Senior Engineer, Manufacturing

TerraPower LLC.; Bellevue (KY); On-site; USD 117,000 - 152,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive compensation

Salary with incentive eligibility

Comprehensive medical and wellness

Parental leave

401k plan

Generous PTO (21 days)

Relocation assistance

Professional and educational support

Job summary

TerraPower, based in Bellevue, WA, seeks a Senior Engineer, Manufacturing to lead Natrium fuel design and fabrication efforts. You will develop scalable production processes, generate essential manufacturing docs, and drive supplier coordination to ensure safe, compliant fuel production. The role requires deep nuclear-fuel knowledge, leadership in manufacturing, and a focus on safety culture across teams.

Qualifications

• BS degree in mechanical, manufacturing, chemistry, or nuclear engineering or equivalent.
• Minimum seven years of manufacturing experience; two years in fuel or fuel-adjacent areas.
• Excellent writing and communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Develop processes, procedures, and scaling for full production of fuel fabrication.
• Produce manufacturing documentation to support hardware delivery.
• Lead non-conformance evaluations and corrective actions in fuel fabrication.
• Review engineering drawings for manufacturability and supplier alignment.
• Coordinate input from engineering and project teams to procure equipment and components.
• Generate technical documents supporting purchase requisitions.
• Review and approve supplier technical submittals.
• Ensure vendor work complies with drawings, specs, safety and quality.
• Maintain controlled quality environments with configuration management and traceability.
• Support continuous learning and application of nuclear industry best practices.

Skills

Mechanical engineering

Manufacturing engineering

Nuclear fuel knowledge

Analytical thinking

Problem solving

Communication skills

Multitasking

Attention to detail

Vendor coordination

Team collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering

Bachelor's degree in Manufacturing Engineering

Bachelor's degree in Chemistry

Nuclear engineering degree or equivalent

Tools

GD&T standards

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.

Senior Engineer, Manufacturing

TerraPower is seeking a Senior Engineer, Manufacturing to join the Natrium Fuel Design and Supply team. The Senior Engineer, Manufacturing will perform work scopes for the fabrication of Natrium fuel, including the construction of the fabrication facility, metallization of HALEU feedstock for use in fuel fabrication, and the fuel fabrication process. The engineer will support process development, production readiness, technical document, supplier coordination, and quality driven execution for safety critical components.

Responsibilities:

• Develop processes, procedures, and scaling needed for full commercial scale and viability of fuel fabrication. Assess pre-production and qualification needs
• Produce manufacturing related documentation to support planning and execution of hardware delivery
• Lead non-conformance evaluations and corrective actions related to fuel fabrication
• Review engineering drawings for manufacturability to ensure designs are optimized for supplier manufacturing processes to reduce complexity, cost, and cycle time
• Coordinate and utilize input from engineering and project teams to procure and produce equipment and components.
• Generate technical documents in support of purchase requisitions
• Review and approve supplier technical submittals
• Ensure vendor work complies with engineering drawing, specifications, safety, quality, and other requirements
• Work within controlled quality environments supporting configuration management, material traceability, and nuclear safety culture expectations
• Support continuous learningand application of nuclear industry best practices to maintain thehighest quality of engineering design and proactively identify process change/enhancement opportunities.

Key Qualifications and Skills

• B.S. degree in Mechanical engineering, Manufacturing engineering, Chemistry, Nuclear, or equivalent preferred
• Minimum of seven years of manufacturing experience, with at least two years in fuel or fuel adjacent areas; relevant M.S. and Doctorate degrees may be credited for up to two or four years of experience respectively
• Excellent writing and communication skills
• Strong analytical/problem solving skills, creative thinker
• Ability to work with minimum direction to solve challenging problems
• Ability to work on multiple tasks concurrently during a given work week
• Excellent attention to detail
• The successful candidate will possess a high degree of trust and integrity, communicate openly, and display respect and a desire to foster teamwork

The Ideal Candidate:

• Demonstrated technical expertise in metallic nuclear fuels, such as alloy casting process development or fuel material characterization, especially as it pertains to fast reactor metal fuel qualification
• Experience managing or technically directing vendors for nuclear-grade component fabrication
• Familiarity with engineering drawing standards, GD&T, material specifications, and nuclear-grade procurement documentation requirements
• Experience in the nuclear industry and with core assemblies
• Experience with nuclear industry manufacturing and operation, DOE and NRC regulations
• Experience with developing manufacturing roadmaps from material to component to assembly with considerations for scalability
• Experience with manufacturing methodology of first article productions and qualification
• Experience with NQA-1 / QL-1 standards or other highly controlled production standards
• Strong understanding of nuclear safety culture.

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.
• Repetitive work: Prolonged
• 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: $116,852 - $151,757

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

Benefits:

• Competitive Compensation
• Salary, eligible to participate in discretionary short-term incentive payments
• Comprehensive Medical and Wellness Benefits
  • Medical
  • Vision
  • Dental
  • Life and Disability
  • Gender Affirmation Benefits
• Parental Leave
• 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

TerraPower Career and Benefits information: https://www.terrapower.com/contact-us/careers/