Chief Engineer, Nuclear Applications

$140,940 - $252,293/Yr

General Atomics - San Diego, CA

Part-time,Full-time - Senior

San Diego, CA

Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services

About the position

The Chief Engineer, Nuclear Applications at General Atomics is a pivotal role that involves leading and managing Firm-Fixed-Price nuclear programs within the Nuclear Technologies and Materials (NTM) Division. This position requires a highly experienced technical individual who can effectively coordinate with various teams to ensure the successful execution of engineering projects. The Chief Engineer will be responsible for overseeing the technical efforts to complete programs, achieving program goals in collaboration with the Program Manager, and ensuring that all technical resource needs are defined and met. This includes managing a cross-functional engineering team, executing program plans in accordance with cost, schedule, production, and performance commitments, and providing technical leadership in product design and development. In this role, the Chief Engineer will represent the project team's efforts to the engineering functional organization and Program Manager, providing regular updates to the Program Management Office and senior leadership. The position requires strong communication skills to interact with engineering professionals, solution users, and management throughout the solution development cycle. The Chief Engineer will also be responsible for organizing all engineering work to support the program Integrated Master Schedule (IMS) and budget, leading the development of engineering inputs to the program IMS, and ensuring that engineering tasks are completed on time and within budget. The successful candidate will have a deep understanding of systems engineering processes, including the flow down of system requirements and the interaction of system and subsystem requirements. They will also be responsible for evaluating the integration of engineering solutions within the overall engineering environment, ensuring that appropriate documentation, testing, maintenance, and engineering updates are completed in accordance with best practices. The Chief Engineer will lead the engineering product development process through major program milestone reviews and support the development and execution of test plans, guiding the integration, verification, validation, and documentation of requirements throughout the system development cycle. This role is critical in fulfilling contract commitments and resolving technical contract issues that may arise during the program.

Responsibilities

• Lead the technical effort to complete a program and achieve program goals in association with the Program Manager.
• Accountable for aggregate technical team, engineering plan and execution, and performance to plan.
• Ensure that program technical resource needs are defined and met by working with functional organizations to identify and secure appropriate staffing.
• Manage resource needs and lead engineering activities for a cross-functional engineering team.
• Execute program plans to conform to cost, schedule, production, and performance commitments.
• Provide technical leadership in product design, development, and improvement programs in concert with Program Management.
• Represent the project team's efforts to the engineering functional organization and Program Manager.
• Provide regular updates to the Program Management Office and senior leadership.
• Communicate with engineering professionals, solution users, and management throughout the solution development cycle.
• Present engineering work products in periodic and milestone reviews to senior staff and customers.
• Organize all engineering work to support the program Integrated Master Schedule (IMS) and budget per the Program Management Plan (PMP).
• Assist in the management and execution of the IMS.
• Lead development of engineering inputs to program IMS.
• Work with Program Manager/scheduler to update engineering manpower estimation.
• Accountable for engineering tasks, budget, schedule, and performance.
• Work with team technical leads to track and report engineering progress.
• Responsible for the execution and implementation of engineering processes: design, development, integration, test and performance verification.
• Evaluate the integration of the engineering solution within the overall engineering environment; ensure that appropriate documentation, testing, maintenance, and engineering updates are completed in accordance with Systems Engineering best practices.
• Lead the engineering product development process through major program milestone reviews (SRR, PDR, CDR, TRR, etc).
• Support development of interface control documents, software requirement specifications, performance specifications, presentations and review test plans/procedures.
• Support the development and execution of test plans and guide the integration, verification, validation, and documentation of requirements through the system development cycle.
• Keep comprehensive notes/records, provide formal documentation following established processes and make technical presentations, as required.
• Work with functional engineering leads to develop Basis of Estimates for engineering support to programs.

Requirements

• Typically requires a bachelor's degree, master's degree or PhD in engineering or a related technical discipline from an accredited institution and progressive technical experience as follows; twelve or more years of experience with a bachelor's degree, ten or more years of experience with a master's degree, or seven or more years with a PhD.
• An Engineering degree is preferred, though a Science degree may be accepted with appropriate experience.
• Demonstrates broad technical expertise and application of engineering principles, concepts, theory, and practice with the ability to organize, plan, schedule, conduct, and coordinate workloads to meet established deadlines or milestones, with significant experience in program leadership.
• Requires strong skills in management, program management, leadership, communication, systems engineering, and engineering technical disciplines.
• Expertise or significant experience in at least one engineering technical discipline or domain is required. Examples: nuclear plant design, nuclear plant operations, research reactor design or operations, nuclear reactor control systems design or development, etc.
• Detailed knowledge and understanding of systems engineering processes, flow down of system requirements, system architecture and the interaction of system and subsystem requirements.
• Detailed knowledge and understanding of system verification and validation to ensure the final products conform to the stated requirements.
• Experience with contractual documents -- understand and apply statement of work requirements, familiarize stakeholders with contract and organization requirements.

Nice-to-haves

• Knowledge of DOE and NRC regulations and program approval processes.
• Experience with test and/or research reactor design, construction, operation and/or management.
• Familiarity/working relationships with national laboratories (especially Sandia National Laboratories, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Idaho National Laboratory).
• Familiarity with Training, Research, Isotopes, General Atomics (TRIGA) reactors.
• Detailed working knowledge of PLM/Windchill.
• Knowledge/experience with Requirements Management Systems, support requirements, lifecycle planning and integration for DOD systems is desired.
• Strong computer skills (e.g., Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Project) are required.
• Familiarity with earned value management systems.
• Familiarity with DOE Order 413.3b, Program and Project Management for the Acquisition of Capital Assets.

Benefits

• Healthcare
• Pension, 401(k)/Retirement Plans
• Competitive Pay
• Multiple product lines means a variety of work
• Paid Time Off