Material Performance Modeling – Core & Fuel

Aalo Atomics•Austin, TX

4d•Onsite

About The Position

Aalo is seeking an engineer to model the in-core performance and lifetime of fuel and core structural components in extreme irradiation, thermal, chemical, and mechanical environments. This modeling and engineering-judgment role works closely with mechanical design, neutronics, and thermal hydraulics. The engineer will assess how component dimensions, material properties, loads, interfaces, and performance evolve during service and translate predictions into practical design guidance and defensible lifetime assessments. Candidates may have a range of experience levels. Early-career engineers will work closely with Aalo’s technical lead to develop modeling methods and engineering judgment. More experienced candidates will independently own larger areas of analysis methodology, technical judgment, and cross-functional design integration. The role reports directly to the technical lead for core and fuel material-performance modeling.

Requirements

Degree in nuclear engineering, mechanical engineering, materials science, computational engineering, or a related field.
Strong grounding in material behavior, heat transfer, solid mechanics, and numerical modeling.
Ability to construct models that accurately represent important physics, rather than simply operate analysis software.
Experience with finite-element or multiphysics analysis.
Proficiency with Python for engineering analysis and visualization.
Understanding of model verification and validation, software quality assurance, and reproducible analysis.
Ability to work effectively with mechanical designers and engineers across materials, neutronics, and thermal hydraulics.
Sound technical judgment appropriate to the candidate’s experience level.
Ability to learn quickly, work with incomplete data, and clearly identify model limitations.
Based in the United States.
Willing to work on-site in Austin, TX, or Idaho Falls, ID.
Applicants must be U.S. Citizens or U.S. Persons in compliance with 10 CFR Part 810 and may not hold non-compliant foreign citizenships.

Nice To Haves

BISON/MOOSE experience is strongly preferred.
Earlier-career candidates may bring strong fundamentals, computational ability, and the capacity to develop sound physical and modeling judgment under close technical mentorship.
More experienced candidates should be able to independently define modeling approaches, assess model applicability and uncertainty, guide design decisions, and own technically defensible component-lifetime conclusions.

Responsibilities

Develop and apply models for fuel, graphite, and core metallic components using BISON/MOOSE and related tools.
Predict how irradiation, temperature, stress, chemistry, and operating history affect component dimensions, material properties, structural behavior, and service life.
Work with mechanical designers to evaluate materials, geometry, tolerances, clearances, interfaces, and lifetime margins.
Integrate inputs from neutronics and thermal hydraulics, and assess how reactor-condition or component-design changes affect in-core degradation and performance.
Translate modeling results into actionable design inputs, operating limits, test needs, and lifetime criteria.
Develop or adapt material and constitutive models when existing capabilities do not adequately represent the relevant physics.
Use Python for data processing, analysis automation, visualization, and communication of results.
Apply software quality assurance, verification, validation, sensitivity analysis, and uncertainty quantification.
Develop defensible, physics-based analysis methods where established codes or directly applicable design rules are insufficient.
Use AI-assisted tools to accelerate analysis, model development, data review, and documentation while maintaining technical traceability and independently verifying results.
Communicate model assumptions, limitations, uncertainties, and conclusions across engineering teams.