Principal Reactor Physics & Neutronics Engineer

LEAD / PRINCIPAL REACTOR PHYSICS & NEUTRONICS ENGINEERDeployable EnergyPosition SummarySenior, hands-on technical leader responsible for establishing and developing the reactor physics and neutronics capability within a growing nuclear energy organization. Provides technical leadership while remaining directly involved in engineering execution, analysis, technical problem-solving, and project delivery. This role will help establish discipline-specific standards, processes, tools, and technical practices; support multiple concurrent projects; and mentor developing engineers as the organization scales.Functional Scope• Reactor Physics - Apply core reactor-physics principles including neutron behavior, reactivity, flux distributions, power distributions, depletion, and feedback effects to support design, safety, and development activities.• Neutronics Analysis - Perform and review applicable neutron-transport, deterministic, Monte Carlo, diffusion, shielding-interface, depletion, and reactivity analyses supporting reactor behavior, performance, and design decisions.• Criticality Analysis - Evaluate fuel and material configurations, reactivity margins, moderation effects, credible abnormal conditions, and criticality-safety controls where applicable.• Computational Modeling - Develop, execute, and maintain analytical models using appropriate reactor-physics and neutronics tools, with clear assumptions, inputs, methods, and configuration control.• Core and Coupled-System Analysis - Lead and support evaluations of core design, fuel-loading strategies, reactivity management, core performance, and interactions with thermal-hydraulic, mechanical, materials, safety, and other engineering disciplines.• Physics-Based Simulation - Use physics-based calculations and simulations to predict reactor performance, investigate design alternatives, assess operating scenarios, support technical decisions, and reduce technical risk.• Verification & Validation - Verify model implementation and analytical methods; lead benchmarking, validation, uncertainty evaluation, and comparison against applicable experimental or test evidence.• Sensitivity and Uncertainty Analysis - Assess how assumptions, modeling choices, nuclear data, and operating parameters affect analytical results, margins, and technical conclusions.• Safety and Licensing Support - Provide reactor-physics and neutronics inputs to safety evaluations, design-basis development, licensing analyses, regulatory responses, and supporting technical documentation.• Technical Documentation and Model Configuration - Maintain controlled calculations, model records, assumptions logs, review packages, and traceable engineering documentation under quality and configuration-management requirements.• Technology Development Support - Bring relevant experience across reactor physics, neutronics, criticality, fuel, testing, or safety analysis to accelerate first-of-a-kind development, technical maturation, and integration.Technical Leadership• Serve as the senior technical resource and subject matter expert within reactor physics and neutronics.• Lead and personally execute complex technical work across multiple nuclear projects and programs.• Establish and maintain discipline-specific engineering standards, methodologies, procedures, and best practices.• Lead and participate in technical reviews, design reviews, and technical decision-making.• Identify and resolve complex multidisciplinary engineering issues while maintaining appropriate technical rigor.Engineering / Technical Execution• Develop, perform, and review reactor-physics and neutronics analyses supporting nuclear engineering, advanced-reactor development, test activity, and safety-related technical programs.• Develop and apply computational models for neutron transport, criticality, reactivity, shielding, depletion, fuel behavior, and related physics evaluations using approved methodologies.• Support evaluation of measured, experimental, benchmark, or test data and comparison against analytical predictions.• Perform sensitivity, uncertainty, verification, validation, and benchmarking activities.• Support design development, technical decision-making, safety evaluations, and licensing activities as required.• Maintain controlled calculations, packages, model configurations, assumptions, methods, and supporting technical documentation.Team & Capability Development• Help establish and grow the discipline capability within the organization.• Mentor and provide technical guidance to junior and early-career personnel.• Support technical assessment of future team members.• Develop repeatable technical practices and workflows that support continued organizational growth.• Promote knowledge transfer, accountability, and continuous technical development.Technical Governance• Ensure technical activities align with applicable nuclear-industry codes, standards, regulations, quality requirements, and company procedures.• Support engineering quality, configuration management, document control, and change-control practices.• Ensure technical work is appropriately developed, reviewed, documented, and controlled.• Incorporate technical risk management into engineering decision-making.• Support corrective actions and continuous-improvement initiatives.Cross-Functional Collaboration• Partner with engineering leadership, project leaders, systems engineering, and adjacent technical disciplines.• Collaborate with quality, safety, licensing/regulatory, testing, manufacturing, supply chain, and project-delivery functions.• Support multidisciplinary technical integration across concurrent projects.• Interface with suppliers, manufacturers, laboratories, engineering partners, and other external stakeholders as required.Safety & Quality• Champion a strong nuclear safety culture and disciplined engineering execution.• Promote quality-focused technical work and risk-informed decision-making.• Maintain technical rigor while operating effectively in a fast-moving, evolving organization.Required Qualifications• Master's degree in Nuclear Engineering, Engineering Physics, Physics, or closely related discipline required; PhD preferred.• Approximately 10+ years of relevant technical experience, unless discipline-specific requirements indicate otherwise.• Demonstrated hands-on technical experience within reactor physics and neutronics.• Experience leading complex technical work, projects, workstreams, or engineering teams.• Experience within the nuclear industry, national-laboratory environment, research reactor, naval nuclear, advanced-reactor program, or another highly regulated, safety-critical engineering environment.• Strong technical problem-solving, engineering judgment, and decision-making capability.• Ability to operate successfully within a growing organization where processes and capabilities are still being developed.• Demonstrated adaptability, comfort with ambiguity, hands-on ownership, and ability to contribute immediately in a lean, entrepreneurial organization.Preferred Qualifications• Experience in nuclear engineering, advanced reactors, reactor operations, fuel-cycle work, national-laboratory programs, nuclear safety analysis, or adjacent regulated technical environments.• Experience establishing or improving technical processes, standards, and organizational capability.• Experience mentoring or developing junior technical personnel.• Experience supporting multidisciplinary or matrixed engineering organizations.• Professional Engineer registration, Chartered Engineer status, or equivalent credential where applicable.Core Competencies• Reactor Physics• Neutronics• Criticality Analysis• Computational Modeling• Verification & Validation• Technical Leadership• Technical Governance• Nuclear Safety Culture• Quality Assurance• Cross-Functional Collaboration• Team Development