Associate Materials Engineer

Location: Brunswick Nuclear Plant, Southport, NC

This Associate Materials Engineer will primarily be responsible for the evaluation and resolution of materials and coatings issues during both the selection (design) phase and as a result of plant component failures at the Progress Energy Brunswick Nuclear Station. The position will support the Engineering Material Programs group within the Brunswick Engineering Support Section (BESS).

Employee will initially work under the guidance of qualified site personnel (e.g., qualified materials, design and system engineers) and assist in the following responsibilities:

---Perform technical reviews (Materials Eng & Coatings) of a variety of engineering products
---Provide materials engineering support for activities associated with Procurement Engineering (alternate material evaluations) and Maintenance (corrosion-related Work Orders).
---Manage the Safety-Related Coatings Program which involves condition assessments of coating degradation discovered during refueling outages inside primary containment, and keep current on industry issues regarding ECCS suction strainer blockage from a coatings perspective.
---Support the ASME Code Section XI, IWE/IWL program manager on primary containment liner corrosion and coatings degradation issues.
---Coordinate failure analyses (with internal or external laboratories) when requested by system engineers, Maintenance or management. Support root cause investigations of component failures due to corrosion of metals, metal fatigue, polymer degradation, coatings degradation, etc.
---Stay current on industry material degradation issues through Operating Experience (OE) reports and ensure they are factored into plant programs, as applicable.
----Assume duties as a qualified Materials Engineer and Coatings program manager within 2 years, as appropriate.  In addition, it is desirable to become qualifed Engineering Change (EC) modification engineer and a member of the Emergency Response Organization (ERO) within 3 years of employment.

Position requirements:
---BS Degree in Materials Engineering preferred.  BS degree in engineering required.
---Demonstrated written and verbal communication skills and a working knowledge of computer systems (Word, Access, Excel, etc.) are required.

This position will require occasional travel for industry group participation, and possible opportunities to support outages at the other Progress Energy plants as a Shared Resource.

Other Skills and Abilities:
---Basic understanding of materials degradation mechanisms (e.g., galvanic corrosion, stress corrosion cracking, fatigue, fracture toughness reduction, radiation & aging effects on polymers, etc.) and mitigation strategies.
---Ability to develop a higher level understanding of material issues and evaluation tools including fracture mechanics, structural integrity, NDE methods for detecting degradation, crack growth rates, etc..
---Excellent verbal communication skills are required for this position; the candidate must be capable and effective in communicating technical information concisely to engineers, operations & maintenance personnel, management, regulatory agencies, and external suppliers.
---Excellent interpersonal skills are required, as the candidate will need to work closely with peers from other plants, Progress Energy's metallurgy/materials laboratory, the Chief Engineering Section (corporate), suppliers and other outside experts.
---Excellent presentation skills are recommended. Presentations are routinely developed and delivered to site and NGG management, industry committees, and peers with the Engineering Support Personnel training program.
---Excellent written communications skills in order to develop recommendations, presentations, white papers, engineering documents, etc.

Basic qualifications:
Entry level for a Bachelor's degree in Engineering from an ABET or equivalently accredited school.  Works under general supervision, performing tasks that are routine in nature.  Has knowledge of fundamental concepts and procedures of a particular field of specialization.

Note: This position may be filled at a higher level if candidate qualifications are warranted.

Progress Energy's mission is to provide a safe, secure working environment for personnel in the plants. The selected candidate will be required to obtain U.S. Nuclear Power Plant Unescorted Access and will participate in the company's Fitness-for-Duty Program. Candidates may also be required to maintain qualifications and on-call responsibilities in support of the plant Emergency Response Organization.  In order to obtain unescorted access, the selected candidate will be required to complete a Personal History Questionnaire (PHQ).  Information from this form will be used to conduct an extensive background investigation as required by Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations.  It is unlikely you will be granted access if (1) you have had a positive drug or alcohol test within the past five years, (2) you have used or possessed drugs in the past five years, (3) you have a felony conviction in the past five years, (4) you have recent misdemeanor convictions, (5) you falsify or omit information or fail to fully cooperate during the investigation process.  This list is not inclusive.

 

*** For immediate consideration, please apply online at the Progress Energy website: