Senior Molten Salt Engineer

SHINE Technologies LLC•Fitchburg, WI

9d•$100,000 - $120,000•Hybrid

About The Position

SHINE is seeking a Senior Molten Salt Engineer to support its used nuclear fuel transmutation and fusion power product lines. The role owns SHINE’s molten salt capability, from glovebox-scale work through pilot systems. It involves preparing and purifying chloride and fluoride salts; designing, building, and operating salt test loops and experimental rigs; generating salt chemistry, property, and materials data; and translating results into design requirements for transmutation and fusion blanket systems. The position also carries salt-wetted systems through preliminary and detailed design in collaboration with SHINE R&D, the design team, and vendors, and participates in acceptance testing and commissioning. The engineer is expected to use sound judgment and favor designs that are as simple as safety permits. This includes testing early, using data rather than assumptions to establish requirements for salt chemistry, materials, and components, and challenging requirements that are not justified. A hybrid work arrangement may be considered, but regular onsite presence is required for laboratory and test work at SHINE’s key facilities in Janesville and Fitchburg, Wisconsin. Occasional travel may be requested for team meetings, partner laboratory work, or vendor engagements, depending on business needs. The position involves regular laboratory exposure and occasional industrial and construction environments, as well as work with high-temperature molten salts and hazardous materials. Reasonable accommodation is available upon request, absent undue hardship. Employment eligibility is conditioned on qualifying for access to information subject to U.S. Export Controls; eligibility may also depend on meeting NRC requirements for access to Safeguards Information.

Requirements

Ability to oversee multiple projects or activities in an environment with changing priorities.
Willingness to learn, understand, and develop new technology.
Hands-on experience handling molten salts or comparable high-temperature reactive media, such as liquid metals, under inert atmosphere.
Evidence of designing, building, and operating a first-of-a-kind experimental system or test loop in a team environment, carrying it through testing, and explaining what they would do differently.
Demonstrated judgment on conservatism, including challenging a default design requirement and finding a path that was as safe or safer and materially simpler, faster, or less expensive.
Ability to critically evaluate information and ask questions when things do not make sense.
Excellent communication and teamwork skills.
Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering, Nuclear Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, Chemistry, or a related discipline.
7 or more years of engineering or research experience; PhD work may be included.
Ability to perform the essential functions of the position satisfactorily, with reasonable accommodation if requested and absent undue hardship.

Nice To Haves

Master’s or PhD degree.
Experience with molten salt chemistry, including purification, redox control, and impurity analysis.
Experience with corrosion and materials compatibility testing in molten salts.
Experience designing and operating high-temperature flow loops, including pumps, valves, freeze/thaw, and instrumentation.
Experience with glovebox operations and inert-atmosphere handling.
Experience writing requirements documents and working with vendors on final system design and testing.
Experience with actinide-bearing salts or other radioactive materials.
Experience with tritium behavior in fluoride salts or fusion blanket development.
Experience with electrochemistry in molten salts.
Experience in a national laboratory, university, or industry molten salt reactor or fusion blanket program.
Experience handling beryllium under a chronic beryllium disease prevention program.
Experience scaling a process or system from laboratory to pilot scale.

Responsibilities

Develop and maintain methods for synthesizing, purifying, and handling chloride and fluoride salts, including moisture and oxygen control under inert atmosphere.
Design, build, and operate glovebox-scale experiments and flowing salt test loops, including heating, freeze/thaw management, circulation, valves, instrumentation, and cover-gas systems.
Establish salt chemistry and redox control and analytical methods to verify salt conditions.
Plan and execute corrosion and materials compatibility tests of candidate structural alloys in chloride and fluoride salts, working with materials specialists to interpret results.
Measure or obtain thermophysical and chemical property data needed for design and document the data pedigree.
Support fusion blanket salt tritium breeding and extraction development, including tritium solubility, permeation, and removal from salt and cover gas.
Work initially with depleted uranium and non-radioactive surrogates and develop approaches for handling radioactive salts as programs advance.
Own process design for assigned salt systems, including process flow diagrams, P&IDs, material and energy balances, equipment sizing, and resulting design requirements.
Prepare and review design packages, specifications, test plans, calculations, reports, and drawings for salt systems and related equipment and controls.
Apply a graded approach to system requirements, justify each requirement, and take unjustified requirements to the Chief Engineer for removal.
Lead or participate in HAZOPs and design reviews for assigned systems and close resulting actions.
Write equipment specifications and requirements documents and work with procurement and vendors through fabrication.
Prepare or review test plans, participate in factory and site acceptance testing, and perform owner’s acceptance reviews of vendor reports and calculations.
Perform field walk-downs of installed equipment.
Oversee multiple projects or activities in an environment with changing priorities and work collaboratively with SHINE R&D, the design team, vendors, and other specialists.