Senior Weld Engineer

Our client is seeking a Contractor to work as part of a high-functioning team of engineers focused on materials processing, supply chain development and supplier qualification for next generation material and components for sodium-cooled fast reactors. You will be responsible for developing the welding processes for components in the core of the Natrium sodium cooled fast reactor, as well as developing the test programs necessary for generating necessary design information.

Tasks:

• Develop and qualify welding techniques for nuclear reactor core internals for the Natrium sodium cooled fast reactor.
• Weld process development and qualification for ferritic-martensitic steels and austenitic stainless steels using multiple technologies (resistance pressure welding, TIG, laser, etc.)
• Generate appropriate specifications and procedures for the weld process, and review engineering documentation to ensure appropriate callouts.
• Lead technical development of suppliers to increase technology readiness levels of key materials and components for the core of the Natrium reactor.
• Oversee the operation of weld equipment to generate test coupons to support process qualification and test programs to develop performance models.
• Develop appropriate destructive and nondestructive inspection criteria for weld certification.
• Use fundamental materials engineering principles to develop basic models of material performance and validate using laboratory testing.
• Develop test requirements, plans, specifications and procedures for testing.
• Oversee test programs for qualification of welds such as mechanical properties, burst testing, thermal creep, creep-fatigue, neutron irradiation, thermal aging, and sodium exposure.
• Perform scientific analysis on test data and generate technical reports to document new knowledge related to reactor design and qualification.
• Interface with various project teams to ensure materials development and testing efforts meet programmatic objectives for a wide range of the client's initiatives including the Natrium reactor.
• Assist with supplier audits per ASME NQA-1-2015

Key Qualifications and Skills:

• Minimum of 6 years of related experience with a Bachelor's degree; or 3 years and a Master's degree. A degree in Materials Science/Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related technical discipline is desired.
• A solid understanding of metallurgy including fabrication and thermomechanical processing of ferrous (e.g., ferritic-martensitic steels) and nonferrous (e.g., nickel-base) alloys is required.
• Demonstrated skills in developing requirements specifications, defining supplier technical work scope to include development of SOWs, RFPs and providing technical direction and oversight of supplier projects.
• Experience working in stringent quality systems (e.g., NQA-1, ISO-9001, AS9100) preferred
• A general understanding of the design of nuclear reactor and subsequent impacts on materials would be considered a plus.
• Ability to work with minimum direction to solve challenging problems.
• Actual position starting level and title will be determined based on assessment of qualifications/
• The successful candidate will possess a high degree of trust and integrity, communicate openly and display respect, and a desire to foster teamwork.