Fuel Cycle Conditioning Lead
Job description
About the role
It provides technical leadership and governs fundamental safety principles, configuration, and key design parameters while resolving cross-disciplinary issues that block integration.
Software engineers turn product ideas into working code. Engineers work in small teams, review each other's work, and ship in small batches. Most teams follow agile practices such as sprints and daily standups. Engineers also write tests, fix bugs, and improve performance. The field values clear communication as much as technical skill. Engineers spend part of every week on planning, code review, and debugging, not just writing new code. The ability to explain a technical decision in plain words separates strong engineers from the rest.
Key facts
What you'll do
End-to-end fuel cycle conditioning design is defined to cover chamber conditioning and tritium processing for core plant integration.
Technical leadership for fuel cycle conditioning activities is provided to align cross-functional decisions and ensure coherent execution.
A multidisciplinary engineering team is led and coordinated to align expertise and drive coherent implementation.
Design progress, risks, and issues are reported to the Fuel Cycle Group Leader to maintain visibility and enable timely decisions.
Requirements
An M.Sc. in Nuclear Engineering or Chemical Engineering is held as a non-negotiable baseline for this role.
Experience in fluid engineering is brought to support analysis of flow and transport phenomena in conditioning systems.
Advanced experience with process engineering simulation tools is demonstrated for system modeling and validation.
A minimum of 5 years of relevant experience in nuclear or fusion-related engineering contexts is possessed.
A minimum of 2 years of experience leading multidisciplinary technical teams in a technical leadership capacity is shown.
Deep knowledge of process engineering for plant systems, safety analysis principles, and design basis development is shown.
Knowledge of nuclear reactor physics is shown to assess interactions between conditioning and core behavior.
Mastery of process engineering tools is shown to model, analyze, and optimize conditioning workflows.
Understanding of processes, mechanical analyses, and I&C concepts relevant to conditioning subsystems is shown.
Requirements management, RAMI practices, licensing, documentation and control, and project scheduling are applied to deliver compliant solutions.
Practical notes
Typical interview steps
Hiring for engineering roles usually starts with a recruiter screen, followed by one or two technical rounds. Candidates often solve a coding problem, discuss past projects, and answer system design questions. Some loops include a take-home task. Final rounds typically cover team fit and give candidates a chance to ask questions. Interviewers look for how you break down an unfamiliar problem, not just whether you reach the answer. Practicing a few problems aloud and reviewing your own past projects are the best preparation.
Career growth
Engineering careers usually progress from individual contributor to senior, staff, and principal levels. Some engineers move into management and lead teams of five to twenty people. Others stay on the technical track. Growth follows demonstrated impact, not tenure alone. A typical engineering ladder has clear levels with defined expectations for scope, quality, and mentorship. Moving up usually requires owning outcomes end to end rather than completing assigned tickets.
Questions to ask
Useful questions for the interview: what a typical week looks like, how work is assigned, what tools the team uses, and how feedback works. Asking how the role has changed recently and what the team wishes it had known when joining is also reasonable. Questions about the manager's priorities are especially valued.