Manager, Core Component Manufacturing

Manager, Core Component Manufacturing

Terra Power is seeking a Core Components Fabrication Manager to join the Natrium Fuel Design and Supply team. The Core Components Fabrication Manager will oversee work scopes regarding the fabrication of core components and non-fuel assemblies. Additionally, this role will manage the shipping of the Natrium assemblies and associated shipping package design, development, licensing, and fabrication activities. The Core Components Fabrication Manager will interface extensively with the Natrium Fuel Design and Supply leadership team to ensure proper integration between functional areas to support on-time fuel load.

Responsibilities:

• Lead procurement and technical sourcing of safety-critical mechanical hardware for the reactor core, including structural components, internals, and custom fabricated assemblies.
• Translate reactor design requirements, specifications, and drawings into executable procurement packages, including bills of materials, material specifications, quality clauses, and acceptance criteria.
• Develop, document, and maintain manufacturing procedures. This includes work instructions, supplier process specifications, inspection plans, and acceptance criteria, to ensure consistent execution, regulatory compliance, and full traceability to core mechanical hardware.
• Build and scale the manufacturing engineering organization by defining roles and competencies, recruiting and onboarding engineers, and developing team capabilities to support increasing reactor hardware procurement and production demands.
• Evaluate and qualify suppliers based on manufacturing capability, technical competence, quality systems, schedule performance, and nuclear pedigree.
• Support supplier technical reviews, request-for-quotation (RFQ) development, bid evaluations, and source selection decisions.
• Support negotiation on technical and commercial terms with suppliers to achieve cost, schedule, and performance objectives while maintaining strict quality requirements.
• Resolve manufacturing and procurement issues such as nonconformances, deviations, material substitutions, and corrective actions.
• Oversee preparation and review of shipping package fabrication, inspection plans, material certifications, and documentation packages required for transport.
• Coordinate with supplier development and quality teams to conduct audits, process qualifications, and readiness assessments as it relates to manufacturing.
• Support development and maintenance of detailed schedules and risks for procured components, identifying supply chain bottlenecks and implementing mitigation plans.
• Drive design-for-manufacturing and design-for-procurement improvements to reduce cost, shorten lead times, and improve hardware reliability.
• Establish procurement metrics including supplier on-time delivery, cost variance, yield, and quality performance.
• Lead and mentor manufacturing and procurement engineers responsible for reactor core hardware acquisition and supplier management.
• Ensure all procurement activities are conducted in accordance with nuclear safety culture principles emphasizing integrity, traceability, configuration control, and quality.
• Support continuous learning and application of nuclear industry best practices to maintain the highest quality of engineering and proactively identify process change/enhancement opportunities.

Key Qualifications and Skills

• Education:
  
  B.S. degree in Mechanical engineering, Manufacturing engineering, Nuclear engineering, or equivalent preferred.
• Minimum of 9 years of relevant experience; relevant M.S. and Doctorate degrees may be credited for up to two or four years of experience respectively.
• Minimum of 4 years of leadership experience for people management or leading major cross functional projects involving manufacturing
• Excellent writing and communication skills.
• Strong analytical/problem solving skills, creative thinker.
• Ability to work with minimum direction to solve challenging problems.
• Ability to work on multiple tasks concurrently during a given work week.
• Excellent attention to detail.
• The successful candidate will possess a high degree of trust and integrity, communicate openly, and…