Materials Engineer, Ceramics

About the role

Join the Reactor Hardware Engineering team to drive the development and qualification of ceramic materials for advanced nuclear reactors. This role involves creating experiments, refining processes, and implementing quality controls for critical reactor components. You will collaborate with external partners to address material behavior challenges under operational conditions.

Key facts

What you'll do

• Lead the qualification and development of ceramic materials for reactor applications, including property assessment, lifetime studies, and inter-organizational collaboration.
• Design and execute physical, thermal, and mechanical tests that replicate the reactor environment.
• Apply statistical methods to analyze the impact of process variables and environmental factors on material properties.
• Perform materials characterization, including investigations into failure modes.
• Collaborate with manufacturing, neutronics, mechanical, testing, and quality engineers to integrate materials, define operational limits, and optimize processes for fuel and ceramic materials.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Nuclear Engineering, Materials Engineering, or a related physics-based discipline.
• At least 2 years of experience in materials science and engineering.
• Competence in optical and electron microscopy, as well as mechanical property evaluation.
• Must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, refugee, or asylee to comply with ITAR regulations.

Nice to have

• Proven background in TRISO fuel characterization and manufacturing or related coating techniques.
• Solid grasp of safety standards, testing protocols, and highly regulated industries.
• Expertise in testing and analysis methods for fuel and ceramic materials.
• Excellent communication skills for technical discussions across various teams and with non-specialists.

Skills & tools

• Optical microscopy
• Electron microscopy
• Mechanical property evaluation
• Statistical analysis
• Materials characterization

Practical notes

• The role may require extended hours and weekend work to meet project milestones.
• The compensation range is determined by technical assessments during the interview process.
• The work location is a new 322,000 sq ft facility in Torrance, CA, designed for collaboration, R&D, and production.