Principal Nuclear Instrumentation & Controls Engineer – Hardware

The posting, as Valar Atomics wrote it

About Valar Atomics

At Valar Atomics, we're redefining what's possible in energy. Our mission is to make clean, high-temperature nuclear power scalable—unlocking abundant energy for industry, hydrogen, and next-generation manufacturing. We are a team of builders, engineers, and operators who believe nuclear energy should be fast to deploy, factory-made, and built for the real world. Our first pilot plant in Orangeville, Utah will demonstrate how advanced nuclear systems and fuel fabrication can power the future. Joining Valar Atomics means becoming part of a company where autonomy, ownership, and impact exist at every level.

The Team

You will be joining Valar Atomics' Instrumentation, Control & Electrical (IC&E) organization, working on the Reactor side of the program. Nuclear I&C Hardware Engineers own the instruments that measure the reactor itself neutron flux across startup, intermediate, and power ranges, core and primary loop temperatures and pressures, and radiation levels throughout the plant along with the signal chains that carry those measurements to the protection and control systems. You will work alongside I&C, electrical, reactor physics, thermal-hydraulics, and nuclear safety engineers in a hands-on environment where measurement quality directly supports reactor safety. As a principal engineer, you will be among the discipline's most senior technical voices: an architect of its measurement systems, a final checker of its highest-consequence work, and a standard-setter for the engineers who will build their careers here. The team values technical depth, disciplined documentation, and a safety-first culture.

The Role

Valar Atomics is seeking Principal Nuclear I&C Engineers to own the technical direction of nuclear instrumentation plant design for our high temperature gas-cooled reactor program. The role spans the full domain neutron flux detection, radiation monitoring, reactor protection system sensors and signal chains, and process instrumentation in nuclear service, but at the level of measurement architecture, application and qualification strategy, and design authority rather than routine design execution. The focus is the application of vendor-supplied instrumentation in plant design, not instrument or detector development. This is a principal position: you will define the reactor measurement architecture and instrumentation application strategy for a first-of-a-kind reactor, hold final technical approval within assigned domains for safety-significant instrumentation designs and qualification bases, direct the resolution of the hardest measurement application problems in the program, represent the discipline in licensing and regulatory engagements, and build the engineering capability of the organization around you. Where a Staff Engineer owns the discipline's design bases and quality, the Principal Engineer owns where the discipline is going.

Key Responsibilities

Measurement Architecture and Technical Strategy

[…]
ld.

• Direct experience with NRC licensing interactions, safety analysis instrumentation content, or defense of instrumentation design bases before a regulator.
• Experience defining instrumentation strategy for first-of-a-kind, advanced, or test reactors, particularly high-temperature gas-cooled or other non-LWR designs.
• Experience applying instrumentation in advanced, test, or first-of-a-kind reactor plant designs, including harsh-environment installations, MI cable systems, and vessel or containment penetration interfaces.
• Setpoint and uncertainty methodology expertise (ISA-67.04 or equivalent) at a methodology-ownership level.
• Participation in IEEE NPEC, IEC SC45A, or equivalent standards development.
• Working experience under NQA-1 / 10 CFR 50 Appendix B quality programs at a program-governance level.

What We Offer

• Competitive base salary
• Equity ownership in a rapidly growing advanced energy company
• Comprehensive medical benefits
• Unlimited PTO
• Free daily lunch and dinner provided onsite
• Generous PPE stipend
• High-impact startup environment with significant ownership and autonomy
• Opportunities for rapid career growth and internal advancement
• Direct collaboration with experienced operators, engineers, and industry leaders
• The opportunity to help build and scale transformative energy technology from the ground up

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

Valar Atomics is an equal opportunity employer. We consider all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other protected status under applicable law.

We are committed to providing a workplace free of discrimination and harassment and will provide reasonable accommodation as required by law.

Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States as a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident (green card holder).
Salary
$196,000 — $240,000 USD