Description
Design, analyze, and support the safe, efficient operation of nuclear reactors, applying reactor physics, thermal-hydraulics, and safety principles to core design, fuel management, operations, and regulatory compliance.
- • Analyze reactor core performance, neutronics, and thermal-hydraulics to meet safety and efficiency goals.
- • Design reload cores, fuel loading patterns, and reactivity control strategies.
- • Develop and validate reactor physics models, methods, and simulation tools.
- • Plan and evaluate startup physics tests, surveillance, and calibrations.
- • Monitor reactor parameters and trends to detect anomalies and ensure technical specification compliance.
- • Investigate reactor transients and events to determine root causes and corrective actions.
- • Recommend operating limits, setpoints, and procedural changes based on analyses.
- • Prepare safety analyses, design-basis calculations, and licensing submittals.
- • Support operations during startups, shutdowns, power maneuvers, and refueling outages.
- • Review and approve changes to reactor systems, instrumentation, and controls for safety impact.
- • Specify and assess nuclear fuel performance, burnup, and cycle economics.
- • Track core follow data and reconcile predicted versus measured core behavior.
- • Develop and maintain operating procedures and test instructions for reactor systems.
- • Conduct acceptance testing and validations for reactor equipment and analysis software.
- • Ensure compliance with NRC regulations, technical specifications, and industry standards.
- • Interface with vendors, contractors, and regulators on reactor engineering matters.
- • Lead or support probabilistic risk and accident analyses to enhance safety margins.
- • Contribute to emergency preparedness and determine conditions for power reduction or shutdown.
- • Stay current with advances in reactor technology, materials, codes, and standards.
- • Prepare technical reports, presentations, and recommendations for plant management.
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Energy & Natural Resources
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Tasks & skills:
O*NET occupational data (work activities, skills, knowledge).
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This site includes information from O*NET by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. Career Clutch has modified some of this information for student readability. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Last reviewed: Jan 2026
