Fuel Coating Engineer

About the role

Nano Nuclear Energy is seeking a Fuel Coating Engineer to lead the development and scale-up of high-temperature vapor-deposition processes used in advanced nuclear fuel fabrication. This is a hands-on opportunity to own critical coating technologies, solve complex materials challenges, and help advance processes from laboratory development toward production-ready manufacturing. Reporting to the VP of Fuels Technology, you will work directly with coating equipment, experimental campaigns, and process development while collaborating with fuel qualification, materials characterization, mechanical design, and controls teams.

• Technical ownership: Lead coating process development, equipment requirements, operating parameters, and scale-up decisions.
• Advanced materials technology: Work with TRISO particle coatings and silicon carbide (SiC) chemical vapor deposition (CVD).
• Hands-on engineering: Participate directly in laboratory and demonstration-facility coating campaigns, equipment commissioning, and troubleshooting.
• Manufacturing impact: Improve coating uniformity, material integrity, process reproducibility, and manufacturing yield.
• Cross-functional collaboration: Partner with engineering and qualification teams to develop processes and generate evidence supporting fuel qualification.

Responsibilities

• Develop and optimize coating processes for TRISO fuel particles, including pyrocarbon and SiC layers, as applicable to the fuel design.
• Develop SiC CVD processes for fuel pellets, controlling deposition conditions, coating thickness, uniformity, interfaces, and residual stress.
• Define requirements for coating furnaces, fluidized-bed coaters, CVD reactors, gas-delivery systems, and process-monitoring equipment.
• Execute coating campaigns, troubleshoot equipment and process issues, and evaluate coating characteristics and defects.
• Investigate cracking, delamination, porosity, nonuniform coatings, and other defects to improve process performance and reliability.
• Establish process controls and scale-up strategies to achieve repeatable coating results across laboratory and production-representative batches.
• Maintain technical records, process data, and material traceability while collaborating with fuel qualification teams on characterization and qualification requirements.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in materials science, chemical engineering, ceramic engineering, mechanical engineering, nuclear engineering, applied physics, or a related technical discipline.
• Experience developing or operating CVD, CVI, pyrocarbon, SiC, ceramic coating, semiconductor deposition, or comparable high-temperature vapor-deposition processes.
• Hands-on experience operating, commissioning, modifying, or troubleshooting coating or deposition equipment in a laboratory, pilot, or demonstration facility.
• Strong understanding of deposition kinetics, gas transport, surface reactions, heat and mass transfer, coating microstructure, interfaces, and defect mechanisms.
• Experience scaling coating processes while evaluating reactor geometry, gas distribution, thermal gradients, equipment loading, uniformity, and yield.
• Strong technical evaluation, experimental planning, troubleshooting, documentation, and cross-functional communication skills.

Preferred qualifications

• Advanced technical degree.
• Direct TRISO particle-coating experience, including fluidized-bed CVD and pyrocarbon or SiC deposition.
• Experience depositing dense SiC on ceramic components, FCM fuel forms, or ceramic-matrix composites.
• Familiarity with SiC precursor systems, reactive gases, vacuum equipment, and CVD furnace design.
• Experience with coated-particle fuels, HTGR fuel, fully ceramic microencapsulated fuel, or nuclear-grade SiC.
• Experience scaling coating technologies from R&D equipment to pilot or production manufacturing.
• Working knowledge of ASME NQA-1, nuclear material traceability, or configuration control.

Compensation & benefits

Hybrid work arrangement in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Relocation package available.

• Medical, dental, vision, and life insurance.
• 401(k) with up to 5% company match.
• Unlimited PTO, company holidays, and paid parental leave.
• Mentorship, technical leadership, and professional development opportunities.

Salary bands by level:

• E3 – Senior Engineer I: $110,000 – $160,000
• E4 – Senior Engineer II: $135,000 – $185,000
• E5 – Principal Engineer I: $160,000 – $215,000
• E6 – Principal Engineer II: $185,000 – $255,000