Senior Nuclear I&C Engineer – Hardware

Valar Atomics•Torrance, CA

1d•Onsite

About The Position

Valar Atomics is seeking Senior Nuclear I&C Hardware Engineers to own the plant design and application of nuclear instrumentation for our high temperature gas-cooled reactor program. The role covers neutron flux detection, radiation monitoring, reactor protection system sensors and signal chains, and process instrumentation in nuclear service, applied through instrument selection and specification, signal chain and installation design, cabling and grounding, environmental and radiation qualification, and commissioning. The focus is application of vendor-supplied instrumentation in plant design, not instrument or detector development. This is a senior position: you will own nuclear instrumentation scope end-to-end, from instrument selection and signal chain design through installation design, qualification, and commissioning, and provide technical direction to vendors, contractors, and junior engineers.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Nuclear, Electrical, Computer, or Mechanical Engineering, or a closely related discipline.
5+ years of experience in radiation detection systems, nuclear instrumentation, or precision analog instrumentation and measurement systems.
Hands-on experience with radiation detectors (fission chambers, ion chambers, proportional counters, scintillators, or similar) and their signal chains, including detector electronics, biasing, and low-level signal measurement.
Demonstrated ability to design or analyze analog measurement chains, including reasoning quantitatively about noise, grounding, shielding, cable effects, and signal integrity.
Experience planning and leading integration, verification, or commissioning test work, including test procedure development, instrumentation setup, and formal test reporting.
Strong grounding in nuclear physics fundamentals — neutron interactions, fission, decay, and radiation detection principles.
Working knowledge of nuclear I&C codes and standards (IEEE 603, IEEE 497, IEC 61513, or equivalent), or a demonstrated record of rapidly working within rigorous standards frameworks in an adjacent high-assurance field.
Ability to read and interpret P&IDs, electrical schematics, loop diagrams, and instrument data sheets.
Experience producing engineering documentation — specifications, data sheets, test procedures, and reports — under formal review and configuration control.

Nice To Haves

Professional Engineer (PE) license.
Advanced degree (MS or PhD) in nuclear engineering, physics, or a related field.
Experience with wide-range neutron flux channels, including pulse/Campbell/current mode operation and range overlap design.
Experience with environmental and radiation qualification programs (IEEE 323/344), including aging analysis and qualification testing.
Experience with reactor protection system instrumentation, setpoint methodology (ISA-67.04 or equivalent), or response time testing.
Experience with mineral-insulated cable, high-temperature instrumentation, or instrumentation for harsh or high-radiation environments.
Experience at a research reactor, national laboratory, operating nuclear plant, or reactor developer.
Familiarity with radiation transport or reactor physics codes (MCNP, Serpent, OpenMC, SCALE, or equivalent).
Familiarity with nuclear quality programs (NQA-1, 10 CFR 50 Appendix B) as applied to design, procurement, and test records.
Experience with data acquisition systems and Python or MATLAB for test data analysis.

Responsibilities

Select, specify, and analyze neutron flux detection hardware including fission chambers, ion chambers, and proportional counters across source, intermediate, and power range instrumentation, including range overlap, sensitivity, and cable and environment constraints.
Design and analyze nuclear instrumentation signal chains end-to-end: detector biasing, preamplifier selection and placement, pulse, fluctuation (Campbell/MSV), and current mode processing, cable selection and length effects, termination, and noise and grounding practice.
Apply detector physics neutron interactions, detector response, gamma discrimination, activation, and radiation transport — to instrument selection, placement, and shielding decisions, in coordination with reactor physics and shielding analysts.
Select and specify radiation monitoring instrumentation including area monitors, process and effluent monitors, and health physics instrumentation, including range, response, and regulatory basis.
Specify process instrumentation in nuclear service temperature, pressure, flow, and level for the primary helium loop and supporting systems — including environmental compatibility, materials, and qualification implications of high-temperature helium service.
Produce and own instrumentation engineering documentation including instrument data sheets, specifications, loop diagrams, I/O lists, block diagrams, and installation details.
Develop instrument installation and physical integration design instrument locations, thermowells and penetrations, junction boxes, cable and MI cable routing, and physical separation in coordination with electrical designers and mechanical and piping engineers.
Lead environmental and radiation qualification for assigned equipment: qualification plans, application service condition definition, review and acceptance of vendor qualification test reports and analyses, thermal and radiation aging analysis, and qualification documentation consistent with IEEE 323 and IEEE 344 methodologies.
Execute reactor protection system hardware scope including sensor selection, redundancy and voting architecture input, channel independence and separation considerations, setpoint analysis input, and response time analysis and testing.
Plan and lead integration and verification test programs including channel bring-up and integration, receipt verification, cable and connector testing, and data acquisition; own test procedures, data quality, and test reports.
Lead factory and site acceptance testing, calibration, loop checking, and commissioning of nuclear instrumentation.
Diagnose and resolve instrumentation problems including noise, grounding, cable, and signal integrity issues; perform root cause analysis and document corrective actions.
Prepare procurement technical packages for nuclear instrumentation; evaluate vendor proposals against specifications; review vendor documentation, test reports, and quality records.
Coordinate with reactor physics and nuclear safety engineers on detector placement, expected flux and dose environments, and instrument range and accuracy requirements; coordinate with I&C software and electrical engineers on signal interfaces and power supplies.
Apply nuclear I&C codes and standards including IEEE 603, IEEE 497, IEC 61513, and applicable NRC regulatory guidance to design and documentation, and support licensing deliverables drawing on instrumentation content.
Mentor junior engineers on detector physics, signal chain design, and test practice; provide technical direction to vendors and contractors on nuclear instrumentation scope.
Maintain disciplined engineering records consistent with nuclear quality requirements, ensuring traceability of design decisions, analyses, and test results.

Benefits

Competitive base salary
Equity ownership in a rapidly growing advanced energy company
Comprehensive medical benefits
Unlimited PTO
Free daily lunch and dinner provided onsite
Generous PPE stipend
High-impact startup environment with significant ownership and autonomy
Opportunities for rapid career growth and internal advancement
Direct collaboration with experienced operators, engineers, and industry leaders
The opportunity to help build and scale transformative energy technology from the ground up