Engineer IV, Safety Analysis & V&V

Safety Analysis Engineer

This role is responsible for supporting the Risk Informed Safety Analysis team that performs nuclear safety analysis for X-energy technology (e.g., Xe-100) licensing and design, with particular emphasis on thermo-hydraulic analysis. The position provides technical leadership in conducting comprehensive safety evaluations including system and component thermo-hydraulic transient and accident analysis, analysis to support safety function identification and Structures, Systems, and Components (SSC) safety classification, and deterministic safety assessments to inform PRA.

The Safety Analysis Engineer performs and oversees thermo-hydraulic safety analysis work supporting regulatory submittances, ensures proper application of NRC regulatory guidance (including RG 1.203 and design-specific interim staff guidance), and collaborates with engineering disciplines to establish design requirements derived from safety analysis. The position also supports verification and validation (V&V) activities to ensure thermo-hydraulic analysis codes are appropriately qualified for their safety analysis applications.

Key responsibilities include developing Phenomena Identification and Ranking Tables (PIRTs) for thermo-hydraulic phenomena, performing scaling analyses, conducting accident scenario evaluations using system codes, establishing thermal-hydraulic safety limits and safety margins, and supporting the safety case for TRISO fuel and high-temperature gas-cooled reactor technology.

Job Profile Tasks/Responsibilities

• Perform comprehensive thermo-hydraulic safety analysis for assigned systems and accident scenarios using approved system analysis codes and methodologies in accordance with NRC regulatory guidance (RG 1.203) and X-energy procedures.
• Conduct transient and accident analysis evaluating core heat removal, coolant flow behavior, heat transfer mechanisms, and temperature distributions throughout the reactor system and key components for anticipated operational occurrences (AOOs), design basis events (DBEs), design basis accidents (DBAs), and beyond design basis events (BDBEs) to demonstrate adequate core cooling, heat removal capability, and defense-in-depth.
• Support the development and maintenance of SSC safety classifications through thermo-hydraulic analysis, providing analytical results that demonstrate component performance and safety function capability during accident scenarios and operational transients.
• Develop and maintain Phenomena Identification and Ranking Tables (PIRTs) to identify and rank thermo-hydraulic phenomena important to reactor safety for various accident scenarios and operational transients.
• Conduct scaling analyses to demonstrate applicability of experimental thermo-hydraulic data and analytical methods to the Xe-100 design, documenting the technical basis for code applicability.
• Establish thermo-hydraulic safety limits, safety margins, and acceptance criteria for safety analyses based on regulatory requirements, fuel temperature limits, material temperature limits, and fission product barriers.
• Support probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) activities by providing deterministic thermo-hydraulic analysis results, identifying initiating events, and supporting the integration of deterministic and risk-informed approaches.
• Develop technical documentation for regulatory submittals including topical reports, safety analysis reports, code applicability reports for thermo-hydraulic codes, and responses to NRC requests for additional information (RAIs).
• Ensure thermo-hydraulic safety analysis work products comply with NQA-1 quality assurance requirements and X-energy procedures for safety-related calculations and analyses, and perform work in accordance with X-energy Quality Assurance procedures and maintain documentation to NQA-1 standards.
• Provide technical input to design teams based on thermo-hydraulic safety analysis results, including identification of cooling requirements, flow path design constraints, heat removal capabilities, and operational limitations.
• Review and approve thermo-hydraulic safety analysis work products from other analysts, subcontractors, and…