Senior/Principal Alkali Metal Test Engineer

TerraPower•Everett, WA

About The Position

TerraPower is a nuclear technology company based in Bellevue, Washington. At its core, the company is working to raise living standards globally through a more affordable, secure and environmentally friendly form of nuclear energy along with innovations in medical isotopes to improve human health. In 2006, TerraPower originated with Bill Gates and a group of like-minded visionaries who evaluated the fundamental challenges to raising living standards around the world. They recognized energy access was crucial to the health and economic well-being of communities and decided that the private sector needed to take action and create energy sources that would advance global energy deployment. TerraPower’s mission is to be a world leader in new nuclear technologies, while developing innovators and future leaders in the nuclear field. As a result, the company’s activities in the fields of nuclear energy and related sciences are yielding significant innovations in the safety and economics of nuclear power, hybrid energy and medical applications – all for significant human health benefits. TerraPower is seeking to hire highly motivated and forward-thinking professionals who are interested in focusing on advanced nuclear reactor research and development and influencing change within the nuclear power landscape and bringing forward the critical production of medical isotopes. TerraPower is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate in hiring on the basis of sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, religious creed, national origin, physical or mental disability, protected Veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law. In addition, as a federal contractor, TerraPower has instituted an Affirmative Action Plan (AAP) in an effort to proactively recruit, hire, and promote women, minorities, disabled persons and veterans. Senior/Principal Alkali Metal Test Engineer Reporting to the Manager of Alkali Metal Testing, the Senior/Principal Alkali Metal Test Engineer is responsible for designing and conducting an array of developmental and qualification tests for high temperature liquid sodium and salt systems for the Natrium reactor. The successful candidate will support all aspects of alkali metal testing activities including planning, designing, testing, document review, engaging with external vendors, and generating documents.

Requirements

Senior Test Engineer: Bachelor’s degree in applicable field of Engineering and a minimum of ten (10) years of related experience, or six (6) years and a Master’s degree, or a PhD with 3+ years’ experience.
Principal Test Engineer: Bachelor’s degree in applicable field of Engineering and a minimum of ten (15) years of related experience, or six (8) years and a Master’s degree, or a PhD with 5 years’ experience, or equivalent experience.
Experience working with high temperature molten sodium and/or salt.
Experience in a testing / research and development environment preferred.
Experience working in a laboratory environment preferred.
Experience with post-processing and documenting experiments.
Experience with a suite of engineering related software, including SolidWorks, LabVIEW, ANSYS, and similar software is preferred.
Experience with multiple types of testing (R&D, Acceptance, Validation, Qualification)
Ability to work with a multidisciplinary team of engineers and technicians.
Ability to handle projects that include multiple objectives and ability to resolve conflicts between objectives.
Ability to work on multiple tasks concurrently during a given work week.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills with a strong attention to detail.
Nuclear industry experience and experience working under an NQA-1 quality program preferred.
Safety conscience.
Ability to work with minimum direction to solve challenging research and development problems.
The successful candidate will possess a high degree of trust and integrity, communicate openly and display respect and a desire to foster teamwork.
Sitting and standing for extended periods, bending/stooping, grasping/gripping, fine motor control (hands).
Minimal, with ability to safely lift up to 50 pounds.
Prolonged.
Visual and audio focused work and ability to perform role in personal protective equipment.
Stairs, typing/keyboard, standard and/or sitting working environment of >8 hrs./day.

Responsibilities

Collaborate with internal customers to translate conceptual requirements into actionable test specifications, including design input, instrumentation strategy, and success criteria.
Will serve as the lead test engineer supporting experimental design, operation, repair, and analysis of tests supporting the Natrium reactor with an emphasis on high temperature liquid sodium and salt systems.
Coordinate cross-functional efforts in areas such as fixture design, control system integration, technician and designer support, and facility interfaces and integration.
Design and select instrumentation for testing, based around data acquisition and control hardware and software, to meet experimental test objectives.
Develop and document test plans, design test assemblies – including developing P&IDs, CAD models, and performing FEA of piping and vessels – and author test procedures for experimental work.
Conduct data analysis and generate detailed test reports.
Support continuous learning and application of nuclear industry best practices in order to maintain the highest quality of engineering design and proactively identify process change/enhancement opportunities.