Production Design Engineer

Overview

At PNNL, our core capabilities are divided among major departments that we refer to as Directorates within the Lab, focused on a specific area of scientific research or other function, with its own leadership team and dedicated budget.

Our Science & Technology directorates include National Security, Earth and Biological Sciences, Physical and Computational Sciences, and Energy and Environment. In addition, we have an Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, a Department of Energy, Office of Science user facility housed on the PNNL campus.

The National Security Directorate (NSD) drives science‑based, mission‑focused solutions to take on complex,real‑world threats to our nation and the world.

The Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Technologies Division, within the National Security Directorate, works across fundamental science, research and development, and operations to counter emerging national security threats. We focus on discovering signatures and understanding threats by creating materials, methods, and technologies to detect and analyze them. Our researchers deliver the solutions necessary for addressing complex mission challenges, such as explosives detection, biological threat detection, chemical and nuclear forensics, and special nuclear materials.

PNNL is seeking an experienced nuclear professional to support PNNL’s Tritium Technology Program Production Design task. The Production Design (PD) task is a large, multifaceted task that assures Tritium Producing Burnable Absorber Rods (TPBARs) are always ready and safe for irradiation in commercial nuclear reactors through NQA‑1 level. The Production Design task is structured with seven sub‑task leaders that oversee each of the major tasks and up to 50 engineers and scientists.

In this role, the successful candidate is expected to work closely with the task manager and sub‑task leads to:

• Successfully organize and execute TPBAR PD program activities
• Act as a delegate for the PD task manager as required
• Additional PD leadership responsibilities, as assigned

Production Design task responsibilities include:

• Maintaining and improving the TPBAR design. This includes:
  • Keeping a trained, certified PNNL workforce ready to support the TPBAR
  • Updating a suite of calculations that demonstrate the TPBAR matches functional and design requirements.
  • Creating and maintaining the package of TPBAR drawings and component specifications that are used by a variety of manufacturers to build components.
  • Maintaining and improving the TPBAR component specifications ranging from raw material characteristics to mechanical property requirements.
  • Preparing experimental test plans to verify and improve the TPBAR design.
  • Working with vendors, fabricators, and commercial reactor staff to meet program needs.
• Communicating effectively between TPBAR stakeholders, including commercial nuclear reactor staff that irradiate TPBARs, manufacturers that supply components for TPBAR fabrication, the fuel vendor supplying the reactor, key TTP staff at PNNL, the Tritium Technology Program (TTP) leadership at PNNL, and the sponsor, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA).
• Assuring the accuracy and quality of the analytic methods going into PD analysis including nuclear engineering, mechanical engineering, chemical engineering, manufacturing engineering, thermal hydraulics, and safety analysis including Loss of Coolant Accident (LOCA) analysis. In this role, the candidate will be expected to gain experience and provide leadership with nuclear engineering analyses and in organizing NQA‑1 tasks to assure program quality.
• Developing a comprehensive awareness of historical Post Irradiation Examination (PIE) and test activities, results, and conclusions.
• Attending meetings and traveling, including weekly TTP management meetings, traveling to NNSA‑sponsored meetings, and traveling to TTP partners such as the reactor, fuel vendor, and manufacturers.

Must be onsite at the Richland PNNL campus; remote work is not supported for this position.

Minimum Qualifications:

• BS/BA and 7+ years of relevant experience
  -OR-
• MS/MA and 5+ years of relevant experience
  -OR-
• PhD…