Codes & Methods Engineer
About The Position
The Codes and Methods Engineer will contribute to R&D initiatives for next-generation nuclear reactors, focusing on advanced neutron transport calculations for newcleo’s Lead-Cooled Fast Reactors (LFRs). The role involves developing deterministic calculation schemes to support reactor design and US licensing, benchmarking and optimizing schemes for speed and accuracy, contributing to code development, and training colleagues to use the tools. The engineer will collaborate with newcleo’s European teams and US national laboratories to support access to state-of-the-art, qualified codes for US operations. A central part of the work is Verification and Validation (V&V) of neutron transport codes for US licensing. This includes analyzing experimental reactor physics benchmarks and applying the results to newcleo’s reactor design. Results may be presented to regulatory safety authorities and the scientific community.
Requirements
- Master’s or PhD degree in nuclear engineering, physics, or a related discipline.
- Experience with deterministic neutron transport calculations.
- Programming experience with Python.
- Experience with reactor physics and advanced mathematical modeling in an R&D context.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills in English.
Nice To Haves
- Knowledge of the ARC code system.
- Experience with software verification and validation (V&V).
- A track record of scientific communication.
- French and/or Italian language proficiency.
Responsibilities
- Benchmark scientific computing tools used in US operations against high-fidelity calculations and tools currently used at newcleo.
- Evaluate and optimize calculation schemes for speed and accuracy, and adapt schemes to LFR applications.
- Investigate discrepancies by identifying underlying approximations, modeling assumptions, and LFR-specific physics.
- Contribute to code development to ensure codes reproduce behavior unique to LFRs.
- Partner with US National Laboratories to benchmark and enhance neutron transport code suites.
- Execute full V&V workflows for scientific computing software under US regulatory frameworks.
- Model experimental benchmarks to evaluate best estimates and quantify nuclear data uncertainties.
- Resolve discrepancies with experimental results by examining modeling assumptions, experimental methods, and underlying physics.
- Apply validation results to newcleo’s reactors to support licensing and safety demonstrations.
- Author core technical sections of regulatory safety submissions.
- Support scientific IT network setup, software installation, testing, and documentation in office locations.
- Use GitLab facilities at newcleo and the NEA DataBank (OECD) to track development of computer codes and calculation schemes.
- Disseminate knowledge of key scientific computing tools and train colleagues in their use.
- Publish research in scientific journals and represent the company at industry conferences.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
