Senior Nuclear I&C Engineer – Hardware

Valar Atomics•Torrance, CA

13d•$144,000 - $176,000

About The Position

Valar Atomics is seeking a senior Nuclear Instrumentation and Control (I&C) Hardware Engineer to own the plant design and application of nuclear instrumentation for its high-temperature gas-cooled reactor program. The role covers neutron-flux detection, radiation monitoring, reactor-protection-system sensors and signal chains, and process instrumentation used in nuclear service. It focuses on applying vendor-supplied instrumentation in plant design rather than developing instruments or detectors. The engineer owns nuclear instrumentation scope end to end, from instrument selection and signal-chain design through installation design, qualification, testing, and commissioning. The position provides technical direction to vendors, contractors, and junior engineers, and works closely with I&C, electrical, reactor physics, thermal-hydraulics, and nuclear safety engineers. The team emphasizes technical depth, disciplined documentation, hands-on work, and a safety-first culture.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Nuclear, Electrical, Computer, or Mechanical Engineering, or a closely related discipline.
At least 5 years of experience in radiation detection systems, nuclear instrumentation, or precision analog instrumentation and measurement systems.
Hands-on experience with radiation detectors such as fission chambers, ion chambers, proportional counters, or scintillators, and their signal chains, including detector electronics, biasing, and low-level signal measurement.
Ability to design or analyze analog measurement chains and quantitatively assess noise, grounding, shielding, cable effects, and signal integrity.
Experience planning and leading integration, verification, or commissioning tests, including test-procedure development, instrumentation setup, and formal test reporting.
Strong grounding in nuclear physics fundamentals, including neutron interactions, fission, decay, and radiation-detection principles.
Working knowledge of nuclear I&C codes and standards such as IEEE 603, IEEE 497, and IEC 61513, or a demonstrated record of 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, including specifications, data sheets, test procedures, and reports, under formal review and configuration control.
Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States as a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident.

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, and 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 such as MCNP, Serpent, OpenMC, or SCALE.
Familiarity with nuclear quality programs such as NQA-1 and 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 ranges.
Design and analyze nuclear instrumentation signal chains, including detector biasing, preamplifier selection and placement, pulse, fluctuation (Campbell/MSV), and current-mode processing, cabling, termination, noise, and grounding.
Apply detector physics, neutron interactions, detector response, gamma discrimination, activation, and radiation transport to instrument selection, placement, and shielding decisions.
Select and specify radiation-monitoring instrumentation, including area, process, effluent, and health physics monitors.
Specify temperature, pressure, flow, and level process instrumentation for the primary helium loop and supporting systems, accounting for environmental compatibility, materials, and qualification implications.
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 designs, including instrument locations, thermowells and penetrations, junction boxes, cable and MI-cable routing, and physical separation.
Lead environmental and radiation qualification for assigned equipment, including qualification plans, service-condition definition, vendor report review and acceptance, aging analyses, and qualification documentation consistent with IEEE 323 and IEEE 344 methodologies.
Execute reactor protection system hardware scope, including sensor selection, input to redundancy and voting architecture, channel independence and separation, setpoint analysis, and response-time analysis and testing.
Plan and lead integration and verification testing, including channel bring-up, receipt verification, cable and connector testing, and data acquisition; own test procedures, data quality, and 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; conduct root-cause analysis and document corrective actions.
Prepare procurement technical packages, evaluate vendor proposals against specifications, and 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, and support licensing deliverables involving instrumentation.
Mentor junior engineers and provide technical direction to vendors and contractors on nuclear instrumentation scope.
Maintain traceable engineering records for design decisions, analyses, and test results in accordance with nuclear quality requirements.

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.
Opportunity to help build and scale transformative energy technology from the ground up.