuel handling requirements are embedded into plant design, operating procedures, and safety submittals from day one.
• Travel to fuel fabrication facilities, NRC headquarters, Idaho National Laboratory (INL), and other vendor sites for technical coordination and regulatory engagement.

Required Qualifications & Skills

• Deep experience in nuclear fuel management, fuel handling operations, or fuel cycle project management at a commercial nuclear power plant or fuel vendor.
• Working knowledge of PWR fuel design, core loading, and refueling outage planning/execution.
• Familiarity with the governing regulatory framework for nuclear fuel: 10 CFR Part 50/52/53, 10 CFR Part 70, 10 CFR Part 71, 10 CFR Part 72, and applicable FSAR chapters/Technical Specifications.
• Strong project management capability, with a track record of simultaneously managing vendor contracts, outage schedules, shipping logistics, and regulatory submittals.
• Excellent technical writing ability with experience authoring regulatory-grade safety analysis documents for federal review.
• Ability to travel to vendor facilities, NRC headquarters, Idaho National Laboratory, and port locations as required.

Desired Qualifications & Skills

• Direct commercial nuclear fuel experience.
• Active SRO license.

Working at BlueCore Energy

On-Site Requirement: Our team works together at our Long Beach facility, right next to our barge.

Highly Cross-Functional: Startups move fast! You must possess the ability to seamlessly collaborate across multiple teams to rapidly solve problems and keep production moving.

Physical & Machinery Requirements: Because we are a hands-on startup, this role may require the ability to perform physical labor, navigate active construction/manufacturing zones, and/or operate heavy machinery and specialized manufacturing equipment as needed.