Principal Core Thermal Hydraulics Engineer

Principal Core Thermal Hydraulics Engineer

Location:

Bellevue, Washington, United States.

Terra Power seeks a highly motivated Principal Core Thermal Hydraulics Engineer to support the sodium‑cooled Natrium Reactor program. The role reports to the Manager of Core Thermal Hydraulic Methods & Analysis and involves leading the development and validation of thermal‑hydraulic methodologies, software, and analyses for advanced nuclear reactor systems.

Equal‑Opportunity Employer

Terra Power is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate in hiring on the basis of sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, religious creed, national origin, physical or mental disability, protected Veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.

• Lead the technical effort to develop and validate thermal‑hydraulic methodologies, software, and analysis for sodium‑cooled fast reactor design.
• Develop, qualify, and maintain the computer code to analyze the steady‑state nuclear reactor core thermal‑hydraulics.
• Own the qualified software for the reactor core thermal‑hydraulic simulation.
• Support technical decisions addressing critical challenges in reactor core design.
• Support project planning and define work scopes for the critical path.
• Perform thermal hydraulic analysis and engineering calculations for core components and structures across reactor architecture options.
• Collaborate with cross‑disciplinary teams on safety, thermal and mechanical design considerations.
• Provide technical presentations on analyses to the broader team.
• Prepare informal and formal reports documenting findings and recommendations.
• Assist with licensing activities related to the Natrium demonstration project.
• Support design reviews for plant system and subsystem designs.
• Oversee test execution, evaluate results, and report findings.
• Maintain system requirements and design basis documents for reactor core design and thermal‑hydraulics.

• B.S., M.S., or Ph.D. in Mechanical, Nuclear, or a related technical engineering discipline.
• Minimum experience:
  
  15 years with a bachelor’s degree, or 8 years with a master’s, or 5 years with a Ph.D., and demonstrated ability to perform thermal‑hydraulic analysis of nuclear reactor core components.
• At least 5 years of technical leadership and/or project management experience.
• Strong background in nuclear thermal‑hydraulics analysis, heat and mass transfer engineering calculations, and hydraulic characterization of core components.
• Proven problem‑solving skills and willingness to apply them to diverse engineering challenges.
• Ability to manage projects with competing objectives and design constraints.
• Experience with python programming and software development, qualification, verification, and validation; proficiency in C++ highly preferred.
• Experience in high‑performance computing environments preferred.