Lead Fuel Design Engineer

Protingent; Oak Ridge (TN); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Protingent invites a Lead Fuel Design Engineer to oversee the KRONOS fuel element design, owning technical specifications and GD&T for assemblies. You will drive design decisions with cross-functional teams, integrate regulatory feedback, and maintain rigorous configuration management in Teamcenter.

The role requires extensive nuclear fuel design experience, advanced CAD/PLM skills, and strong focus on traceability from requirements to test articles within a safety-critical program.

Qualifications

• 7+ years in engineering design with nuclear fuel or safety-significant hardware
• Proficient in advanced 3D CAD and PLM systems
• Ability to translate performance data into design modifications
• Experience defining test configurations and acceptance criteria
• Familiar with design inputs, verifications, and change-impact assessments

Responsibilities

• Own the design authority for KRONOS hexagonal prismatic fuel elements and DP features
• Collaborate with fuel performance and thermal-hydraulics engineers on design impacts
• Create and control all 3D models, 2D drawings, and GD&T for fuel assemblies
• Implement design changes based on regulatory feedback and manufacturing constraints
• Manage CAD models, drawings, and change history in Teamcenter
• Ensure traceability from requirements to acceptance criteria and test articles

Skills

Nuclear fuel design

3D CAD software

PLM

Regulatory compliance

Design verification

Change management

Education

Bachelor's or Master's in Mechanical/Nuclear/Aerospace

Tools

ASME NQA-1

Job description

Job Description

Position Title: Lead Fuel Design Engineer

Position Description: Protingent Staffing has an exciting direct hire Lead Fuel Design Engineer opportunity.

Job Responsibilities

• Design Ownership & Iteration: Serve as the primary design authority for the KRONOS hexagonal prismatic fuel elements, owning the specifications for coolant channels, burnable poison locations, and dowel/socket alignment features.
• Cross-Functional Integration: Collaborate directly with fuel performance and thermal-hydraulics engineers analyze how proposed physical modifications to fuel specifications alter thermal-mechanical behavior and core reactivity.
• Drawing & Specification Control: Author, update, and rigorously control all 3D engineering models, 2D manufacturing drawings, and geometric dimensioning and tolerancing (GD&T) for the fuel assemblies.
• Regulatory & Empirical Adaptation: Implement necessary design modifications driven by iterative regulatory feedback, vendor fabrication constraints, and empirical data generated from ongoing irradiation testing campaigns.
• Configuration Management: Anchor all CAD models, technical drawings, and design modifications within Siemens Teamcenter, ensuring strict adherence to nuclear Quality Assurance standards for product lifecycle management.
• Qualification Design Basis: Own the traceability from fuel functional requirements and safety-analysis limits to controlled drawings, material specifications, acceptance criteria, and qualification test-article configurations. Assess whether manufactured and irradiated specimens remain representative of the licensed KRONOS fuel design.

Job Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering, Nuclear Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a strictly related highly technical discipline.
• Nuclear Fuel Design Experience: 7+ years of experience in engineering design, with direct responsibility for nuclear fuel, reactor internals, graphite or ceramic components, or comparable safety-significant hardware. With demonstrated proficiency in advanced 3D CAD software and enterprise Product Lifecycle Management. Proven ability to translate computational performance data and experimental feedback into actionable, physical design modifications
• Qualification Specimen Definition: Demonstrated ability to convert design requirements into specimen configurations, manufacturing specifications, inspection criteria, interface-control documents, and as-built acceptance records for irradiation or safety testing.
• Design Control: Working knowledge of ASME NQA-1 or 10 CFR Part 50 Appendix B design-control practices, including design inputs, independent verification, interface control, configuration management, and change-impact assessment.
• Fuel Requirements Traceability: Experience maintaining traceability among functional requirements, drawings, material and process specifications, analysis assumptions, test conditions, acceptance criteria, and safety limits.
• Manufacturing & Metrology: Practical experience resolving manufacturability, tolerance, inspection, and metrology issues without invalidating design margins or qualification representativeness.

Preferred Job Qualifications

• Direct applied experience designing nuclear fuel assemblies, high-temperature ceramic components, or complex graphite structures.
• Familiarity with ASME NQA-1 quality assurance requirements, specifically regarding formal design control, verification, and documentation.
• Background in extreme-environment mechanical design derived from parallel industries (e.g., aerospace thermal protection, defense) transitioning into the nuclear sector.

Job Details

• Job Type: Full-time
• Salary Range: TBD
• Location: Oak Ridge, TN (Onsite)

About Protingent

Protingent is an Award-Winning provider of top-tier Engineering and IT talent, trusted by companies at the forefront of innovation - from Software and Aerospace to AI, Clean Tech, Medical Devices, and Connected Technologies. We’re passionate about making a positive impact by connecting exceptional talent with meaningful opportunities and helping our clients build the future.