HFIR Neutronics Coordinator, Advanced Reactor Analyst and Methods Developer

Requisition Id 10312 

Purpose:

Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is seeking candidates for an R&D senior staff position (RP04) to support High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) in-vessel irradiation experiments and advanced reactor analyses in the Fusion and Fission Energy and Science Directorate (FFESD). HFIR is the highest flux reactor-based neutron source in the United States and is used for neutron scattering research, isotope production, and materials and fuels irradiation research. In-vessel irradiation experiments are conducted to produce radioisotopes for use in energy, industry, security, and medicine and to characterize and qualify materials and fuels for use in fission and fusion reactors. The Nuclear Energy and Fuel Cycle Division within FFESD is seeking a highly motivated and experienced neutronics analyst for a Neutronics Coordinator position who is also well-versed in code and methods development for fission and fusion research, and experience in working in a team environment, with collaboration across all scientific and technical levels, disciplines, and diverse cultural backgrounds. The successful candidate must have demonstrated strong organizational and communication skills.

The successful candidate will commit 50% of their time to the HFIR Neutronics Coordinator role with the rest of their time devoted to working with state-of-the-art modeling and simulation capabilities for lattice physics, reactor core, spent fuel, and fuel cycle and safeguards applications. These research duties will be achieved through leadership in the development of SCALE, the Virtual Environment for Reactor Applications (VERA), and other tools and workflows in collaboration with industry, national laboratories, and university researchers. ORNL has world-leading nuclear, radiological, and scientific facilities, including HFIR and world class super-computing capabilities, e.g., Summit and Frontier.

The successful candidate will be expected to seamlessly partner with internal and external collaborators to deliver technical leadership in established and new research areas in reactor physics and design. They will work with integrated multidisciplinary teams to provide relevant technical feedback and capabilities in a fast-paced environment.

Major Duties / Responsibilities:

• Develop scientific leadership in the design, optimization, and performance analysis of advanced reactor concepts.
• Interact effectively across organization structures with staff scientists and engineers and be an effective representative of ORNL and their research to sponsors and the professional community.
• Develop new reactor physics research proposals and conduct world-class research that is published in peer-reviewed journals.
• Serve as a role model for integrity and safety in the conduct of research, mentoring of early career staff, and engagement with scientific and professional societies.
• Coordinate between experiment designers, neutronics teams and HFIR staff on in-vessel irradiation experiment design and safety basis calculations.
• Coordinate with experiment team to obtain and organize post-irradiation examination data for methods validation.
• Support methods validation efforts to identify biases caused by modeling assumptions and nuclear data gaps.
• Develop and oversee a sustainable training program for staff who will perform HFIR neutronics calculations.
• Examine experiment designs with the goal of understanding and improving the designs, and HFIR’s use for the experiments.
• Track projects and experiments that are in the pipeline to identify staff and effort required to perform and review the neutronics calculations, and also provide feedback on analyses performed.
• Have a high-level understanding of all the HFIR experiments and the projects requiring support.
• Determine the scope of neutronics calculations to ensure compliance with HFIR procedures and safety bases.
• Learn and understand HFIR processes, workflows, and documentation requirements.
• Track HFIR models that need to be used for each calculation and create and maintain a standard set of reference HFIR models.
• Optimize workflow and standardize the data transfer between neutronics calculations and thermal design team.
• Perform other neutronics analyses in support of the HFIR HEU to LEU conversion program, HFIR capability and sustainability enhancements, advanced reactor deployment, and advanced reactor safeguards.
• Perform testing, validation, and development of software to support the deployment of state-of-the-art modeling and simulation capabilities for fission and fusion systems.

Basic Qualifications:

• The position requires a PhD in the scientific and engineering disciplines with more than 10 years of combined experience in areas such as reactor physics, reactor design, radiation transport analysis, and methods and code development.
• Knowledge of nuclear reactor analysis R&D is required, as demonstrated through research, and associated publications.
• Excellent interpersonal skills are required, including verbal, presentation, and writing skills, with ability to work in a diverse team environment.
• This position requires access to technology that is subject to export control requirements. Successful candidates must be qualified for such access without an export control license.
• Ability to obtain a Q-clearance.
• Must be sensitized to a nuclear safety culture, and the implementation and perpetuation of values and ethics.
• Familiarity with standard design software (e.g., SCALE, VERA, MCNP, ADVANTG, HFIRCON, OpenMC, Serpent) and reactor systems and concepts.
• Proficiency with SharePoint, Smartsheet, or other organizational/workflow software.
• Experience with organizing and ensuring training and procedures/workflows are followed.
• Familiarity and experience with research reactors and irradiation experiments is desired.
• Familiarity and experience with 10CFR830 Subparts A and B are desired.
• Demonstrate the ability to solve complex technical problems through creativity and balanced solutions.

Moving can be overwhelming and expensive. UT-Battelle offers a generous relocation package to ease the transition process. Domestic and international relocation assistance is available for certain positions. If invited to interview, be sure to ask your Recruiter (Talent Acquisition Partner) for details.

For more information about our benefits, working here, and living here, visit the “About” tab at jobs.ornl.gov.

This position will remain open for a minimum of 5 days after which it will close when a qualified candidate is identified and/or hired.

We accept Word (.doc, .docx), Adobe (unsecured .pdf), Rich Text Format (.rtf), and HTML (.htm, .html) up to 5MB in size. Resumes from third party vendors will not be accepted; these resumes will be deleted and the candidates submitted will not be considered for employment.

If you have trouble applying for a position, please email ORNLRecruiting@ornl.gov.

ORNL is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants, including individuals with disabilities and protected veterans, are encouraged to apply.  UT-Battelle is an E-Verify employer.