Nuclear Spent Fuel Engineer

Vistra Energy; United States; Hybrid; USD 80,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Vistra Energy is seeking a Nuclear Engineer to support safe management of spent nuclear fuel across multiple locations. This role involves leading complex engineering tasks, ensuring regulatory compliance, and managing spent-fuel initiatives.

The ideal candidate has a Bachelor's degree in Engineering with at least 6 years of experience in nuclear engineering or related fields. Strong skills in problem-solving, teamwork, and effective communication are essential for this position.

Qualifications

• Minimum 4 years' Bachelor's degree in Engineering from an accredited program.
• Minimum 6 years of relevant job experience in nuclear engineering or related fields.
• Knowledge of commercial nuclear plant operations and regulatory requirements.

Responsibilities

• Identify and perform tasks related to spent-fuel management and nuclear safety.
• Lead analysis of complex spent-fuel engineering issues.
• Support spent-fuel pool management and fuel storage configuration.

Skills

Nuclear engineering

Spent-fuel management

Regulatory compliance

Problem-solving

Teamwork

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering

Job description

Job Summary

This position can also be based at any of our other nuclear locations: Oak Harbor, OH (Davis‑Besse), Perry, OH (Perry), Shippingport, PA (Beaver Valley), Glen Rose, TX (Comanche Peak). The role requires working independently to support safe, reliable, and compliant management of spent nuclear fuel.

Key Responsibilities

• Identify and perform tasks related to spent‑fuel management, nuclear safety, regulation, and station objectives.
• Lead interpretation and analysis of complex spent‑fuel engineering issues (criticality safety, shielding, thermal performance, decay heat, fuel qualification).
• Coordinate assigned projects, studies, engineering evaluations, design changes, procedures, calculations, and initiatives through completion.
• Support spent‑fuel pool management, fuel storage configuration control, fuel movement planning, and dry‑cask loading campaigns.
• Provide engineering support for Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation activities including loading, transfer, storage, inspections, documentation, and maintenance support.
• Comply with safety policies; reinforce nuclear safety, radiological safety, industrial safety, and conservative decision‑making.
• Prepare and present reports, engineering evaluations, technical recommendations, and regulatory support documentation.
• Participate in and sometimes lead special projects, committees, readiness reviews, outage support activities, vendor interface meetings, regulatory inspections, and external industry organizations.
• Lead complex problem‑solving efforts related to spent‑fuel storage systems, cask equipment, neutron absorbers, licensing basis compliance, operating experience, corrective actions, and emergent technical issues.
• Review vendor documents, technical manuals, calculations, procurement specifications, inspection results, and acceptance documentation for spent‑fuel storage systems and related equipment.
• Maintain awareness of applicable NRC requirements, Certificate of Compliance conditions, technical specifications, industry guidance, and station licensing basis requirements.

Education, Experience, and Skills

• Minimum 4 years’ Bachelor’s degree in Engineering (Nuclear, Mechanical, Electrical, Civil, Chemical, Industrial, or related discipline) from an accredited program.
• Minimum 6 years of relevant job experience, such as nuclear engineering, fuel handling, reactor engineering, spent‑fuel pool operations, dry‑cask storage, licensing, plant systems engineering, radiation protection support, or nuclear safety analysis.
• Knowledge of commercial nuclear plant operations, regulatory requirements, licensing basis documents, technical specifications, engineering procedures, and corrective action processes.
• Experience preparing or reviewing engineering calculations, technical evaluations, procedures, design documents, regulatory inputs, or vendor technical documents.
• Ability to support field activities, refueling outages, dry‑cask loading campaigns, readiness reviews, inspections, and emergent station issues as needed.

Key Metrics & Selected Competencies

• Teamwork and collaboration across organizational boundaries.
• Effective written and verbal communication of complex technical, operational, and regulatory issues.
• Influence via effective working relationships with station departments, fleet organizations, vendors, and external organizations.
• In‑depth understanding of nuclear power plant equipment, fuel handling systems, spent‑fuel storage systems, and dry‑cask storage equipment.
• Evaluate technical alternatives considering nuclear safety, regulatory compliance, operational risk, schedule impact, and economic contribution.
• Apply systematic problem‑solving to address complex spent‑fuel engineering and storage issues.
• Demonstrate strong ownership of nuclear safety, technical quality, regulatory compliance, procedure adherence, and conservative engineering judgment.
• Support reliable execution of spent‑fuel pool management, dry‑cask storage campaigns, inspections, corrective actions, and long‑term spent‑fuel program objectives.

Final Pay Grade

Final pay grade will be based on applicant's experience and qualifications.

EEO Statement

It is the policy of the Company to comply with all employment laws and to afford equal employment opportunity to individuals in all aspects of employment, including selection for job opportunities, without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, military service, protected veteran status, or any other consideration protected by federal, state, or local laws. If you are an individual with a disability and need assistance submitting an application or would like to request an accommodation, please email us at [e-mail].