Welding Engineer - Kairos Power

Job Summary 

Kairos Power is seeking a welding engineer to providing welding engineering support to the Design Engineering and Manufacturing teams. This individual must be interested in advancing their skills in mechanized welding and open to learning about nuclear plant quality and technical requirements. The welding engineer will work on the reactor vessel and associated components from design to fabrication and construction, with cost-effectiveness and ensuring compliance with project requirements. Project requirements include engineering performance (management of weld residual stress and distortion), State and Federal Regulatory compliance, applicable Construction Code compliance, QA/QC, cost and schedule. The role requires effective communication between the Engineering, Materials, and Fabrication teams during the transition from design to fabrication and eventual construction of non-nuclear and nuclear plant systems. 

Responsibilities

Cross-functional contributions:

• Participate in Design for Manufacturing (DfM) and Design for Inspectability (DfI) reviews of proposed engineering designs. Provide feedback to design engineers to improve designs towards reduced fabrication cost and improved in-service inspectability where needed
• Provide feedback from welders to design engineers regarding recommendations for improved manufacturability
• Work with design and weld teams to define scope and intent of specific development projects to align expectations and protect from scope creep

Fabrication contributions:

• Identify ways to reduce fabrication cost and schedule of fabricated components.
• Provide Subject Matter Expertise to the Manufacturing organization to identify optimal welding processes and procure welding equipment for component fabrication
• Operate machine welding equipment
• Work with procurement and manufacturing team to identify consumable and tool needs as they arise to keep projects on schedule
• Assist with training technicians and welders in the use of mechanized welding equipment

Contributions to Design Engineering:

• Contribute memos, guidelines and specifications to provide Subject Matter Expertise to the Design Engineering team with regards to effective design of weldments
• Provide guidance on appropriate weld callouts and symbols on design documentation
• Identify appropriate NDE techniques (RT, PT, UT, etc.) for weld joints and work with manufacturing team to apply those techniques and troubleshoot any non-conformances

Qualifications

• Bachelors or Masters degree in Welding Engineering, or equivalent degree with direct experience in Welding Engineering
• 1+ years experience in welding engineering
• Expert knowledge of the subject of welding engineering as it relates to heavy manufacturing applications.
• Experience with welding (manual and ideally machine welding) and Non-Destructive Examination techniques required
• Familiarity with corrosion, creep and other material degradation phenomena desired
• Experience with Nuclear Regulations, Codes & Standards preferred 
• Knowledge of ASME Boiler & Pressure Vessel Code Section VIII, Section III, Section IX and Section XI preferred
• Experience with stainless steel in high-temperature applications is a plus
• Proven team player with excellent verbal, written communication/presentation, and interpersonal skills
• Ability to work with highly collaborative team
• Ability to solve problems quickly and efficiently
• Prioritizes and ensures safety of one self and others
• Ability to proactively collect, manage and transfer knowledge
• Ability to seek different and novel ways to create efficiencies when working on problems, challenges and issues

Physical Conditions

• Ascending or descending ladders, stairs, scaffolding, ramps, scissor lifts, articulated boom lifts and the like
• Setting up and transferring temporary structures (e.g. scaffolding, ladders)
• Moving self in different positions to accomplish tasks in various environments including tight and confined spaces
• Remaining in a stationary position, often standing, or sitting for prolonged periods
• Moving about to accomplish tasks or moving from one worksite to another
• Adjusting, moving, transporting, installing, positioning, or removing objects up to 50 pounds in all directions
• Communicating with others to exchange information
• Operating motor vehicles, heavy equipment or machinery
• Use hand tools
• Repetitive assembly operations of manufacturing test fixtures and test setups in collaboration with engineering and manufacturing teams 

Environmental Conditions

• General office environment
• Outdoor environment or elements such as precipitation and wind 
• Noisy environments
• Odors or fumes from chemicals or chemical reactions
• Accessing the accuracy, neatness and thoroughness of the work assigned
• High-concentration, demanding and fast-paced

Safety and PPE

• Reading and interpreting hazardous warning signs
• Reporting issues with equipment or unsafe conditions
• Wearing proper PPE, to include face mask, face shields, gloves, safety shoes

Travel

• Some travel may be required, up to 10%

Additional Requirements

• Occasionally requires working weekends 
• Occasionally requires schedule flexibility
• Occasionally requires non-standard work-week hours
• Occasionally requires extended hours to support launch and critical project timelines