Engineer III OR Senior Engineer - Instrumentation & Control Design

Duke Energy•Seneca, SC

2d•Hybrid

About The Position

Duke Energy is hiring an Instrumentation & Control Design Engineer for its team at Oconee Nuclear Station. The role supports modernization of the station’s three-unit nuclear generating facility and continued safe, reliable, carbon-free electricity generation. Engineering work may range from component upgrades to major digital control-system replacements, in collaboration with Operations, Maintenance, Projects, Licensing, Cybersecurity, vendors, and external design organizations. The engineer develops and supports plant modifications involving instrumentation and controls, AC and DC power and control systems, digital hardware, software-based applications, plant computer interfaces, control circuits, and cybersecurity-related design requirements. The position calls for technical ownership of increasingly complex work from concept through installation, testing, turnover, and closeout. After completing the required Responsible Engineer training and qualification program, the selected individual will serve as primary technical owner for assigned modifications. Prior nuclear modification-engineer qualifications and demonstrated products may be considered when establishing or accelerating the qualification plan. Nuclear Engineer III candidates solve problems of increasing scope and complexity with limited supervision and develop their ability to independently manage project schedules and interfaces. Senior Nuclear Engineer candidates manage work with very minimal supervision, complete non-routine assignments independently, and receive guidance mainly on unusual or highly complex issues. Senior engineers also provide technical guidance, coaching, and knowledge transfer. The role is hybrid and based at Oconee Nuclear Station. On-site presence is required during onboarding and qualification and as needed for project execution, plant walkdowns, outages, emergent support, and team activities. After onboarding, work is performed remotely and onsite; hybrid employees must live within a reasonable commute of the designated facility, no more than 50 miles one way, and are expected to report onsite as directed, averaging two full workdays per regular workweek. The team typically works a four-day, 10-hour schedule, with work arrangements varying according to business, qualification, and project needs. Occasional travel, off-hours or extended-hours support, on-call duty, emergency response responsibilities, and storm response may be required. The successful candidate must demonstrate attention to detail, clear communication, sound technical judgment, commitment to nuclear safety, and effective coordination across organizational boundaries. The position requires unescorted nuclear-facility access, completion of required engineering and Responsible Engineer qualifications before independently performing assigned modification work, and compliance with site security and Fitness for Duty requirements.

Requirements

Meet the minimum ANSI requirements identified in Nuclear Operating Fleet Administrative Procedure AD-LS-ALL-0011, Confirmation of Regulatory Guide 1.8 Personnel Qualifications.
At least 1 year of nuclear power plant experience.
Nuclear Engineer III: Bachelor of Science in Engineering from an ABET-accredited program and at least 4 years of engineering experience. A Master's degree in engineering may be considered in lieu of the bachelor's engineering degree.
Senior Nuclear Engineer: Bachelor of Science in Engineering from an ABET-accredited program or state registration as a Professional Engineer; a Master's degree in engineering may be considered in lieu of the bachelor's engineering degree. At least 6 years of engineering experience, or 5 years with state registration as a Professional Engineer.
Ability to obtain and maintain unescorted access to a nuclear facility, including required training, security screening, and compliance with the site Fitness for Duty Program.
Complete required engineering and Responsible Engineer qualifications before independently performing assigned modification work.
Ability to work lawfully in the U.S. without employment-based immigration sponsorship now or in the future.
Ability to live within a reasonable commute of the designated Duke Energy facility, no greater than 50 miles one way, for the hybrid arrangement.
Ability to support possible Emergency Response Organization responsibilities, callouts with a defined response time, on-call duty, and utility storm response when assigned.
Ability to wear required personal protective equipment, including a hard hat, safety glasses, and fall protection, as applicable.
Ability to perform plant walkdowns and work in office, field, and industrial environments as project needs require.
Ability to provide occasional overnight travel, generally 5–10%, and occasional support outside standard hours for outages, testing, plant conditions, storm response, or project implementation.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering or computer engineering.
Passed the Fundamentals of Engineering examination; state registration as a Professional Engineer is preferred for Senior Nuclear Engineer candidates.
Nuclear design, modification, operations, maintenance, or project implementation experience.
Nuclear utility modification-engineer qualification or comparable experience leading engineering changes through implementation.
Proficiency in engineering theories and principles, researching engineering and design issues, evaluating alternatives, making recommendations, and preparing and presenting supporting rationale.
Ability to complete non-routine engineering projects with very minimal supervision, independently manage schedules and interfaces, and make decisions that may affect work-group operations, major projects, or department results.
Strong professional oral and written communication skills, ability to work across organizational boundaries, and ability to coach or mentor engineering and non-degreed engineering professionals.
Experience developing or reviewing digital hardware, software, firmware, networks, virtualization, plant computers, or control-system modifications, including legacy-system migration and digital interfaces or protocols such as Modbus, OPC DA, or OPC UA.
Experience applying systems-engineering principles across the digital-modification lifecycle, including stakeholder needs, requirements, architecture, test plans and acceptance criteria, implementation, and turnover.
Working knowledge of digital-upgrade licensing considerations, 10 CFR 50.59, and 10 CFR 73.54 cybersecurity requirements.
Experience with an engineering-change or work-management system; Nuclear Asset Suite experience is beneficial but not required.
Demonstrated commitment to technical rigor, configuration control, procedure use and adherence, and nuclear safety culture.
Prior nuclear modification-engineer qualifications and demonstrated products, which may be considered when establishing or accelerating the qualification plan.

Responsibilities

Identify, analyze, and resolve engineering problems of increasing scope and complexity, including issues beyond typical areas of responsibility.
Plan, organize, estimate, schedule, coordinate, and monitor assigned engineering work; manage changing priorities, project interfaces, technical risk, and decisions that may affect work-group operations or project results.
Prepare accurate, traceable engineering products, including calculations, specifications, drawings, design inputs, evaluations, setpoints, and test plans.
Evaluate design alternatives, technical risk, operating experience, lifecycle needs, and stakeholder input; document recommendations and their basis.
Develop conceptual designs and technical specifications and coordinate work performed by vendors and external design firms.
After qualification, serve as Responsible Engineer and primary technical contact for assigned modifications from design through closeout.
Review installation work instructions and implementation packages to verify that approved designs are correctly translated into field activities and testing.
Provide field, outage, and implementation support while maintaining configuration control, procedural compliance, and design authority.
Perform or coordinate design reviews, digital and software evaluations, cybersecurity assessments, licensing evaluations, and post-modification testing.
Apply nuclear safety culture, conservative decision-making, human-performance tools, and rigorous procedure use.
Communicate technical information and coordinate effectively with station organizations, project teams, vendors, and external partners.
Support continuous learning and knowledge transfer; Senior Nuclear Engineers coach and mentor engineering and non-degreed engineering professionals.
Complete required engineering and Responsible Engineer qualifications before independently performing assigned modification work.
Support assigned Emergency Response Organization responsibilities, callouts, on-call duty, and utility storm response as required.