About the Role

BlueCore Energy is hiring a Safety Integration Lead to perform and direct the nuclear safety analysis for our 45 MWt floating Pressurized Water Reactor at the Port of Long Beach, the first commercial maritime nuclear plant ever submitted to the NRC for licensing. This is a hands-on, full-time technical role: you will run thermal-hydraulic and severe accident codes (RELAP5-3D, MELCOR, GOTHIC), build and quantify PRA models in SAPHIRE or equivalent tools, author safety analysis reports and PRA documentation for the Part 50 license application, and prepare the DOE safety submittals (NSDA, PDSA, DSA) for the critical test reactor and zero-power physics testing (ZPPT) program. You will engage NRC reviewers in pre-application meetings, defend analytical positions, and help shape the regulatory framework for an entirely new class of floating nuclear plants. This role carries significant autonomy: you own the safety analysis from code input decks through final licensing submittals.

Responsibilities

Safety Analysis Strategy & Execution: Define the overall safety analysis approach for the Part 50 license application, selecting the deterministic and probabilistic methods, codes, and data sources for each element of the licensing case, and lead the execution of that strategy, performing key analyses directly and coordinating inputs from the broader engineering team.

Probabilistic Risk Assessment: Build and quantify the PRA model in SAPHIRE, CAFTA, or RiskSpectrum for the first commercial maritime nuclear PRA ever submitted to the NRC. Develop event trees and fault trees, identify and quantify initiating events, perform importance and sensitivity analyses, classify SSCs, and evaluate defense-in-depth. Author the PRA documentation for the license application.

Deterministic Safety Analysis: Run thermal-hydraulic and severe accident codes (RELAP5-3D, MELCOR, GOTHIC) to perform the Chapter 15 transient and accident analyses for the Part 50 license application. Develop input decks, execute design-basis and beyond-design-basis calculations, interpret results, and author the safety analysis reports for each design phase.

DOE Critical Test Reactor Safety Submittals: Lead preparation of the Nuclear Safety Design Assessment (NSDA), Preliminary Documented Safety Analysis (PDSA), and Documented Safety Analysis (DSA) for the critical test reactor and zero-power physics testing (ZPPT) program under DOE 10 CFR 830. Coordinate hazard identification, accident analysis, and controls selection for the DOE authorization basis.

RELAP5-3D Maritime Environment Modeling: Set up and run RELAP5-3D models that capture the maritime operating environment: dynamic vessel motion, seawater cooling boundary conditions, barge inclination transients, and coupled thermal-hydraulic/reactor kinetics behavior unique to a moored floating reactor. Validate model results against design requirements and iterate with reactor and naval architecture teams.

Hazard Analysis: Perform hazard analyses and quantify initiating event frequencies for hazards with no commercial nuclear precedent: ship collision, hull breach flooding, dynamic vessel inclination, maritime fire. Collect and adapt data from marine casualty databases (IMO, USCG MISLE, BSEE offshore data) for a moored nuclear facility, and author the hazard analysis documentation for the license application.

Emergency Planning Zone Sizing: Perform EPZ sizing analysis, running source term calculations, atmospheric dispersion models, and maritime-specific release pathway analyses to determine the appropriate EPZ methodology and boundaries for a floating reactor at a port facility. Author the EPZ technical basis document.

Regulatory Engagement: Work directly with NRC reviewers in pre-application meetings to defend novel analytical positions and shape the licensing framework for an entire class of floating nuclear plants. Prepare and support responses to requests for additional information (RAIs).

Required Qualifications & Skills

Bachelor’s degree or higher in Nuclear Engineering, Reliability Engineering, or a related technical field, or equivalent hands-on experience.