Nuclear Engineer - Reactor Physics

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Competitive salary
• Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Paid time off
• Savings bank
• Stock options plan
• Vision insurance
• Wellness resources

Position Summary

AMPERA is seeking a Nuclear Engineer to join its Reactor Physics team and support the development of our advanced reactor technology. Reporting to the Manager of Reactor Physics, you will contribute to reactor core design, reactor physics calculations, and radiation transport analyses in highly collaborative environment.

This position is suited to a recent nuclear engineering graduate with a strong theoretical foundation, hands-on experience with computational analysis, and an interest in applying modern software and AI tools to engineering problems. The successful candidate will translate physical problems into computational models, evaluate results critically, and contribute to tools and methods that improve reactor design and analysis.

Key Responsibilities

• Perform reactor physics and core design calculations, including assessments of reactivity, neutron flux and power distributions, depletion, and fuel-cycle behavior.

• Evaluate reactor design and fuel management strategies.

• Develop and evaluate radiation transport models supporting shielding and related design analyses.

• Write and maintain scripts to prepare models, execute calculations, process results, and compare design options.

• Apply numerical methods, optimization techniques, and AI-assisted tools to support design studies and improve analysis efficiency, with appropriate verification of code and results.

• Contribute to model and code verification and validation through benchmark comparisons, independent checks, and documented testing.

• Support sensitivity studies and uncertainty assessments to understand the factors that influence design performance.

• Prepare clear, traceable calculation records and technical documentation supporting design decisions, safety analyses, and licensing activities.

• Collaborate with other engineering disciplines and support testing and technology-demonstration activities as needed.

• Follow applicable engineering quality requirements and contribute to a strong nuclear safety culture.

Minimum Qualifications

• MS/PhD degree in Nuclear Engineering

• Strong theoretical foundation in reactor physics, transport theory, and numerical methods.

• Hands-on experience with at least one reactor physics or radiation transport code, such as OpenMC, MCNP, or SCALE, through coursework, research, internships, or projects.

• Programming experience in Python or another scientific computing language, including writing scripts for numerical analysis and data processing.

• Ability to explain modeling assumptions, assess whether results are physically reasonable, and investigate discrepancies.

• Familiarity with AI-assisted coding or analysis tools, including the ability to review, test, and independently verify generated outputs.

• Clear written and verbal communication and the ability to work effectively within a collaborative engineering team.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with reactor depletion calculations, fuel-cycle analysis, shielding, or advanced reactor concepts.

• Experience applying optimization algorithms, sensitivity analysis, or uncertainty quantification to engineering problems.

• Exposure to machine learning or surrogate modeling for design exploration and optimization.

• Experience organizing reproducible computational studies using version control, automated testing, and documented analysis procedures.

• Familiarity with Linux environments, parallel computing, or high-performance computing.

• Understanding of the interactions between reactor physics, thermal hydraulics, and reactor safety.

Base salary dependent upon level of education