Fuel Development Engineer

Standard Nuclear is fueling America’s nuclear renaissance at industrial scale. Our mission is to deliver the essential building blocks of nuclear power—enabling cost-effective, safe, and secure energy for the world.

The Nuclear Fuel Development Engineer supports Standard Nuclear’s fuel development and manufacturing programs by providing engineering and design support for current and upcoming fuel and fuel-related manufacturing projects. This role contributes to the development of equipment, tooling, fabrication methods, characterization workflows, and manufacturing processes used to advance nuclear fuel production capabilities.

This is a hands-on technical role suited for an engineer with experience or strong interest in fuel development, advanced manufacturing, materials processing, mechanical design, process development, fabrication support, or characterization. The Nuclear Fuel Development Engineer will support project execution from concept development through design, fabrication, testing, troubleshooting, and manufacturing readiness.

The role requires strong technical fundamentals, practical engineering judgment, disciplined documentation, and the ability to work closely with fuel development, manufacturing, engineering, characterization, quality, EH&S, radiological controls, and external vendors in a regulated nuclear fuel fabrication environment.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Fuel Development & Engineering Support

Support engineering activities for advanced nuclear fuel development and fuel-related manufacturing projects

Develop and refine equipment concepts, tooling, fixtures, fabrication methods, and process support systems

Assist with planning and execution of process trials, technical demonstrations, test campaigns, and manufacturing readiness activities

Evaluate equipment performance, material behavior, fabrication constraints, and process results to improve repeatability and product consistency

Help identify technical risks, process limitations, and opportunities to improve yield, throughput, reliability, or manufacturability

Equipment Design & Fabrication Support

Support design, fabrication, installation, testing, and improvement of equipment, tooling, fixtures, and production support hardware

Create and review drawings, models, layouts, specifications, and technical requirements for manufacturing and development equipment

Work with internal teams and external vendors to source, fabricate, modify, and implement components, tooling, and equipment

Provide engineering support during equipment trials, troubleshooting, startup, and process development activities

Ensure designs and fabrication methods support safe operation, practical manufacturing, maintainability, and scalability

Manufacturing Development & Process Integration

Work with fuel development and manufacturing teams to translate technical requirements into practical production methods and procedures

Support development of process flows, material movement plans, characterization workflows, and manufacturing readiness activities

Assist with optimization of fabrication methods, equipment setup, product handling, and process execution

Coordinate with technicians, operators, engineers, and quality personnel to support hands-on execution of development and manufacturing work

Support root cause investigations and corrective actions related to equipment performance, process variation, material issues, or product quality concerns

Characterization, Testing & Technical Evaluation

Coordinate with characterization and quality teams to evaluate material properties, product attributes, inspection results, and process outcomes

Review and analyze data from process runs, equipment trials, inspections, measurements, and characterization activities

Use technical data to identify trends, assess performance, and support engineering decision-making

Prepare technical summaries, test reports, process records, and data packages

Support continuous improvement of test methods, documentation practices, and technical workflows as programs mature

Documentation, Quality & Cross-Functional Collaboration

Develop and maintain engineering documentation including drawings, specifications, test plans, procedures, work instructions, process records, reports, and change documentation

Communicate technical status, risks, open issues, and recommended actions clearly to project and technical stakeholders

Participate in design reviews, technical reviews, project planning, troubleshooting, and readiness activities

Ensure work is documented clearly, accurately, and in accordance with company requirements

Follow applicable safety, radiological, quality, environmental, and operational requirements

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Nuclear Engineering, Materials Science, Chemical Engineering, Ceramic Engineering, or a related technical discipline

3–6 years of experience in fuel development, advanced manufacturing, equipment design, process development, materials processing, fabrication support, or related technical work preferred

Hands-on experience in laboratory, pilot, manufacturing, fabrication, or regulated technical environments

Experience supporting equipment design, tooling, fixtures, test campaigns, process troubleshooting, or manufacturing scale-up

Familiarity with advanced materials, ceramics, powders, fuel materials, thermal processing, characterization, or precision manufacturing is preferred

Ability to analyze technical data and develop clear conclusions from process, test, inspection, or characterization results

Strong technical documentation skills, including drawings, specifications, procedures, test plans, reports, or controlled documentation

Ability to work cross-functionally with engineers, technicians, operators, quality personnel, safety teams, and external vendors

Experience with ERP, MRP, procurement, or inventory management systems; NetSuite or similar systems preferred

Strong Excel and data analysis skills

Strong attention to detail and commitment to safety, quality, and procedural compliance

Experience in nuclear, DOE, NRC, national laboratory, aerospace, defense, chemical processing, energy, or other regulated environments is a plus

BENEFITS

Health, Dental & Vision Insurance

Health Savings Account

Disability and Life Insurance

401K Plan

Paid Time Off, Holidays

WORK ENVIRONMENT

This role is based on-site at Standard Nuclear’s Oak Ridge, TN nuclear fuel fabrication facility and involves work across office, laboratory, manufacturing, and controlled environments.

The position requires regular interaction with fuel development, engineering, manufacturing, characterization, quality, EH&S, radiological controls, maintenance, vendors, and technical teams. Work may involve laboratory activities, manufacturing equipment, fabrication support, characterization activities, controlled areas, and use of required PPE. Adherence to site safety, quality, radiological, environmental, and operational procedures is expected.

Standard Nuclear embraces equal opportunity and is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability, or any other legally protected status.

To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.