Principal Reactor Engineer

Job Title: Principal Reactor Engineer

Posting Date: 16 Sept 2025

Requisition ID: 2838

Company: NAWAH

Location: Barakah

Posting Status: Active Recruitment

Job Purpose

Guide the reactor engineering responsibilities throughout the planning, execution of core management activities, core design and reactivity management for the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP). Implement the plans of fuel handling, inspection, and storing as per the regulatory requirements, operating policies and principles, nuclear standards for nuclear safety, industrial safety, and environmental protection, to ensure overall business performance objectives are achieved.

Key Activities, Responsibility & Accountability

Activity:

Reactor Engineering (RE)

Responsibilities And Accountabilities:

• Carry out reactor design changes, and support the ownership and maintenance of the design basis, margin management, design process, configuration management process and output documents
• Perform technical support and troubleshooting, as the Subject Matter Expert (SME), of Core Protection Calculator (CPC)/ Core Operating Limit Supervisory System (COLSS) to maintain safe and reliable operations.
• Guide the review and evaluation of Low Power Physics Test (LPPT) and Power Ascension Test (PAT) results and analyze actionable recommendations related to results.
• Provide guidance to Main Control Room (MCR) operators during startup, shutdown, and power evolutions to ensure safe operations.
• Ensure core reactivity change and estimate cycle scheme and recommendations that may related to results.
• Develop Reactivity Management (RM) strategies and plans for planned power evolution, such as plant startups, shutdowns and transients.
• Analyze each unit's core performance data and liaise with Fuel designer to reflect in core design and safety analysis for upcoming cycles.
• Study and analyze the Reload Safety and Licensing Checklist (RSLC) and Reload Safety Evaluation Report (RSER) to recommend any necessary safety improvements.
• Guide the verification and validation (V&V) of fuel vendor delivered core design including reload safety evaluation assessment to ensure alignment with standards.
• Participate in core Loading Pattern (LP) initialization meeting and provide recommendation on final core LP to ensure an optimized reload cycle
• Review and implemented recommendations for the revision of Nuclear Design Report (NDR) and operation support documents delivered by fuel vendor to ensure documentation is accurate and relevant.
• Evaluate risks of reload core design to provide independent recommendations.
• Evaluate the sensitivity of In-Core neutron Instrumentation (ICI) and degradation of Control Element Assemblies (CEA) to maintain safe operations.
• Oversee development of surveillance calculation for vessel fluence to establish the standard to be used.
• Liaise with Licensing to resolve Request for Additional Information (RAI) and Areas for Improvement (AFIs)
• Develop and apply technical solutions, often which require original and creative approaches and strong analytical and technical expertise, to resolve potential issues.
• Adhere to industrial codes and standards as well as department practices and procedures to maintain compliance.
  
  

Fuel Management (FM)

Responsibilities And Accountabilities:

• Lead both new and spent fuel inspection and resolve any identified issues during inspections to ensure integrity and safety.
• Lead the implementation of plan for fuel receipt, fuel loading, fuel handling related action, and receiving NSA (Neutron Source Assembly) and troubleshooting technical issues during the campaign.
• Lead the development of core loading sequence based on reload core loading pattern to ensure operational and safety excellence.
• Oversee fuel fabrication process to validate alignment with operational standards.
• Guide the preparation, update and facilitation of Failed Fuel Action Plan to close current and prevent future issues.
• Oversee Foreign Material Exclusion (FME) activities in Fuel Handling Area (FHA) to secure fuel integrity.
  
  

Responsibilities & Accountabilities (contd.)

Fuel Integrity Monitoring

Responsibilities And Accountabilities:

• Guide the analysis of fuel reliability, especially radioactivity of reactor coolant system in order to predict fuel defects, number of defects, defect pattern and defective fuel region in case of fuel failure to ensure alignment with performance and safety parameters.
  
  

Staff Training and Qualification

Responsibilities And Accountabilities:

• Participate in training to equip necessary technical knowledge and skills.
• Oversee development, preparation, and Just-In-Time (JIT) training regarding initial criticality, LPPT, and PAT
• Provide training feedback on program effectiveness with evaluation of operator performance to improve quality of staff training.
  
  

The incumbent is expected to perform standard activities as per attachments 4 & 5 in the Job Description procedure (relating to Health, Safety and Environment, Security and Business Continuity, People Management, Excellence and Quality Management

Professional Certifications

Minimum

N/A

Preferred

• APPU-RE-SPEC-QC-3006 Initial Criticality & Low Power Physics Test.
• APPU-RE-SPEC-QC-3007 Power Ascension Test.
• APPU-RE-SPEC-QC-3009 Support Reactivity Control.
• APPU-RE-SPEC-QC-3010 Reload Core Design.
• APPU-ESPIT-QC-2003 Reactor Engineer.
• APPU-RE-SPEC-QC-3008 Core Monitoring Equipment Operability Check.
  
  

Qualifications

Minimum

• Bachelors Degree or Diploma (or Equivalent) Degree in Engineering or related Science.
• 8 years of relevant experience, out of which:
• 1 year of Nuclear Power Plant engineering experience.
  
  

Preferred

• Master's Degree in Nuclear Engineering or Physics with 15 years of relevant experience.
• APR-1400, OPR-1000, or similar type plant experience.