Senior Technical Fellow, Chief Engineer

X-Energy•Rockville, MD

51d•Hybrid

About The Position

This role is responsible for ensuring that the implementation of X-energy's reactors and related system solutions comply with sound nuclear engineering practice, adhere to engineering standards defined by the company and industry, and are implemented in a consistent, repeatable way that leads to high product safety, quality, reliability, technical and programmatic efficiency. The Chief Engineer may be called upon to act as design authority: generate technical alternatives; lead design issue resolution; conduct manufacturability, constructability, and maintainability reviews; evaluate application of new technology and IP generation to benefit product development/project implementation; address operations and fielded product performance issues; review/approve technical changes to a product or program baseline; and other issues to ensure the above-mentioned goals are met.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in engineering, physics, or related technical discipline from an accredited college or university, MS or PhD preferred
Typically, twenty plus years' experience in engineering or related industry experience, including at least ten years' experience in end-to-end development of complex nuclear-related components and systems.

Responsibilities

Working with Program Management, the Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Procurement/Supply Chain (PSC), and Engineering, lead and/or support resolution of supply chain issues, including the manufacturing of unique or difficult-to-procure SSCs or extremely long-lead items. Evaluate alternative suppliers, critique manufacturing techniques and/or recommended manufacturer/ supplier expansion strategies to improve project delivery schedules are achievable and low risk.
As the program/project Solution Architect, monitor, analyze, validate, and confirm that the plant architecture, technical solutions, and implementation plans developed by the X-energy's program teams, Engineering, Supply Chain, and other departments are consistent with sound nuclear engineering practice, are efficient, deliver manufacturable, constructable, operable, and maintainable systems, and achieve project goals and requirements. This is performed through design reviews, audits, tiger teams, inspections, independent analyses, and other means.
As Design Authority, ensure technical adequacy and design control for the project. This includes critiquing and reviewing requirements, technical arbitration for engineering disputes, implementing and maintaining configuration control, and concurrence of high-level methodology.
Chair design reviews, ensure proper implementation of the X-energy Systems Engineering Management Plan and related engineering policies/procedures, evaluate engineered solutions against 1) requirements allocated to the solution, 2) fidelity of the solution and methods applied, and 3) maturity of the solution given the phase/review being performed. Build the review board composition based on system under review, make recommendations and define corrective actions through issuance of Action Items/Requests for Action (RFAs) to ensure project technical compliance. Validate RFA acceptance, response schedule, and validate incorporation of review board recommendations.
Assist in the conduct of the project Change Control Board (CCB). Evaluate recommended changes, determine and/or independently analyze their impacts on performance and performance margin, soundness of design change, how changes affect project risk. As a precursor to the CCB, conduct evaluation of, or review team evaluations of alternatives to understand the basis for alternative selection, and how the result may compare to the results from alternative methods.
Provide Internal Audit capability for the guarantee of configuration control, methodology and technical solution validity as well as scope, schedule, and budget alignment. Support external audits, from a technical/QA/manufacturability/testability perspective, to ensure vendors and partners possess the capability to perform assigned work and meet quality flow-downs.
Identify technical and/or implementation issues that may threaten X-energy's ability to deliver safe, efficient, manufacturable, constructable, operable, and maintainable project solutions. As appropriate, evaluate risks associated with alternatives; conduct independent analyses to scope, understand, and resolve risks; identify verification methods and recommend alternative techniques/solutions and mock-up development for project incorporation.
As directed, lead critical issue initiatives, tiger/high impact teams, and conduct alternatives assessments to ensure project risk is quantified, addressed, and mitigated. This may include leadership of key evaluations that cannot be addressed by a standalone X-energy organization (e.g., cross-functional, multi-disciplinary design issue) or must be addressed at a higher level of the organization. Drive these evaluation teams to successful issue resolution; document issue resolution through DITs, input to topical reports; define qualification/penalty tests; ensure changes are documented through the change control process.
In support of construction, SSCs under test, or operational systems, lead problem diagnosis and failure analysis; recommend corrective actions and resolution for customers on an as called upon basis for field changes or corrective maintenance. For time-sensitive or critical system builds and/or operations, lead ad-hoc teams to evaluate I&C telemetry data, inspection data, or test failures/non-conformances to determine cause(s) of performance/ operability defects; devise and recommend tests and inspections to verify the veracity of assessments; develop corrective actions, installation/replacement methods/techniques, and penalty/regression tests to verify post-rework quality and performance. Monitor development of non-conformance reports, corrective actions, test reports, and variations to operational procedures based on corrective action implementation.
Reports directly to VP of Engineering.
Maintain professional demeanor and behavior at all times in all forms of communication.
Perform other duties as necessary.

Benefits

X Energy, LLC offers a robust benefits package that includes a 401K plan with an employer match, Medical/Dental /Vision Insurance, Life and Disability Insurance, Paid Time Off, and a Tuition Reimbursement/Professional Development policy that supports the continuing education of our employees.

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