PWR Fuel Engineering Manager
Summary: Southern Nuclear Operating Company's Nuclear Fuel and Analysis Department supports the Southern Nuclear fleet in nuclear fuel, reload analysis, and reactor engineering. As a member of the leadership team, the PWR Fuel Engineering Manager will develop and manage a team of engineers responsible for fuel design, core loading strategies, and reload licensing for PWR units. This role involves delivering engineering products related to nuclear fuel and core design, core management, operational support, reload safety analysis, and reload licensing for six PWR nuclear units which include AP-1000 designs. The team also performs fuel performance evaluations and spent fuel characterization for long-term dry storage. This position offers a challenging and rewarding opportunity to provide strategic direction, staff development, and performance management to ensure effective delivery of engineering products and advancements in nuclear fuel innovations.
Major Job Responsibilities:
- Supervise assigned personnel, including training, coaching, development, and performance management.
- Provide technical direction for nuclear fuel and core designs, reactor core operations support, and reload licensing, including issuing nuclear assembly designs, cycle core designs, core loading plans, core monitoring model updates, and Core Operating Limits Reports with related safety evaluations.
- Oversee fuel performance and risk assessment of nuclear fuel and reactor core designs, including chemistry impacts on nuclear fuel and inspection planning.
- Manage spent nuclear fuel, including spent fuel pool management and selection and characterization of spent fuel for dry storage.
- Provide technical oversight of engineering deliverables from suppliers, including nuclear fuel fabricators.
- Support site Reactor Engineering organizations operationally.
- Engage with industry groups such as EPRI and PWROG.
Job Requirements:
Education:
- Bachelor of Science Degree in Engineering from an ABET accredited college (preferred) OR Professional Engineer (P.E.) license/certification required.
- Degree(s) in Nuclear Engineering is preferred but not required.
Experience:
- Eight or more years of experience in fuel design, core design, fuel performance, or fuel characterization with demonstrated in-depth knowledge of and proficiency in nuclear fuel codes.
- Knowledge of nuclear and thermal-hydraulic engineering analyses.
- Knowledge of nuclear fuel-related FSAR and Technical Specifications and site procedures for fuel-related operational support.
- Knowledge of fuel engineering industry experience, including operation of nuclear fuel, problems encountered, trends in innovations, and new product implementations.
- Experience in fuel engineering applications of reload design, safety analysis, or reactor engineering is desired.
Skills and Behavioral Attributes:
- Demonstrates Our Values (Safety First, Intentional Inclusion, Act with Integrity, and Superior Performance)
- Ability to lead, motivate, and develop employees as future leaders, attract top candidates, and shape high-performing teams.
- Team player with a collaborative approach to cultivate solutions for the benefit of Southern Nuclear and the nuclear industry.
- Recognized as an outstanding people leader with the ability to delegate responsibility while building excellent and high-performing teams.
- Ability to lead and develop through change and be recognized as a change agent.
- Strong analytical and thinking skills to understand and provide solutions to a wide array of technical problems associated with nuclear fuel engineering.
- Outstanding credibility and ability to build excellent relationships within the company, industry, and with vendors/suppliers.
- High level of written and verbal communication skills and interpersonal skills to relate precise technical recommendations and issues with others within the Southern Nuclear fleet, regulatory agencies, nuclear fuel suppliers, other utility personnel, and various technical industry organizations.
Southern Nuclear , a subsidiary of Southern Company (NYSE: SO), is a leader among the nation’s nuclear energy facility operators and an innovator in advanced nuclear technologies. Southern Nuclear is an essential part of Southern Company’s energy portfolio, operating over 8,200 MW across eight nuclear energy units in Alabama and Georgia at the Joseph M. Farley Nuclear Plant near Dothan, Ala., the Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Plant near Baxley, Ga., and the Alvin W. Vogtle Electric Generating Plant near Waynesboro, Ga.
The company recently achieved commercial operation on Vogtle Units 3&4, representing an historic achievement for the nuclear industry and the country. Vogtle Units 3&4 are the first new nuclear units to reach commercial operation and be built in the United States in the last three decades. Southern Nuclear is a recognized leader in the industry in nuclear and fuel innovation, having been the first to deploy Accident Tolerant Fuels and winning over 10 consecutive Top Innovative Practice (TIP) Awards and eight EPRI awards.
For more than 40 years, Southern Nuclear has operated nuclear energy facilities at the highest levels of safety and reliability, generating carbon-free electricity for millions of homes and businesses. The company’s headquarters is in Birmingham, Ala.
Twitter: @SouthernNuclear; Facebook: facebook.com/southernnuclear; www.southernnuclear.com
Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is a leading energy provider serving 9 million residential and commercial customers across the Southeast and beyond through its family of companies. Providing clean, safe, reliable and affordable energy with excellent service is our mission. The company has electric operating companies in three states, natural gas distribution companies in four states, a competitive generation company, a leading distributed energy infrastructure company with national capabilities, a fiber optics network, and telecommunications services. Through an industry-leading commitment to innovation, resilience, and sustainability, we are taking action to meet our customers’ and communities’ needs while advancing our commitment to net zero emissions by 2050. Our uncompromising values ensure we put the needs of those we serve at the center of everything we do and are the key to our sustained success. We are transforming energy into economic, environmental and social progress for tomorrow. Our corporate culture and hiring practices have earned the company national awards and recognition from numerous organizations, including Forbes, Military Times, DiversityInc, Black Enterprise, J.D. Power, Fortune, Human Rights Campaign and more. To learn more, visit www.southerncompany.com .
Southern Company invests in the well-being of its employees and their families through a comprehensive total rewards strategy that includes competitive base salary, annual incentive awards for eligible employees and health, welfare and retirement benefits designed to support physical, financial, and emotional/social well-being. This position may also be eligible for additional compensation, such as an incentive program, with the amount of any bonus/awards subject to the terms and conditions of the applicable incentive plan(s). A summary of the benefits offered for this position can be found here https://seo.nlx.org/southernco/pdf/SOCO-Benefits.pdf . Additional and specific details about total compensation and benefits will also be provided during the hiring process.
Southern Company is an equal opportunity employer where an applicant's qualifications are considered without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other basis prohibited by law.
Job Identification: 11312
Job Category: Engineering
Job Schedule: Full time
Company: Southern Nuclear
