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THERMAL-HYDRAULICS ENGINEER II
Deployable Energy
Position Summary
Early to Mid-career technical professional responsible for supporting thermal-hydraulics and thermal-fluids engineering activities within a growing nuclear energy organization. Works with moderate guidance from senior technical personnel while taking ownership of defined calculations, analyses, models, documentation, and project-support deliverables. This role supports advanced-reactor and power-conversion applications involving helium and supercritical CO2 systems and contributes to disciplined engineering execution, technical problem-solving, verification and validation activities, and licensing-quality documentation while developing deeper capability under senior engineering mentorship.
Functional Scope
• Thermal-Hydraulics - Support analysis of fluid flow, pressure drop, heat removal, coolant behavior, and system response for reactor, heat-transport, power-conversion, and supporting systems.
• Thermal-Fluids Engineering - Apply heat transfer, fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, and component-performance fundamentals to practical design and operating evaluations.
• Fluid Dynamics - Evaluate internal-flow behavior including flow distribution, mixing, recirculation, compressible-flow effects, and impacts on system performance.
• Heat Transfer - Support assessments of conduction, convection, radiation, heat-exchanger performance, thermal margins, component temperatures, and heat-rejection pathways.
• Thermodynamics - Apply first-principles and systems-level analysis to Brayton-cycle, helium, supercritical CO2, and related power-conversion applications.
• Systems Analysis - Model and evaluate integrated system behavior, operating envelopes, interfaces, performance limits, and interactions between reactor, heat transport, power conversion, and supporting systems.
• Engineering Modeling & Simulation - Develop, maintain, and check analytical, system-level, CFD, or multiphysics models used to support design decisions and technical trade studies.
• Verification & Validation - Support model checking, benchmarking, sensitivity studies, test-data correlation, uncertainty evaluation, and documentation of analysis credibility.
Key Responsibilities
• Perform thermal-fluid and thermal-hydraulic calculations and analyses supporting nuclear engineering programs.
• Develop, execute, and document analytical, system-level, CFD, or multiphysics models under established methodologies and senior technical direction.
• Evaluate fluid-flow, heat-transfer, thermodynamic, steady-state, transient, sensitivity, and performance behavior for assigned systems and components.
• Support design evaluation, technical trade studies, optimization activities, testing, and multidisciplinary technical decision-making.
• Support verification, validation, benchmarking, uncertainty evaluation, and correlation against test or available operational data.
• Prepare controlled calculations, technical documentation, assumptions, model records, and review packages.
• Collaborate with reactor physics, mechanical, systems, safety, testing, and other engineering disciplines.
• Follow applicable engineering quality, safety, licensing-support, configuration-management, and document-control requirements.
Required Qualifications
• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Nuclear, Chemical, Aerospace Engineering, or related discipline.
• Approximately 3-10 years of relevant technical experience in thermal-hydraulics, thermal-fluids, systems analysis, power generation, nuclear, aerospace, defense, or another safety-critical engineering environment.
• Hands-on experience performing engineering calculations, modeling, simulation, analysis, or technical evaluation within the assigned discipline.
• Solid technical fundamentals in heat transfer, fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, and engineering problem-solving.
• Ability to develop defensible technical work products with appropriate assumptions, methods, traceability, reviewability, and documentation quality.
• Ability to communicate clearly, collaborate across multidisciplinary teams, and operate effectively in a growing organization where processes and capabilities are still being developed.
• Demonstrated attention to detail, accountability, engineering judgment, and willingness to work within nuclear-safety and quality expectations.
Preferred Qualifications
• Advanced engineering degree or graduate coursework in a relevant discipline.
• Experience with thermal-hydraulic systems analysis, CFD, complex systems modeling, or multiphysics analysis.
• Experience with helium-cooled systems, supercritical CO2 power cycles, Brayton-cycle systems, or related reactor thermal-fluid applications.
• Experience with verification, validation, benchmarking, sensitivity studies, uncertainty evaluation, or correlation of analytical results against experimental or test data.
• Familiarity with regulatory-review processes, licensing methods, nuclear-quality requirements, or preparation of related technical bases.
• Direct nuclear-industry experience or adjacent experience in another highly regulated, safety-critical engineering environment.
• Exposure to technical process improvement, controlled calculations, configuration management, document control, or change-control practices.
Core Competencies
• Thermal-Hydraulics
• Thermal-Fluids Engineering
• Fluid Dynamics
• Heat Transfer
• Thermodynamics
• Systems Performance Analysis
• Computational Modeling
• Verification & Validation
• Regulatory / Licensing Support
• Helium and Supercritical CO2 Thermal-Fluid Systems
• Nuclear Safety Culture
• Engineering Judgment