Nuclear Safety Analysis Engineer

About the role

Terrestrial Energy is seeking a Safety Analysis Engineer to join our team in Charlotte, North Carolina. This role is critical to demonstrating the safety characteristics of our Integral Molten Salt Reactor (IMSR) technology and supporting regulatory licensing activities. The successful candidate will perform comprehensive safety analyses, develop accident scenarios, and contribute to safety case documentation that demonstrates compliance with regulatory requirements and the inherent safety features of our advanced reactor design.

Responsibilities

• Safety Analysis
  • Perform deterministic and probabilistic safety analyses for the IMSR design
  • Develop and analyze Design Basis Accidents (DBAs) and Beyond Design Basis Accidents (BDBAs)
  • Conduct transient and accident analysis using thermal-hydraulic and neutronics codes
  • Evaluate plant response to Postulated Initiating Events
  • Assess the performance of Safety Systems and engineered safety features
  • Analyze dose consequences and radiological release scenarios
  • Perform sensitivity and uncertainty analyses
• Modeling and Simulation
  • Develop and validate computer models for safety analysis using industry-standard codes
  • Build thermal-hydraulic models of reactor systems and components
  • Perform single and coupled physics simulations
  • Validate models against experimental data and benchmarks
  • Document modeling assumptions, methodologies, and results
• Regulatory Support
  • Prepare safety analysis chapters for licensing documentation including Preliminary Safety Analysis Report (PSAR) and Final Safety Analysis Report (FSAR) for NRC/CNSC licensing
  • Develop DOE-required safety analyses including Preliminary Documented Safety Analysis (PDSA) and Documented Safety Analysis (DSA) in accordance with DOE-STD-3009
  • Highlight key safety decisions including target performance of structures, systems, and components (SSCs), safety system responses to normal and off-normal operations, and facility security considerations
  • Define classification rules and terminology for safety SSCs, including application of the hierarchy of controls and Defense in Depth principles to ensure safety
  • Perform analysis of most limiting potential dose consequences (e.g., unmitigated or Maximum Hypothetical Accident scenarios) to support Natural Phenomena Hazard (NPH) Natural Design Category (NDC) categorization
  • Support validity assessment of selected safety document format and content, applicability of SSC classifications, and other graded approaches
  • Support regulatory review processes and respond to technical questions from regulatory bodies (CNSC, NRC, DOE)
  • Ensure analyses comply with applicable regulatory requirements and guidance
  • Participate in regulatory meetings and technical discussions
  • Support development of technical specifications and operational limits
• Documentation and Reporting
  • Prepare detailed technical reports documenting analysis methodologies, assumptions, and results
  • Create clear visualizations and presentations of analysis results
  • Maintain comprehensive documentation of safety analysis activities
  • Contribute to technical publications and conference papers
  • Develop and maintain analysis procedures and quality assurance documentation
• Collaboration
  • Work closely with Physics, Thermal-Hydraulics, Systems Engineering, and Design Teams
  • Interface with external partners including national laboratories and consultants
  • Participate in design reviews and technical meetings
  • Support integrated safety assessments across multiple disciplines
  • Contribute to continuous improvement of safety analysis methods

Requirements

• Education
  • M.Sc. or Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, or related field; OR
  • B.Sc./B.Eng. with minimum 5 years of relevant nuclear safety analysis experience
• Experience
  • Minimum 3 years of experience in nuclear safety analysis or related field
  • Experience with safety analysis codes and methodologies
  • Knowledge of nuclear reactor safety principles and accident phenomena
  • Understanding of regulatory requirements for nuclear facilities
  • Experience with deterministic safety analysis
• Technical Skills
  • Proficiency with thermal-hydraulic analysis codes (Flownex, REPLAP5, or similar)
  • Knowledge of neutronics codes (MCNP, SCALE, Serpent, or similar)
  • Understanding of severe accident phenomena and analysis methods
  • Familiarity with probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) concepts
  • Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
  • Proficiency with technical computing tools (MATLAB, Python, or similar)
  • Experience with data analysis and visualization
• Professional Skills
  • Excellent technical writing and documentation skills
  • Strong attention to detail and commitment to quality
  • Ability to work independently and as part of a team
  • Effective communication skills for technical and non-technical audiences
  • Project management and time management capabilities
  • Critical thinking and ability to defend technical positions

Assets

• Experience with advanced reactor designs or Generation IV systems
• Familiarity with molten salt reactor technology and safety characteristics
• Experience with US NRC, US DOE, or Canadian CNSC licensing processes
• Knowledge of relevant regulatory guides and industry standards (NUREG, CSA, IAEA, DOE STD-1189, DOE-STD-3009, 10 CFR 830)
• Experience with severe accident analysis codes (MELCOR, MAAP, or similar)
• Background in probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) or probabilistic safety assessment (PSA)
• Experience with uncertainty quantification methods
• Knowledge of source term analysis and radiological consequence modeling
• Familiarity with quality assurance requirements for nuclear analysis (CSA N286.7, 10 CFR 50 Appendix B)
• Professional Engineer (P.Eng./P.E.) designation
• Publications in nuclear safety or reactor analysis

Benefits

• Extended Healthcare Plan (Medical, Disability, Dental & Vision), plus an additional Health Spending Account
• A vacation policy designed to support your work-life balance
• EAP Programs available to you and your family
• Wellness Subsidy
• Annual Performance Review
• Paid United Way Volunteer Days – A chance to give back!

Candidates must be legally authorized to work in the US without the need for sponsorship for employment visa status. The successful candidate must be able to access and use information subject to U.S. Export Control Laws, which mandate all citizenships (including Dual Citizenships) be from the U.S. Department of Energy’s List of Generally Authorized Countries (10 CFR Part 810 Appendix A) unless a specific authorization from the U.S. Department of Energy is obtained or unless you are a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, U.S. permanent resident, or protected individual under the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Act (8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3)).