Principal Safety Methods Engineer
TerraPowerBellevue, Washington, United States$168k–$252k/yr
Good fit if
- You can work a hybrid schedule.
- You have 8+ years of experience.
- You can travel 0 to 10% of the time.
Credentials that matter
Skills and tools
- RELAP
- Trace
- Thermal Hydraulics
- ASME NQA-1
- Ansi/ans 3.1
Required qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Nuclear, Chemical Engineering, or similar field
- 8+ years of experience in system-level thermal-hydraulic analysis and code assessment for nuclear or complex energy systems
- Demonstrated experience in code assessment, including model-to-test comparison, validation metric development, and uncertainty quantification
- Hands-on experience working with experimental thermal-hydraulic data, including data analysis, uncertainty evaluation, and comparison against system-level predictions
- Proficiency with system analysis tools (e.g., RELAP5-3D, TRACE, SAS, or equivalent) applied to plant-scale transient and steady-state evaluations
- Strong foundation in thermal-fluid and reactor system behavior considerations relevant to advanced reactor designs
- Experience performing scaling analysis to ensure appropriate translation of test-scale phenomena, including application of similarity criteria and detailed scaling distortion impact analysis
- Experience developing validation strategies, defining data needs, and coordinating with experimental programs
- Strong analytical thinking, clear technical communication, and the ability to manage multiple validation tasks in parallel
- Must meet minimum education and experience criteria under ANSI/ANS 3.1 qualification requirements
About this role
Principal Safety Methods Engineer at TerraPower supporting development and deployment of thermal-hydraulic analysis methods and models for the Natrium advanced reactor. This role requires deep expertise in system-level thermal-hydraulics, computational methods, and validation approaches to enable accurate prediction of plant behavior across operational and transient scenarios.
Responsibilities
- Support verification, validation, and uncertainty quantification activities for plant-scale thermal-hydraulic analysis tools
- Develop and execute code assessment plans, including validation matrices, test selection, and quantitative comparison methodologies
- Perform scaling analysis to evaluate the applicability of test data to reference system conditions, including assessment of similarity criteria and scaling distortion
- Interpret and apply experimental data from separate effects and integral test facilities to support model validation and closure of technical gaps
- Define validation needs, develop test requirements, and collaborate closely with test engineering teams to ensure alignment between model gaps and experimental programs
- Document V&V methodologies, model assumptions, validation results, and uncertainty analyses for internal design processes and regulatory submittals
- Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams to support plant design, safety analysis, and licensing workflows
- Apply and improve TerraPower's SQA and NQA-1 modeling quality practices and ensure traceability and configuration control of analysis inputs, models, and results
- Mentor junior engineers in system modeling, validation methodologies, and best practices in code assessment
Preferred qualifications
- Experience with SQA and NQA-1 quality assurance practices for modeling workflows
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