Nuclear Operations Manager - US

Blykalla•Texas, TX

13h•$180,000 - $230,000•Onsite

About The Position

Blykalla is hiring a Nuclear Operations Manager to develop and implement the operational framework for its Fjäll facility in the United States, from design through startup and into operations. The position brings the operator’s perspective into facility design while decisions can still be changed, then leads the operating crew through initial fuel load and approach to criticality. Fjäll is targeting first criticality in 2027. The manager owns the facility’s concept of operations, including operating modes, states and transitions for nuclear and non-nuclear activities. They translate operational needs into design requirements and provide operational input to the safety basis, procedures, crew model, training and qualification program, and operational readiness. The role also serves as Blykalla’s owner-side lead for operations support provided by partners and plans the handover to Blykalla staff. The position reports to the Head of US Project Development, with a dotted line to Blykalla’s SEALER Operations Lead in Sweden. After construction turnover, the Site Manager holds facility custody and site authority; the Nuclear Operations Manager runs operations within that authority. Radiation protection, nuclear criticality safety, quality assurance, and material control and accountability are independent functions outside the role’s reporting line. The manager carries Stop-Work Authority. The operating crew of senior reactor operators and reactor operators reports to this role, as will a training lead who joins as the crew begins qualification. The position is on-site in Austin, Texas, with regular travel to the site and occasional travel to Stockholm, Sweden. From fuel load onward, the role is expected to be on site. The salary range is $180,000–$230,000 per year, depending on experience and qualifications.

Requirements

At least 8 years of nuclear facility operations experience, including time as a licensed or certified operator or shift supervisor at a research or test reactor, critical or zero-power facility, DOE nuclear facility, power reactor, or in the naval nuclear program.
Hands-on experience with fuel handling and core loading.
Experience writing operating procedures and running a conduct of operations program.
Experience designing or running operator training and qualification using a systematic approach to training.
Experience providing operations input to the design of a new or modified nuclear facility.
Understanding of how operating limits and surveillance requirements are derived from a safety analysis.
Comfort holding and exercising Stop-Work Authority.
Bachelor’s degree in engineering, physics or a related discipline, or equivalent naval nuclear training and operating experience.
Strong written communication skills and comfort drafting procedures, program documents and regulator-facing material.
Ability to work in a founder-stage environment where the operating organization is built from scratch.
US work authorization.

Nice To Haves

Current or former Senior Reactor Operator (SRO) license or DOE operator certification.
Experience at a critical experiments facility or with ANSI/ANS-1 (conduct of critical experiments).
Experience with initial startup, first fuel load or approach to criticality at a new or refurbished facility.
Operational readiness experience on a nuclear new-build or restart.
Working knowledge of DOE nuclear facility requirements, including 10 CFR 830, DOE O 422.1, DOE O 426.2 and DOE O 425.1.
Experience with advanced reactor, first-of-a-kind or demonstration programs.
Working literacy in radiation protection, nuclear criticality safety and material control and accountability sufficient to work effectively with those independent functions.
Experience providing operator input to control-room and human-factors design.
Experience managing contracted operations staff or handing operations over from a contractor crew to an owner crew.

Responsibilities

Write, own and maintain the facility concept of operations, defining operating modes, states and transitions for activities including fuel receipt and storage, core loading and changes, rod operation, crane lifts, shield-block handling, ventilation, maintenance access, waste handling and shutdown.
Define operational requirements and work with Engineering and the Design Authority to ensure the facility design supports safe, efficient and practical operations.
Work with core design and fuel teams on fuel loading, movement, storage and accountability; participate in design reviews before design freeze and advocate for changes that simplify and improve operational safety.
Work with nuclear safety and licensing on operating limits, surveillance requirements, conduct of operations and initial testing in the preliminary and final safety analysis; ensure safety-basis assumptions are executable by the crew and support regulator questions about operations.
Establish the conduct of operations program and procedure structure, including normal, abnormal, emergency, fuel-handling and surveillance procedures.
Define the shift and crew model, logkeeping, shift turnover, and operations interfaces with work control and configuration management.
Design the operator training and qualification program using a systematic approach to training, including job and task analysis, qualification standards for senior reactor operators, reactor operators and support roles, and requalification.
Plan the transition from interim operators provided by the operating partner to Blykalla’s own qualified crews.
Serve as Blykalla’s owner-side lead for partner-provided operations support before and through startup; define requirements, accept deliverables and plan handover to Blykalla staff.
Set operations acceptance criteria for systems turned over from construction and commissioning, and agree with construction and commissioning how systems will be accepted into operations.
Lead operations readiness for the startup readiness review.
Lead the crew through initial fuel load, approach to criticality and low-power testing, in coordination with the reactor physics and test program engineer, who owns the test content.
In the first 90 days, issue an initial concept of operations; review facility, I&C and fuel-handling designs and rank needed design changes by the cost of making them late; agree on operations inputs and timelines for the safety analysis; establish conduct-of-operations and procedure frameworks; outline training, qualification, staffing and operator-transition plans; build working relationships across relevant functions; and identify and propose mitigations for priority operational risks.