Lead Fuel Design Engineer

Protingent; Oak Ridge (TN); On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Protingent Staffing seeks a Lead Fuel Design Engineer for an onsite Oak Ridge, TN role. You will own the design authority for KRONOS hexagonal prismatic fuel elements and manage specifications for coolant channels, burnable poison placements, and alignment features.

You will collaborate with performance and TH engineers, produce and control 3D models and GD&T drawings, and drive regulatory-driven design modifications while maintaining Siemens Teamcenter under nuclear QA.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree in Mechanical, Nuclear, Aerospace Engineering, or related highly technical discipline.
• 7+ years in engineering design, with direct nuclear fuel responsibility.
• Proficiency in advanced 3D CAD software and PLM.
• Translate performance data and feedback into design modifications.
• Convert design requirements into specimen configurations, manufacturing specs, inspection criteria, and QA documents.
• Knowledge of ASME NQA-1 or 10 CFR Part 50 Appendix B design-control practices.
• Maintain traceability among requirements, drawings, specs, analyses, tests, and safety limits.
• Manufacturing and metrology experience without compromising margins.

Responsibilities

• Own design authority for KRONOS hexagonal prismatic fuel elements.
• Collaborate with fuel performance and thermal-hydraulics engineers on design impact.
• Create and control 3D models, 2D drawings, and GD&T for fuel assemblies.
• Implement design changes driven by regulatory feedback and data.
• Manage CAD models and drawings in Siemens Teamcenter under nuclear QA.
• Ensure traceability from functional requirements to drawings and test articles.

Skills

Nuclear fuel design

3D CAD software

PLM

Design control (NQA-1 / 10 CFR Part 50

Traceability management

Manufacturing & metrology

Education

Bachelor's or Master's in Mechanical, Nuclear, or Aerospace Engineering

Tools

Siemens Teamcenter

Job description

Position Title

Lead Fuel Design Engineer

Job 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.