Senior Nuclear Process Engineer – Inert Gas and Tritium Management

Senior Nuclear Process Engineer – Inert Gas and Tritium Management

Oak Ridge, TN or Albuquerque, NM

Kairos Power is a new nuclear energy technology and engineering company whose mission is to enable the world’s transition to clean energy, with the ultimate goal to dramatically improve people’s quality of life while protecting the environment. This goal will be accomplished through the commercialization of the fluoride‑salt‑cooled, high‑temperature reactor (FHR) that can be deployed with robust safety, affordable costs, and flexible operation to accommodate the expansion of variable renewables.

Kairos Power is seeking a Senior Process Design Engineer to support the Cover Gas and Tritium Management Systems for our first low‑power demonstration nuclear reactor and future commercial reactor units. In this role, you will help define and deliver high‑purity cover gas processes that ensure safe, reliable, and clean operation of the reactor. This position offers the opportunity to shape core nuclear systems, from design through commissioning, in a collaborative and fast‑paced engineering environment.

• Lead design and integration of Inert Gas System (IGS) processes and components for an advanced reactor, ensuring safety, performance, and regulatory alignment.
• Define technical basis for IGS designs that enable high‑purity gas operations and effective removal of chemical and radioactive impurities, encompassing process architecture, component selection, and operating strategies.
• Develop and maintain key system documentation such as P&IDs, process control narratives, and design specifications.
• Define and execute testing commissioning and acceptance plans to verify performance, reliability, and maintainability of critical hardware.
• Collaborate across disciplines—Plant Design, Process Design, I&C, Operations, and Safety—to ensure seamless integration of IGS with interfacing systems.
• Select and qualify materials, instrumentation, and components for use in radioactive gas and high‑temperature environments.
• Support hazard analyses, FMEA, and licensing efforts to ensure robust safety and regulatory compliance.
• Work with vendors and suppliers to specify and evaluate nuclear‑grade gas handling and tritium management equipment.
• Provide technical mentorship and leadership to engineers developing next‑generation gas and process systems.

• B.S. (or higher) in Nuclear, Chemical, or Mechanical Engineering.
• 7+ years of relevant industry experience in nuclear, molten salt, refining, chemical, power generation process design engineering or similar applicable industry.
• Demonstrated experience designing, delivering, and commissioning high‑purity gas systems skids or other containment‑critical chemical processes.
• Proficient in interpreting Process Flow Diagrams (PFDs), Piping and Instrumentation Diagrams (P&IDs), and process equipment datasheets.
• Experience with Haz Op, FMEA, and safety‑by‑design principles for nuclear or high‑risk systems.
• Familiarity with codes and standards applicable to nuclear systems (ASME, API, NRC, IAEA).
• Experience using process modeling tools (Aspen Plus, AFT Fathom/Arrow, etc.).

• Ability to work with a highly collaborative team with excellent verbal and written communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills.
• Demonstrated capacity for autonomous problem‑solving.
• Ability to solve problems quickly and efficiently.
• Prioritizes and ensures safety of oneself and others.
• Ability to proactively collect, manage and transfer knowledge.
• Ability to seek different and novel ways to create efficiencies when working on problems, challenges, and issues.
• Experience in a nuclear material, radiological processing, or radioactive gas handling systems facility is preferred but not required.
• Prior experience in nuclear or high‑temperature chemical systems preferred.
• Proven ability to work in a fast‑paced, cross‑disciplinary engineering environment and drive design to completion.

• Remaining in a stationary position, often standing or sitting for prolonged periods.
• Communicating with others to exchange information.

• Gener…