Nuclear Program Project Manager
Position Summary
The Nuclear Program Project Manager is responsible for managing complex fabrication projects performed under nuclear quality requirements, including ASME NQA-1, customer nuclear quality assurance programs, safety-related requirements, commercial-grade dedication requirements, nuclear procurement requirements, and project-specific quality plans. This role focuses on fabrication work in highly controlled quality environments where documentation, traceability, procurement control, inspection coordination, configuration management, corrective action, and final records turnover are critical to successful project execution.
Essential Functions
Manage assigned nuclear and nuclear-adjacent fabrication projects from contract award through final records turnover and closeout.
Develop and maintain project work plans addressing scope, schedule, budget, procurement, fabrication sequencing, inspection requirements, documentation requirements, customer hold points, delivery milestones, and closeout obligations.
Cook up internal execution with Engineering, Detailing, Procurement, Shop Operations, QA/QC, Nuclear Quality, Coatings, EHS, Logistics, Accounting, and Executive Management.
Identify project risks, develop mitigation plans, and notify management of issues affecting schedule, cost, quality, safety, documentation, compliance, delivery, or customer satisfaction.
Prepare and maintain project controls, including status reports, schedule updates, open issue logs, risk logs, budget updates, document status reports, quality action items, and forecast-at-completion reporting.
NQA-1 and Nuclear Quality Program Responsibilities
Manage projects performed under ASME NQA-1, customer nuclear quality assurance program requirements, safety-related requirements, or project-specific nuclear quality plans.
Ensure project activities comply with approved procedures, contract documents, quality assurance requirements, inspection/test plans, procurement controls, document control requirements, and customer specifications.
Coordinate with QA/QC and Nuclear Quality to ensure compliance with requirements for quality planning, inspection, testing, supplier control, material traceability, document control, nonconformance control, corrective action, calibration, records management, and final documentation packages.
Support customer audits, source inspections, surveillances, quality reviews, corrective action responses, and project-specific quality meetings.
Ensure nuclear quality records are properly generated, reviewed, retained, and submitted in accordance with project, customer, and program requirements.
Complex Fabrication Responsibilities
Manage complex fabrication involving structural steel, plate fabrication, heavy weldments, supports, frames, tanks, platforms, skids, modules, embedments, lifting devices, access systems, specialty assemblies, and other fabricated items requiring high levels of quality control and documentation.
Coordinate project requirements involving engineering drawings, shop drawings, customer specifications, welding procedures, NDE, dimensional inspection, coatings, testing, packaging, preservation, shipping, and final acceptance.
Resolve technical, quality, drawing, material, fabrication, documentation, and customer-driven issues with Engineering, QA/QC, Nuclear Quality, Procurement, production teams, suppliers, subcontractors, and customer representatives.
Maintain configuration control throughout the project lifecycle, including drawing revisions, approved submittals, customer comments, field changes, NCRs, deviations, corrective actions, and final as-built documentation.
Communication Management
Serve as the primary point of contact for the customer and manage customer expectations throughout the project lifecycle.
Maintain clear communication with customers, vendors, subcontractors, internal departments, inspectors, auditors, engineers, and management regarding project status, open issues, required decisions, quality requirements, documentation status, and potential impacts.
Conduct or participate in project kickoff meetings, internal coordination meetings, production meetings, customer meetings, quality meetings, audit meetings, and issue-resolution meetings.
Contract, Scope, Change, and Configuration Management
Review and understand project contracts, scopes of work, drawings, specifications, schedules, terms and conditions, quality assurance requirements, inspection requirements, documentation requirements, and customer flow-down requirements.
Manage contract compliance, including scope control, customer notifications, submittals, reporting requirements, schedule obligations, quality deliverables, documentation requirements, and contractual correspondence.
Prepare, track, and manage RFIs, submittals, change orders, potential change orders, notices, deviation requests, nonconformance impacts, customer comments, and project correspondence.
Ensure work does not proceed outside the approved contract scope or approved technical requirements without appropriate customer and management approval of cost, schedule, quality, documentation, and contractual impacts.
Maintain organized project records in accordance with company procedures, nuclear quality requirements, customer records requirements, and final turnover obligations.
Budget, Cost, and Invoicing Management
Understand and utilize company job cost reporting structures and project management software tools.
Manage project budgets, cost trends, committed costs, projected costs, and forecast-at-completion reporting.
Provide accurate project information to support invoicing, billing milestones, retainage requirements, documentation-based payment milestones, cash recovery, and accounts receivable collection efforts.
Work with Accounting and management to ensure project financial performance is accurately tracked and aligned with contract terms.
Procurement, Supplier, and Subcontractor Management
Manage procurement activities for materials, subcontracted services, specialty fabrication, machining, coatings, testing, inspection services, transportation, packaging, preservation, and other project-specific needs.
Cook up with Procurement, QA/QC, and Nuclear Quality to ensure purchase orders include required technical, quality, documentation, inspection, source surveillance, traceability, right-of-access, and records requirements.
Review supplier and subcontractor deliverables for schedule impact, technical compliance, quality requirements, documentation requirements, nuclear quality flow-down compliance, and project risk.
Ensure purchased materials and subcontracted services satisfy project requirements, including supplier qualification requirements, approved supplier list requirements, material traceability, certified material test reports, inspection records, testing requirements, and customer documentation requirements.
Support supplier and subcontractor issue resolution involving late deliveries, documentation deficiencies, material discrepancies, inspection failures, nonconformances, corrective actions, and customer concerns.
Quality and Safety Support and Enforcement
Work with QA/QC, Nuclear Quality, and production teams to ensure fabrication procedures, nuclear quality procedures, inspection/test plans, welding procedures, NDE requirements, coating requirements, dimensional control requirements, material traceability requirements, and customer inspection requirements are followed.
Support resolution of nonconformance reports, corrective actions, root cause evaluations, procedure qualification issues, inspection issues, documentation deficiencies, and final release requirements.
Ensure final documentation packages are complete, accurate, reviewed, and submitted in accordance with contract, customer, and nuclear quality program requirements.
Qualifications
Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Construction Management, Business, Quality Management, or related field preferred; equivalent experience will be considered.
10+ years of experience in project management, complex fabrication, steel fabrication, industrial fabrication, nuclear fabrication, or highly regulated manufacturing preferred.
Direct experience managing projects under ASME NQA-1, nuclear quality assurance programs, safety-related fabrication requirements, commercial-grade dedication requirements, or customer nuclear quality requirements strongly preferred.
Experience with complex fabrication, welding, procurement control, supplier quality, inspection coordination, document control, records turnover, and configuration management required.
Experience supporting nuclear customer audits, source inspections, surveillance activities, corrective actions, nonconformance resolution, and final documentation packages preferred.
Experience managing supplier and subcontractor quality requirements, including purchase order flow-downs, approved supplier requirements, inspection points, material traceability, documentation review, and records acceptance preferred.
Familiarity with AWS D1.1, AISC requirements, ASME requirements, NQA-1 program elements, commercial-grade dedication concepts, and customer-specific nuclear quality requirements preferred.
Strong leadership, communication, organization, documentation, problem-solving, risk management, and client management skills required.
Project Management Professional certification, NQA-1 training, lead auditor training, nuclear quality training, or equivalent certification preferred.
Reporting
Reports to the Director of Project Management, Nuclear Program Director, or designated executive leader. Works closely with Project Managers, QA/QC, Nuclear Quality, and other relevant departments.