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Salary: USD 121,000 - 143,000 / annual
The Nuclear Company is a Series A AI-enabled startup pioneering fleet-scale nuclear reactor development. This Senior QA Engineer role is foundational to the company's quality infrastructure, with two distinct phases:
**Phase 1: NQA-1 Program Build-Out (Near-term)**
You will author and develop Tier-3 implementing procedures across all departments—Procurement & Supply Chain, PMO, Engineering, Quality, Regulatory Affairs, Construction Management, Nuclear Deployment, Testing & Start-Up, Training, and corporate functions. Working cross-functionally with subject-matter experts, you will translate each organization's scope into issued procedures, drive them through multi-reviewer approval chains, and maintain audit-ready documentation. You will also support the Quality Assurance Program Description (QAPD), phased QA plans for Services and BOO projects, and JV support.
**Phase 2: Inspection & Test Engineering (As field work begins)**
You will review inspection and test procedures and acceptance criteria for nuclear systems and components; verify design outputs meet specified requirements. You will identify inspection requirements and applicable codes/standards with references, extract acceptance criteria from design with quantitative limits and tolerances, and set witness and hold points in inspection and test plans.
**Key Responsibilities:**
- Generate NQA-1 program cross-functionally; author and develop Tier-3 implementing procedures with every TNC department through SME input, cross-functional review, and approval
- Author or provide SME input to procedures, records, and technical documents in assigned discipline
- Review inspection and test procedures and acceptance criteria for nuclear systems and components; verify design outputs meet specified requirements
- Identify inspection requirements and applicable codes and standards with references; extract acceptance criteria from design with quantitative limits, specific values, and tolerances
- Set witness and hold points in inspection and test plans
- Support QAPD and parent-suite artifacts maintained audit-ready, and phased QA plans for Services, BOO project development, and JV support
- Identify and report conditions adverse to quality promptly through the CAP; feed procedure-production status and quality metrics into QA metrics pack and CNO performance-indicator set
- Maintain personal qualifications, training, and certifications current
The role reports to the Senior Manager of Quality and carries the independence the work demands—including stop-work authority and direct access to the Chief Nuclear Officer. This is a mid-career opportunity to help write the quality program a fleet-scale nuclear company will operate under.
The Nuclear Company operates with an AI-first mindset; every employee is expected to leverage AI, technology, and the Nuclear Operating System (NOS) as integral components of their role to improve quality, speed, and impact of work.
**Requirements:**
- Bachelor's degree in an engineering discipline, OR 10+ years field experience in the discipline
- 3+ years working under ASME NQA-1 and/or 10 CFR 50 Appendix B programs, with demonstrated procedure development—has authored implementing procedures that survived review and implementation
- Proficient in applicable codes and standards for assigned scope (e.g., ASME NQA-1; ASME Section III/V/IX, ACI 318, AISC 360, IEEE/ISA series as applicable)
- Strong technical writing and cross-functional coordination—can pull SME input from any department and drive a document through a multi-reviewer approval chain on schedule
- Ability to qualify to governing TNC procedures
**Preferred Experience:**
- Nuclear new-build, construction, or commissioning experience (AP1000, SMR/MMR, or other first-of-a-kind programs)
- Discipline depth in civil/structural, mechanical, electrical, or NDE with associated code sets (ACI/AISC, ASME Section III/V/IX, IEEE/ISA, SNT-TC-1A / CP-189)
- ASQ CQE or CQA; auditor training or audit-team participation
- Experience developing procedures in a startup or program build-out environment; EDMS and document-control workflow fluency
- Familiarity with ISO 9001 / ISO 19443; metrics and dashboard tools (Excel, Power BI)
Note: NQA-1 Lead Auditor certification is not required—audit execution is provided through a contracted, qualified audit service. Discipline depth (civil, mechanical, electrical, or NDE) shapes assigned scope as the role transitions to inspection and test engineering.
