Small Modular Reactor Smr Jobs in Reston, VA (NOW HIRING)

Company Overview

Blue Energy is transforming how nuclear power gets built. Instead of constructing each plant on-site from scratch - a process that takes 10-15 years and is too expensive and unpredictable to finance - we build our plants like ships: in a factory, on an assembly line, then transport and assemble them at the site. This cuts costs by over 60% and brings plants online in just three years. We also pair natural gas with nuclear at our sites, so customers can start receiving power from gas turbines right away and then switch over to clean nuclear power once it comes online - getting energy to the grid faster while nuclear is being built. Our mission is to make nuclear energy abundant, affordable, and repeatable at global scale. We use proven, already-approved reactor designs and work with existing nuclear and industrial sites, giving us a faster path to regulatory approval. By manufacturing this way, we put nuclear power on the same cost-reduction curve that has made wind, solar, and batteries cheaper every year.

Role Summary

The Senior Modularization Engineer is a hands-on technical lead within Blue Energy’s owner’s engineering team, responsible for executing the day-to-day modularization and shop-fabrication scope for the a major Small Modular Reactor (SMR) power block. The role pairs with a Junior Modularization Engineer to run Blue Energy’s modularization studies — beginning with a Modularization & Fabrication Study being performed by a major fabricator who specializes in modular fabrication.

The Senior Engineer is the steady hand on “the art of the possible”: grounding ambitious modularization concepts in fabrication, transport, and installation reality, and managing the substantial project-management scope that a multi-building modularization study carries. Where the Junior Engineer generates concepts and challenges convention, the Senior Engineer pressure-tests them, sequences the work, and ensures deliverables land on schedule and to Blue Energy’s quality and information-management standards.

Key Responsibilities

• Study & SOW Execution
  • Own: day-to-day delivery of Blue Energy’s modularization scopes of work, beginning with the SMR Modularization & Fabrication Study; manage the Fabricator’s progress against the SOW, track deliverables, and steward stage-gate reviews and formal acceptance.
  • Coordinate: the hybrid kickoff, virtual midpoint, and final review workshops across Blue Energy, the SMR OEM, and the Fabricator.
• Technical Reality-Checking (“Art of the Possible”)
  • Assess: module and supermodule concepts for fabrication efficiency, transportability, lift / rigging feasibility, and site assembly sequence.
  • Distinguish: concepts achievable within the SMR plant from those that would require design changes the OEM may not accept, preserving standard-plant design intent.
• Module Breakdown, Interfaces & Approval Authority
  • Review and recommend: optimized module / supermodule breakdowns across the SMR buildings.
  • Review: interface control documentation (ICDs), tolerances, fit-up requirements, and responsibility allocation; uphold Blue Energy’s retained approval authority over the final breakdown.
  • Enforce: the Blue Energy transport envelope as a binding constraint; verify module conformance and quantify any exceedance.
• Project Management of Modularization Scope
  • Maintain: study schedules, deliverable registers, action / decision logs, and risk / open-item tracking; manage the large coordination load across owner, OEM, AE, and Fabricator.
  • Review: ROM cost and schedule estimates, fabrication-yard layouts, and throughput estimates; sanity-check assumptions and the conventional-construction baseline comparison.
• Quality & Information Management
  • Ensure: deliverables comply with Blue Energy’s Information Management Framework (OIR / AIR / EIR) and ISO 19650 — native and interoperable formats, defined Levels of Information Need, naming conventions, and metadata.
  • Flag: quality-classification (10 CFR 50 Appendix B / NQA-1) and inspection-access implications arising from proposed module boundaries.
• Partner Interface & Mentorship
  • Serve: as a primary technical point of contact to SMR OEM and the Fabricator on modularization; translate SMR design intent into modularization requirements and back.
  • Mentor: the Junior Modularization Engineer, providing technical backup and helping shape creative concepts into decision-ready options.

Minimum Qualifications

• 7–12 years of engineering experience on major power, nuclear, offshore, petrochemical, or heavy-industrial projects, with substantial modularization / modular construction content.
• Demonstrated ownership of modularization scope from concept through fabrication, transport, and site installation.
• Strong project-management capability: schedule, deliverable management, interface and risk tracking, and vendor / contractor oversight.
• Sound grasp of constructability, heavy transport and lift engineering, and design-for-modularization across disciplines (civil / structural, mechanical, piping, electrical / I& C).
• Bachelor’s degree in engineering or a related discipline.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with nuclear modular construction and familiarity with the BWRX-300 or comparable SMR / large reactor designs.
• Familiarity with 10 CFR 50 Appendix B, NQA-1, ASME, AWS, and IEEE, and with NRC construction oversight.
• Familiarity with ISO 19650 information management and Common Data Environment (CDE) workflows.
• Experience interfacing with reactor OEMs (e.g., GVH / GVHNE), EPC contractors, and fabrication yards.
• Exposure to shipyard / offshore fabrication techniques applied to land-based plant construction.

Blue Energy is dedicated to building a diverse and inclusive workplace.