Director of Nuclear Engineering

Responsibilities

• Build, lead, and grow the Nuclear Engineering Department, including hiring, onboarding, mentoring, and performance development of engineering staff.
• Develop career paths and technical leadership pipelines for nuclear engineers while fostering a culture of technical rigor, collaboration, safety, and continuous improvement.
• Establish, document, and maintain nuclear engineering standards, methods, and best practices across concept development, design, testing, and operations.
• Define and maintain the nuclear design basis for Xcimer facilities and programs, ensuring assumptions, analyses, and requirements support performance, safety, and regulatory objectives.
• Partner with Program Directors and Managers to ensure nuclear engineering activities are appropriately scoped, resourced, prioritized, and scheduled.
• Identify nuclear engineering risks early and collaborate cross-functionally to develop and implement mitigation strategies.
• Ensure disciplined execution of core nuclear engineering activities, including radiation transport and shielding analysis, activation analysis, source term definition, uncertainty analysis, and support for radiological safety and hazards analysis.
• Collaborate closely with Systems Engineering, Facilities, Test, Operations, ES&H, and peer engineering departments to integrate nuclear engineering considerations into system architectures, facility designs, and operational procedures.
• Define and execute a long-term roadmap for nuclear engineering capability growth, including external partnerships with national laboratories, academic institutions, and industry collaborators.
• Represent Xcimer in technical forums and within the broader nuclear engineering community to build technical credibility and attract top-tier talent.

Qualifications

• Education: Advanced degree in Nuclear Engineering or closely related technical field; PhD strongly preferred.
• Experience: 15+ years of experience in nuclear engineering, including senior technical leadership responsibilities.
• Demonstrated experience building, mentoring, and leading high-performing technical teams.
• Strong foundation in radiation physics, nuclear engineering fundamentals, and analytical methods.
• Experience with deterministic and Monte Carlo neutron/photon transport methods.
• Experience using nuclear engineering analysis tools such as MCNP, OpenMC, or equivalent software.
• Experience planning and managing technical work, including schedules, budgets, and performance metrics.
• Experience operating effectively within matrix organizations and multidisciplinary technical environments.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to communicate complex technical concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. permanent resident (current Green Card holder), or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum.

Desired

• Experience within fusion energy, high-radiation facilities, or other advanced energy systems.
• Experience collaborating with national laboratories, universities, or large multi-institution technical programs.
• Experience establishing engineering standards and improving technical rigor across organizations.
• Publication record or recognized technical leadership within the nuclear engineering community.