Nuclear QA Manager

Natura Resources•Abilene, TX

17d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Nuclear QA Manager provides leadership for Natura’s QA program and serves as the primary owner for QA implementation, oversight, and continuous improvement. The role translates applicable nuclear quality requirements into workable procedures, expectations, and oversight practices that support execution while maintaining appropriate rigor and independence. The position works closely with project leadership, engineering, licensing, procurement, document control, records management, suppliers, and executive leadership to ensure QA requirements are understood and applied consistently. The manager leads or supports development, maintenance, and implementation of the QA Program Description, implementing procedures, supplier quality controls, audits and assessments, corrective action, procurement quality, and quality records expectations. The role applies a risk-informed, graded approach that maintains compliance while scaling QA expectations to project phase, item classification, supplier risk, and quality significance. This role has direct independent access to senior executive leadership for quality concerns, nonconforming conditions, unresolved corrective actions, or issues that could affect safety, licensing, regulatory commitments, supplier quality, or QA program effectiveness. It has authority to establish and oversee QA program requirements, identify quality concerns, require corrective actions, pause or stop work when quality requirements are not met, and independently elevate quality issues when necessary. The position is based in Abilene, Texas, with a hybrid work arrangement.

Requirements

10+ years of experience in nuclear QA or closely related regulated quality roles, including supplier quality, engineering QA, construction QA, or quality program implementation in a high-consequence environment.
Direct experience implementing or supporting a nuclear QA program, preferably under NQA-1, 10 CFR 50 Appendix B, DOE nuclear requirements, NRC-regulated programs, or equivalent quality frameworks.
Strong working knowledge of QA program implementation, audits, assessments, corrective action, nonconformance control, procurement quality, supplier oversight, document control, and records management.
Experience reviewing procedures, procurement documents, technical documents, quality records, and objective evidence for compliance with QA requirements.
Demonstrated ability to identify quality gaps, challenge inadequate implementation, and drive corrective actions to closure.
Strong communication, leadership, conflict resolution, and organizational skills.
Bachelor’s degree in engineering, science, quality, construction management, project management, or a related field, or equivalent relevant experience.
Must be capable of working in office, project site, laboratory, industrial, and construction-adjacent environments as needed.
Occasional lifting of technical materials up to 40 lbs may be required.

Nice To Haves

Experience with NQA-1, 10 CFR 50 Appendix B, ANS-15.8, DOE nuclear expectations, NRC licensing environments, or advanced reactor projects.
Experience developing or standing up a nuclear QA program from an early-stage or startup environment.
Experience supporting first-of-a-kind technology projects, research reactors, advanced reactors, molten salt systems, nuclear suppliers, EPC projects, or DOE demonstration activities.
Experience performing or leading supplier audits, internal audits, commercial-grade dedication reviews, source surveillances, receipt inspections, or readiness assessments.
Experience with design control, configuration management, software QA, procurement engineering, M&TE, inspections, testing, or operational readiness.
NQA-1 Lead Auditor qualification, nuclear lead auditor qualification, ASQ certification, or similar quality certification.
Prior experience managing QA personnel or building a QA team.

Responsibilities

Lead the development, implementation, and maintenance of Natura’s nuclear QA program, including the QA Program Description, implementing procedures, forms, records, training, oversight activities, and project execution expectations.
Establish practical implementation methods for applicable requirements, including NQA-1, 10 CFR 50 Appendix B when invoked, ANS-15.8 where applicable, licensing commitments, client requirements, supplier requirements, and internal project expectations.
Plan and perform QA oversight activities, including audits, surveillances, assessments, document reviews, supplier evaluations, and implementation checks.
Identify gaps, document issues, require corrective actions, and verify effective resolution.
Manage or support nonconformances, conditions adverse to quality, audit findings, extent-of-condition reviews, recurrence prevention, and corrective action effectiveness.
Lead or support supplier quality activities, including QA applicability determinations, supplier qualification, procurement document reviews, quality clauses, acceptance criteria, required records, source surveillance, receipt inspection expectations, supplier audits, nonconformance control, and supplier corrective action.
Ensure quality-affecting procurements are properly planned before purchase orders are issued.
Support development and review of QA implementing procedures, project procedures, procurement documents, work instructions, specifications, technical documents, and quality records.
Work with document control and records management personnel to establish and maintain controlled documents, objective evidence, approvals, and retention requirements.
Integrate QA requirements into planning and execution by working across project leadership, engineering, licensing, procurement, operations readiness, R&D, chemistry, suppliers, and contractors.
Provide practical guidance so teams understand how to perform quality-affecting work correctly.
Build and lead the QA function as the organization grows; identify staffing needs, define roles and responsibilities, mentor personnel, support training and qualification, and establish repeatable QA practices.
Promote a QA culture that is independent, technically credible, risk-informed, and focused on enabling compliant execution without unnecessary bureaucracy.
Use the role’s authority to establish and oversee QA requirements, require corrective actions, pause or stop work when quality requirements are not met, and elevate quality issues independently when necessary.