Chemistry and Radiological Controls Lead

Job Description

Job Description

Our Mission Is Simple: Democratize Access To Clean Energy

Welcome to BlueCore Energy! We are on a relentless mission to democratize access to clean energy . By designing and building advanced floating Pressurized Water Reactors (PWRs) on barges right here in Long Beach, CA, we are bringing scalable, clean, and reliable power to the world. Joining our team means getting in on the ground floor of a revolution in marine small modular reactors (SMRs). If you are passionate, driven, and ready to tackle some of the most exciting challenges of our time, we want you on our team!

Our Values

• Humility — We hold strong opinions loosely, say "I don't know," ask for help early, and let the best idea win regardless of who it came from.

• Inclusivity — The best engineering comes from many perspectives. We build a team where everyone is heard, and we mean it.

• Pragmatism — We solve the real problem in front of us, reuse what already works, and value a tested answer over an elegant one.

About the Role

The Chemistry and Radiological Controls Lead will build the foundational water chemistry and radiation protection programs for Nautilus, BlueCore's flagship floating nuclear power plant. Sitting across the Certification and Operations Departments, this role operates as a hybrid corrosion engineer, water chemist, health physicist, and licensing contributor. You will write the chemistry and radiological controls programs from a blank page, driving material selection for all wetted surfaces, designing sampling and chemical addition systems, and establishing the monitoring infrastructure. On the radiological side, you will develop source terms, shielding inputs, marine-specific rad waste processing systems, and the comprehensive radiation protection program required for licensing. You will tackle unprecedented engineering challenges for a commercial barge-mounted PWR utilizing seawater as the ultimate heat sink—navigating severe space and weight constraints and overlapping NRC, EPA, USCG, and port authority regulations—ultimately setting the fleet-wide standards for our global deployments.

Responsibilities  

• Own the design of primary, secondary, and condensate chemistry programs, including water chemistry regime selection, chemical addition systems, and end-to-end sampling system architectures.

• Drive material selection for all fluid systems in coordination with mechanical and reactor engineering, specifying alloys for the primary pressure boundary, steam generator tubing, condenser tubing, and auxiliary systems.

• Design the plant's sampling and monitoring architecture, selecting online analyzers and laying out grab sample stations to support chemistry surveillance with a lean operating crew.

• Develop bulk chemical storage, delivery, and makeup water systems optimized for a barge-based platform, accounting for marine resupply logistics, weight, and footprint constraints.

• Author and support the chemistry and radiological controls sections of the DOE safety basis (DSA, TSRs) and NRC license application (specifically FSAR Chapters 5, 9, 11, and 12).

• Design liquid and gaseous radioactive waste processing systems tailored to a marine platform, ensuring holdup, treatment, and discharge pathways satisfy both NRC effluent limits and local port authority requirements.

• Build the complete radiation protection program, driving ALARA design reviews and establishing procedures for personnel dosimetry, contamination control, radiological posting, respiratory protection, and RWPs.

• Coordinate cross-functionally with reactor engineering, mechanical design, operations, and licensing teams to ensure chemistry and radiological requirements are embedded into the plant design from day one.

Required Qualifications & Skills

• Bachelor's degree or higher in Chemical Engineering, Health Physics, Nuclear Engineering, Chemistry, or a closely related technical field.

• Deep expertise in nuclear plant chemistry, corrosion engineering, or radiochemistry, coupled with a solid working knowledge of radiation protection principles.

• Demonstrated ability to make and defend first-principles material selection decisions for nuclear fluid systems, with the ability to articulate exactly why a specific alloy or chemical strategy is chosen and what fails if applied incorrectly.

• Strong technical writing ability, with experience producing rigorous documentation suitable for safety bases and regulatory submittals.

• Willingness and ability to travel to vendor facilities, NRC headquarters, national laboratories, and port locations for technical coordination and regulatory engagement.

Desired Qualifications & Skills

• Professional experience holding both chemistry and Radiation Protection (RP) roles, or a background in environments where these functions heavily overlap (e.g., naval nuclear propulsion, research reactors, or SMR development).

• Prior experience scaling chemistry or radiological programs for first-of-a-kind engineering projects or novel reactor designs.

• Familiarity navigating multi-agency regulatory frameworks (NRC, EPA, USCG) in marine or industrial environments.

Working at BlueCore Energy

On-Site Requirement: Our team works together at our Long Beach facility, right next to our barge. 

 

Highly Cross-Functional: Startups move fast! You must possess the ability to seamlessly collaborate across multiple teams to rapidly solve problems and keep production moving.

 

Physical & Machinery Requirements: Because we are a hands-on startup, this role may require the ability to perform physical labor, navigate active construction/manufacturing zones, and/or operate heavy machinery and specialized manufacturing equipment as needed.