Senior Nuclear Safety Manager

The Opportunity

SRNL is one of the Department of Energy's premier national laboratories, delivering solutions critical to national security, nuclear materials management, and environmental stewardship. We are seeking a proven nuclear safety leader to serve as the Laboratory's institutional authority for nuclear safety programs.

This is not a back-office compliance role. You will sit at the leadership table, advise senior laboratory executives, serve as the primary voice to DOE/NNSA on nuclear safety matters, and directly influence the Laboratory's ability to execute high-consequence nuclear missions. If you've ever wanted a role where your technical judgment and leadership truly matter, this is it.

 

A Mission Portfolio That's Growing 

SRNL's mission is expanding across some of the most consequential challenges in the nuclear enterprise:

• Fusion Fuel Cycle Innovation — pioneering the science and safety frameworks for next-generation fusion fuel technologies
• Nuclear Deterrence & Nonproliferation — delivering solutions that directly support the nation's nuclear security posture
• Accelerated Plutonium Disposition — driving breakthroughs like H-Canyon glass-loading analysis that have already compressed disposition timelines by approximately two years, a major schedule acceleration for the Fast Critical Assembly Mission
• Nuclear Fuel Cycle & Isotopes — expanding the Laboratory's role in nuclear materials processing and isotope production
• Campus Modernization — advancing new infrastructure to support long-term growth, including new facilities that will require safety basis development from the ground up
• AI-Driven Innovation — including a $1.75M DOE "Mine of the Future" project and new CRADA partnerships applying artificial intelligence to accelerate research and decision-making
• Grid Resilience — growing the Laboratory's impact beyond traditional nuclear missions
• Environmental Cleanup & Restoration — applying cutting-edge tools including AI to one of the nation's most complex environmental challenges

 

This isn't a role where you maintain a static set of safety documents. You'll be developing new safety bases, solving first-of-a-kind nuclear safety challenges, guiding new facilities through startup, and shaping the safety posture of programs that don't fully exist yet. If you want to be challenged — and to build something that matters — this is where you need to be.

 

Why SRNL? Why This Role?

• Real Impact: Safeguard operations across Hazard Category 2 and 3 nuclear facilities supporting critical national security missions
• Institutional Authority: You own the nuclear safety programs — Safety Basis, Criticality Safety, and Nuclear Readiness & Startup
• Seat at the Table: Report directly to the Engineering Director/Chief Engineer with direct access to senior laboratory and federal leadership
• Dynamic Mission: Support a rapidly expanding portfolio spanning nuclear deterrence, fusion fuel cycles, plutonium disposition, isotope production, and campus modernization
• Career Stability: National laboratory employment with long-term mission permanence — no contract recompetes, no program uncertainty
• Build a Legacy: Mentor and develop the next generation of nuclear safety professionals
• Mission That Matters: Your work directly protects workers, the public, and the environment while enabling science and national security
   

What You'll Do

• Set the strategic direction for nuclear safety across the Laboratory
• Advise senior leadership on nuclear safety risk posture
• Drive safety culture transformation across the enterprise
• Lead a multidisciplinary team of nuclear safety analysts, criticality engineers, and readiness professionals
• Establish high technical standards and expectations for analytical rigor
• Mentor next-generation nuclear safety professionals

 

Own the Safety Basis

• Direct the development, revision, and maintenance of Documented Safety Analyses (DSAs) and Technical Safety Requirements (TSRs) under 10 CFR 830
• Lead safety basis strategy for new nuclear facilities and major modifications — including those driven by SRNL's expanding mission portfolio
• Ensure rigorous Unreviewed Safety Question (USQ) processes
• Maintain compliance with DOE-STD-3009 and related safety analysis standards

 

Champion Criticality Safety

• Provide executive oversight of the Nuclear Criticality Safety (NCS) program
• Ensure compliance with ANSI/ANS-8 standards and DOE O 420.1C requirements
• Maintain defensible criticality safety evaluations (CSEs) and controls
• Drive strong integration between operations, nuclear safety, and criticality safety engineering

 

Guide Readiness & Startup

• Oversee nuclear readiness reviews, management self-assessments, and DOE Readiness Assessments (RAs)
• Ensure readiness processes meet DOE O 425.1 requirements
• Provide independent evaluation of facility safety posture prior to startup or restart
• Guide facilities through startup following significant modifications or extended outages — a growing need as SRNL modernizes its campus and stands up new capabilities

 

Be the Face of Nuclear Safety

• Serve as the principal point of contact for DOE field offices on nuclear safety matters
• Support Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) interactions
• Deliver briefings to senior laboratory and federal leadership
• Ensure timely response to DOE findings, enforcement actions, and assessments
• Build and maintain DOE's confidence in SRNL's nuclear operations

What You Bring

 Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Nuclear Engineering, Physics, or related technical discipline (advanced degree preferred)
• 15+ years of experience in DOE nuclear facility operations or nuclear safety
• Deep expertise in:
  • 10 CFR 830 (Nuclear Safety Management)
  • DOE-STD-3009 safety analysis
  • USQ process implementation
  • Nuclear criticality safety
  • NQA-1 quality assurance
  • DOE O 425.1 readiness requirements
• Experience supporting DOE/NNSA oversight and regulatory interactions
• Proven leadership managing technical teams in high-hazard, highly regulated environments
• For ability to obtain and maintain a Q security clearance, US Citizenship is Legally Required

 

Preferred Qualifications:

• Advanced degree in Engineering, Nuclear Engineering, Physics, or related technical discipline
• Prior role as Nuclear Safety Manager, Chief Nuclear Safety Engineer, or equivalent
• Hazard Category 2 nuclear facility operations experience
• Direct experience with readiness and startup authorization
• Experience interacting with the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB)
• Demonstrated success leading safety culture transformation initiatives