Nuclear Fuels Performance Engineer

TerraPower LLC.; Bellevue (WA); On-site; USD 154,000 - 205,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive Compensation

Medical Vison Dental Insurance

401k Plan

Generous PTO

Relocation Assistance

Professional and Educational Support

Job summary

TerraPower LLC in Bellevue, Washington seeks a Nuclear Fuels Performance Engineer to advance reactor fuel performance analysis and licensing-ready software tools. You will partner with design and verification teams to translate physics into validated models and documentation.

The role requires an advanced degree in nuclear/mechanical/materials engineering with 4+ years of relevant experience, familiarity with reactor physics, and proficiency in Python/Fortran and FEA tools.

Qualifications

• Advanced degree in Nuclear, Mechanical, or Materials Eng with 4+ years of relevant experience.
• Experience with fast-neutron reactor design and methodologies.
• Strong knowledge of reactor physics, FE models, and material models.
• Experience with QA standards (NQA-1, ASME BPV, 10 CFR 50) and NRC interactions preferred.

Responsibilities

• Perform thermo-mechanical analysis of fuel rods for reactor cores.
• Document results in reports, calculations, and test plans.
• Interface with cross-functional teams to inform design decisions.
• Develop tests and uncertainty analyses to assess safety margins.
• Update and create software supporting licensing and V&V.

Skills

Fast reactor physics

Nuclear design methods

Programming (Python, Fortran)

Software development practices

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Advanced degree in Nuclear, Mechanical, or Materials Eng

Tools

ABAQUS

ANSYS

COMSOL

MOOSE

Version control

Job description

TerraPower is a nuclear technology company based in Bellevue, Washington. At its core, the company is working to raise living standards globally through a more affordable, secure, and environmentally friendly form of nuclear energy along with innovations in medical isotopes to improve human health. In 2006, TerraPower originated with Bill Gates and a group of like-minded visionaries who evaluated the fundamental challenges to raising living standards around the world. They recognized energy access was crucial to the health and economic well-being of communities and decided that the private sector needed to take action and create energy sources that would advance global energy deployment. TerraPower’s mission is to be a world leader in new nuclear technologies, while developing innovators and future leaders in the nuclear field. As a result, the company’s activities in the fields of nuclear energy and related sciences are yielding significant innovations in the safety and economics of nuclear power, hybrid energy and medical applications – all for significant human health benefits.

TerraPower is seeking to hire highly motivated and forward-thinking professionals who are interested in focusing on advanced nuclear reactor research and development and influencing change within the nuclear power landscape and bringing forward the critical production of medical isotopes. TerraPower is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate in hiring on the basis of sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, religious creed, national origin, physical or mental disability, protected Veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.

Nuclear Fuels Performance Engineer

TerraPower, LLC is seeking a highly motivated Nuclear Fuels Performance Engineer. In this role, you will support the nuclear fuel performance team.

Responsibilities

• Perform thermo-mechanical analysis of fuel rods and other sodium fast reactor core components for: Core Design, Code Benchmarking and Validation, and Irradiation Testing (Design of Experiments and Post-Irradiation Examination analysis)
• Interface with cross-functional groups to inform and resolve component and system design decisions
• Document results of thermo-mechanical analyses in the form of engineering reports, engineering calculations, test plans, etc.
• Design and execute sensitivity studies to understand the effects and validity of various modeling assumptions, including meshing, physics coupling, material models, and design tolerances
• Support software and document reviews in areas of fuel performance modeling, fuel performance, or other areas of subject expertise
• Build and apply methods to assess the propagation of uncertainty and their effect on safety margins, especially relative to irradiation test design
• Enhance engineering team's ability to build models and make meaningful conclusions from simulation output through input tools, visualization, reports, etc.
• Prepare test plans and documentation to support irradiation and performance testing of nuclear fuels.
• Create formal documentation of nuclear fuels methods software requirements, design, implementation, and testing in support of licensing TerraPower reactors.
• Update, improve, and/or create software to satisfy all licensing requirements during the Verification and Validation (V&V) process

Key Qualifications and Skills

• Advanced degree in Nuclear, Mechanical, or Materials Engineering or equivalent and 4+ years of relevant experience preferred
• Fast reactor physics and design intuition highly desired
• Experience in understanding and executing nuclear design and analysis methodologies; ideally with a focus on fast-neutron reactors
• Excellent knowledge of the methods of reactor physics analysis, finite element models, constitutive material models
• Experience in performing design activities to applicable requirements such as NQA-1, ASME B&PV, AWS, 10 CFR 50, Appendix B, or equivalent
• Experience using ABAQUS, ANSYS, COMSOL, MOOSE, or an equivalent FEA code
• Proven ability to integrate and automate simulation tools
• Strong programming skills in any language required. Preferred programming language experience with Python and Fortran
• Demonstrable capabilities with fundamental software development tools (e.g. IDEs, version control, profilers, debuggers, documentation builders, packaging tools)
• Experience interacting on nuclear methodology with the NRC under an ASME NQA-1 compliant QA environment preferred
• Good working knowledge of general numerical methods and applied mathematics (e.g., PDEs, numerical stability, statistics, numerical analysis, dynamics)
• Strong formal technical documentation skills required
• Ability to consistently deliver to an aggressive schedule
• Self-motivated: able to seek out tasks and produce value aligned with team goals without waiting for next assignment
• Passion for and dedication to software best practices
• Willingness to openly give and accept professional criticism through code reviews and other venues
• The successful candidate will possess a high degree of trust and integrity, communicate openly and display respect, and a desire to foster teamwork

This position is subject to qualification requirements in accordance with ANSI/ANS 3.1. Candidates must meet the minimum education and experience criteria applicable to the role, including relevant nuclear industry experience where required. Verification of data will be part of the hiring process.

Job Functions

Job Functions are physical actions and/or working conditions associated with the position. These functions may also constitute essential functions for the job which the employee must be able to fulfill, with or without accommodation. Information provided below is to help describe the job so that the applicant has a reasonable understanding of the job duties/expectations. An applicant's ability to perform and/or tolerate these actions and conditions will be discussed and workplace accommodations may be made on a case-by-case basis following an individualized assessment of the applicant and other considerations, including but not limited to any governing safety standards.

• Motor Abilities: Sitting for extended periods, bending/stooping, grasping/gripping, fine motor control (hands)
• Physical exertion and/or requirements: Minimal, with ability to safely lift up to 25 pounds.
• Special Senses: Visual and audio focused work
• Work Conditions: Stairs, typing/keyboard, standard and/or sitting working environment of >8 hours/day
• Travel required 0-10%

TerraPower’s technology is controlled for export by various agencies of the U.S. Government. TerraPower must evaluate applicants who are foreign nationals (other than asylees, refugees, or lawful permanent residents) in accordance with U.S. Government export control requirements. To facilitate TerraPower’s export control reviews, you will be asked as part of the application process to identify whether you are a U.S. Citizen or national, asylee, refugee, or lawful permanent resident of the United States. Government export authorization approval times vary. Based on the business needs for a particular position, TerraPower may not consider a foreign national from a country if it is impracticable to obtain timely Government export approval.

Job details

Salary Range: $153,861 - $205,149

Any salary offered within the posted salary band is based on market data and commensurate with the selected candidate’s qualifications and experience. This range is specific to Washington State.

Job Type: Full-time

• Competitive Compensation
• Salary, eligible to participate in discretionary short-term incentive payments
• Comprehensive Medical and Wellness Benefits
• Medical
• Vision
• Dental
• Life and Disability
• Gender Affiliation Benefits
• 401k Plan
• Generous Paid Time Off (PTO)
• 21 days of annually accrued PTO
• Generous Holiday Schedule
• 10 paid holidays
• Relocation Assistance
• Professional and Educational Support Opportunities

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey.Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiringprocess or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in aconfidential file.

As set forth in TerraPower LLC.’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy,we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection.As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measurethe effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categoriesis as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.

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The application deadline for this role is October 8, 2026