Senior Safety Verification and Validation Engineer

The Senior Safety Verification and Validation Engineer is part of a growing team supporting the design and licensing of the Natrium Demonstration reactor and is primarily responsible for the verification and validation of software and evaluation models used to perform:

•    Analysis of Licensing Basis Events (LBEs) and/or Design Basis Accident (DBA) Without Radionuclide Release 
•    Nuclear safety analysis computer code assessment, verification and validation

The Senior Safety Verification and Validation Engineer may also contribute subject matter expertise to other projects under development by the Sodium Fast Reactor (SFR) Program. Other engineering activities include, but are not limited to, system transient codes development and maintenance, performing reactor transient analyses, code benchmark with Integral Effect Tests (IETs) or Separate Effect Tests (SETs), scaling analysis, software commercial-grade dedication, contributing to code assessment and adequacy evaluation, as well as performing verification and validation activities.

Under the SFR Program, the Senior Verification and Validation Engineer receives administrative, technical, and project supervision from the Transient Safety Methods Manager.
Responsibilities
•    Perform work as a safety verification and validation engineer to develop assessment bases (benchmark, identify applicable tests, etc.), identify uncertainties in experimental data, develop benchmark models, and assess the evaluation model (EM) following the guidance in NRC’s RG1.203.
•    Perform and coordinate safety computer code verification and validation test programs, including SETs and IETs
•    Support and review the scaling analysis as needed
•    Prepare the code benchmark documents and code applicability determination,   
•    Contribute to the development of analytical and computational models and implement them into the system transient analysis computer codes in collaboration with safety analysis engineers.
•    Work with an interdisciplinary team of engineers to establish core and reactor SSC functional, performance, safety, and quality requirements as well as support the overall design.
•    Perform engineering reviews of analyses and other engineering design media.

Key Qualifications and Skills
•    Extensive experience in nuclear safety software verification and validation activities and system transient analysis computer code benchmark.
•    Familiarity with EMDAP and Regulatory Guide 1.203 is required.
•    Knowledgeable of nuclear systems thermal-hydraulic fundamentals as well as reactor dynamics and transient phenomena.
•    Significant experience with safety analysis software such as RELAP5-3D, TRACE, MELCOR, SAS4A/SASSYS-1, SAM or other nuclear system analysis software.
•    Familiarity with nuclear design, regulatory requirements, and risk-informed performance-based technology guidance for Non-Light Water Reactors is required.
•    Experience with SFR safety methods is highly desirable. Experience with other reactor designs, such as Light Water Reactors (LWRs), can be considered when differentiating candidates.
•    Knowledge and experience with scaling methodology and safety analysis are preferred.
•    Demonstrated strong quantitative, analytical, modeling and reporting skills.
•    Understanding of NQA-1 requirements associated with analysis and software management as well as experience working under a quality assurance program.
•    Experience in working in multi-disciplinary engineering teams to address engineering challenges.
•    Strong software engineering skills in any language, such as Fortran, C , or Python, is a plus.
•    M.S. or Ph.D. in nuclear engineering, or other relevant engineering degree, with a minimum of 5 years’ experience in the nuclear field.
•    The successful candidate will possess a high degree of trust and integrity, communicate openly and display respect and a desire to foster teamwork. 
•    Actual position starting level and title will be determined based on assessment of qualifications.