Fuel Lifecycle Lead

Our Mission Is Simple:
Democratize Access To Clean Energy

Welcome to Blue Core Energy! We are on a relentless mission to democratize access to clean energy. By designing and building advanced floating Pressurized Water Reactors (PWRs) on barges right here in Long Beach, CA, we are bringing scalable, clean, and reliable power to the world. Joining our team means getting in on the ground floor of a revolution in marine small modular reactors (SMRs).

If you are passionate, driven, and ready to tackle some of the most exciting challenges of our time, we want you on our team!

• Humility — We hold strong opinions loosely, say  I don't know,  ask for help early, and let the best idea win regardless of who it came from.
• Inclusivity — The best engineering comes from many perspectives. We build a team where everyone is heard, and we mean it.
• Pragmatism — We solve the real problem in front of us, reuse what already works, and value a tested answer over an elegant one.

The Fuel Lifecycle Lead will build and manage the nuclear fuel program for Nautilus, Blue Core’s flagship floating nuclear power plant, from procurement through final disposition. Sitting within the Certification Department, this role is equal parts project manager, licensing contributor, and operations planner. You will manage the contracts and logistics that bring fuel to the reactor, the procedures and equipment that handle it on site, the regulatory submittals that authorize every step, and the long‑term planning for storage and ultimate disposal.

For a barge‑mounted PWR operating at a working port, you will solve challenges unprecedented in commercial nuclear energy: fuel receipt at a marine facility, refueling operations on a floating platform, and spent fuel storage and transport under overlapping NRC, DOE, USCG, DOT, and port authority requirements.

Beyond Nautilus, you will lay the groundwork for fleet‑wide fuel receiving, handling, storage, and disposal across commercial ports globally. This means building relationships with port authorities, developing floating fuel‑handling infrastructure standards, and working with regulators to establish new regulatory precedents. In any given month, your work will cross procurement, reactor engineering, operations, licensing, transport logistics, and maritime safety.

• Own the fuel handling program from receipt through disposition, including new fuel inspection, core loading, refueling outage planning and execution, spent fuel pool operations, and dry cask storage.
• Develop fuel handling procedures and coordinate with the reactor engineering team on core design, fuel management strategy, and reload analysis for each operating cycle.
• Author and support fuel‑related sections of the DOE safety basis (DSA, TSRs) and NRC license application (FSAR Chapters 4, 9, and applicable portions of Chapters 11 and 15), including fuel handling accident analysis, spent fuel pool cooling, criticality safety, and radioactive waste management.
• Lead the licensing effort for fuel transportation, including 10 CFR Part 71 shipping cask certification, route approvals, and coordination with DOT, USCG, and NRC for marine transport of fresh and spent fuel.
• Plan and execute refueling outages, coordinating cross‑functionally across operations, maintenance, engineering, and contractors to ensure safe, on‑schedule execution.
• Develop the spent fuel management strategy for a barge‑based facility, including interim storage, ISFSI licensing under 10 CFR Part 72 (if applicable), and long‑term planning for DOE spent fuel acceptance.
• Navigate the regulatory intersections between NRC, DOE, USCG, ABS, DOT, and the Port of Long Beach for fuel receipt, handling, storage, and transport.
• Build strategic…