System One is seeking candidates to be considered for a
Nuclear Safeguards Engineer long-term remote contract job opportunity.
Our client's Molten Chloride Fast Reactor (MCFR) project is commercializing the technology to operate a fast-spectrum, chloride salt cooled molten salt reactor. Our client and its partners are building on the foundation of the MCFR technology development program, including chloride salt separate effects tests, the MCFR Integrated Effects Test (IET), and the progress on the Molten Chloride Reactor Experiment (MCRE) project.
The material fuel form and operational modes of a fast-spectrum, molten salt reactor, such as the MCFR, are outside the basis of established safeguards approaches. The material in a MCFR plant is continuously flowing and continuously changing composition due to breeding, depletion, and fuel salt polishing. Traditional item counting is not possible for MCFR reactors because the fuel salt is not quantized in discrete form. Addressing these inherent challenges and leveraging new opportunities are important parts of the development of domestic and international safeguards and non-proliferation approaches for the MCFR technology.
Responsibilities:
- Identify potential safeguards and non-proliferation challenges for an MCFR plant
- Develop and evaluate safeguards and non-proliferation strategies to ensure that nuclear material is not being diverted from MCFR plants and that the plants are not being misused to produce undeclared nuclear material
- Conduct background research considering beneficial emerging scientific and technical capabilities and approaches for safeguards and non-proliferation in MCFR plants
- Help to create the next generation of safeguards concepts, instrumentation and technologies to minimize risks associated with advanced reactors, such as the MCFR
- Integrate safeguards-by-design (SBD) and security by design (SeBD) into early-stage design and operational thinking for the MCFR demonstration reactor
- Advocate for safeguards and non-proliferation requirements and constraints in MCFR design activities
- Advise and educate MCFR team members about safeguards and non-proliferation considerations in plant design
- Develop a consensus for novel safeguards and non-proliferation strategies for MCFR plant applications. This includes working closely with stakeholders across the MCFR consortium and domestic and international stakeholders (e.g. DOE NNSA, IAEA, and NRC)
- Engage safeguards- and non-proliferation authorities to ensure they are aware of the MCFR design and reconcile any recommendations from such authorities
- Grow a multi-disciplinary team to develop the safeguards and non-proliferation strategies for MCFR technology
Key Qualifications and Skills:
- Bachelors degree in engineering, science, or related fields with 2 years of meaningful experience; Masters or higher in engineering, science or nuclear non-proliferation related fields with 5 years of meaningful experience is preferred.
- Ability to apply existing and new safeguards and non-proliferation methodologies and approaches to a novel application
- Familiarity with domestic and international safeguards
- Familiarity with material balance areas (MBA) and Materials Control and Accounting (MC&A) programs
- Familiarity with safeguards for bulk handling facilities
- Familiarity with existing approaches to enhance proliferation resistance of the nuclear fuel cycle
- The successful candidate will possess a high degree of trust and integrity, communicate openly and display respect and a desire to foster teamwork
- Experience in working in multi-disciplinary engineering teams to address engineering challenges
- Actual position starting level and title will be determined based on assessment of qualifications
- On-site arrangement is preferred, but remote work will be considered based on candidate assessment
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