System Engineer

The TerraPower Isotopes® (TPI™) division has been established to pursue medical isotopes development--advancing nuclear science for significant human health benefits. We seek to support revolutionary radiotherapies for treatments of various cancers through the supply of radioisotopes. TerraPower currently has unique access to a supply of thorium for the long-term production of actinium-225 in the growing alpha therapy market and intends to expand into other nuclear related medical treatments.

The TerraPower Isotopes program is an integral part of the Washington State based TerraPower team, a company working to raise living standards globally. In 2006, the company originated with Bill Gates and a group of like-minded visionaries who evaluated the fundamental challenges to raising living standards around the world. TerraPower’s mission is to be a world leader in new nuclear technologies, while developing innovators and future leaders in the nuclear field.

TPI is seeking to hire highly motivated and forward-thinking professionals who are interested in focusing on advanced radiopharmaceutical applications and influencing change within nuclear medicine. TerraPower is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate in hiring on the basis of sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, religious creed, national origin, physical or mental disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law. 

Systems Engineer – TPI
TerraPower Isotopes (TPI) is seeking a Systems Engineer to support the development and delivery of systems and facilities for the Alpha2, Alpha5, and/or Alpha30 projects. This position will coordinate the technical definition, integration, and verification of assigned systems throughout their lifecycle, from requirements development and conceptual design through commissioning and operational turnover.
The Systems Engineer will work across engineering disciplines, project management, Quality, Operations, and external partners to ensure assigned systems meet their intended functions and integrate effectively with the broader facility. This role will maintain requirements, system boundaries, interfaces, design bases, and configuration information, while supporting technical reviews, engineering change control, and resolution of cross-functional issues.

Responsibilities
System Definition and Requirements Management
•    Develop and maintain requirements for assigned systems, translating stakeholder needs, process objectives, and applicable constraints into clear, measurable, and verifiable engineering requirements.
•    Allocate requirements to subsystems and equipment in coordination with engineering discipline leads and responsible design engineers.
•    Maintain traceability among requirements, design outputs, and verification evidence.
•    Develop and maintain system descriptions, functional breakdowns, system boundaries, operating modes, and design bases.
•    Identify and document assumptions, constraints, and unresolved technical questions; coordinate their resolution as the design matures.
•    Evaluate requirements for completeness, consistency, and feasibility, identifying gaps or conflicts early.

Technical Integration and Interface Management
•    Serve as the technical integration point for assigned systems, coordinating contributions from process, mechanical, electrical, instrumentation and controls, nuclear containment, and facility engineering.
•    Define and maintain interfaces between systems, equipment, utilities, facility infrastructure, and digital and control systems.
•    Develop interface documentation and coordinate agreement on interface requirements, responsibilities, and acceptance criteria.
•    Work with Operations, maintenance, Quality, and safety stakeholders to incorporate operational, maintainability, and lifecycle needs into system design.
•    Coordinate technical inputs from external engineering firms and equipment suppliers, ensuring their deliverables align with system requirements and interface expectations.
•    Identify cross-disciplinary issues and drive them toward resolution, escalating decisions to the appropriate technical authority when needed.

Design Development and Technical Reviews
•    Coordinate system-level engineering deliverables and support their development in alignment with project schedules and design maturity expectations.
•    Review design documents, specifications, drawings, and supplier submittals for consistency with system requirements, design bases, and interfaces.
•    Support technical trade studies and document alternatives, evaluation criteria, recommendations, and decision rationale.
•    Prepare for and participate in design reviews, assess system readiness, and track review comments and actions to closure.
•    Support hazard analyses, failure modes and effects analyses, and other technical risk assessments with the appropriate subject matter experts.
•    Identify and communicate technical risks, design gaps, and integration concerns that could affect system performance or project delivery.

Configuration and Change Management
•    Maintain the technical baseline for assigned systems in accordance with TPI’s engineering procedures.
•    Keep requirements, system descriptions, interface records, and other controlled engineering information current as designs evolve.
•    Initiate and evaluate engineering changes, coordinating assessments of impacts on requirements, safety, quality, interfaces, operations, cost, and schedule.
•    Support change reviews and obtain approvals through established processes before implementing controlled changes.
•    Coordinate incorporation of approved changes into affected engineering documents, models, specifications, and supplier deliverables.
•    Support configuration checks and resolution of discrepancies among approved designs, installed equipment, and turnover records.

Verification, Validation, and Operational Readiness
•    Develop and maintain verification plans identifying how requirements will be demonstrated through inspection, analysis, demonstration, or testing.
•    Coordinate verification responsibilities and acceptance criteria with design engineers, suppliers, and commissioning and qualification teams.
•    Review verification results and maintain evidence of requirements satisfaction, tracking deficiencies and outstanding items to closure.
•    Support validation activities to confirm systems meet intended user needs and operating conditions.
•    Provide engineering support during procurement, fabrication, installation, testing, commissioning, and qualification.
•    Support turnover to Operations by ensuring system documentation, configuration information, and unresolved technical items are accurately captured and communicated.

Engineering Processes and Collaboration
•    Apply TPI’s systems engineering, configuration management, and engineering change control procedures consistently.
•    Provide practical feedback on procedures and tools, identifying opportunities to improve clarity, efficiency, and technical rigor.
•    Maintain engineering information in approved requirements management, document management, and modeling tools.
•    Support the Project Management Office by providing technical scope, activity dependencies, progress updates, and resource needs for assigned work.
•    Capture lessons learned and share relevant solutions across TPI projects.

Required Qualifications
•    Bachelor’s degree in engineering or a closely related technical discipline.
•    At least 5 years of relevant engineering experience involving complex equipment, multidisciplinary systems, or facilities.
•    Experience developing or managing engineering requirements, system interfaces, and technical documentation.
•    Understanding of systems engineering principles, including functional analysis, requirements traceability, configuration management, and verification and validation.
•    Ability to interpret engineering drawings, specifications, and technical analyses and assess their consistency with system-level requirements.
•    Experience coordinating technical work across engineering disciplines and resolving issues involving multiple stakeholders.
•    Strong analytical, organizational, and written communication skills.
•    Ability to manage multiple priorities, track actions to closure, and communicate technical risks and decisions clearly.
•    Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively while taking ownership of assigned technical scope.

Preferred Qualifications
•    Experience in radiopharmaceutical, pharmaceutical, nuclear, chemical processing, or other highly regulated engineering environments.
•    Experience supporting projects from concept and design through procurement, construction, commissioning, and operational turnover.
•    Familiarity with process equipment, hot cells or containment systems, facility utilities, and automation and control systems.
•    Familiarity with cGMP environments and the interfaces between engineering, Quality, and commissioning, qualification, and validation.
•    Experience with engineering change control, technical baseline management, and supplier documentation reviews.
•    Experience with requirements management platforms and model-based systems engineering tools and methods.
•    Experience supporting technical risk assessments, hazard analyses, or failure modes and effects analyses.
•    INCOSE certification or comparable systems engineering training.

Job Functions:

Job Functions are physical actions and/or working conditions associated with the position. These functions may also constitute essential functions for the job which the employee must be able to fulfill, with or without accommodation.  Information provided below is to help describe the job so that the applicant has a reasonable understanding of the job duties/expectations.  An applicant's ability to perform and/or tolerate these actions and conditions will be discussed and workplace accommodations may be made on a case-by-case basis following an individualized assessment of the applicant and other considerations, including but not limited to any governing safety standards.

• Motor Abilities: Sitting for extended periods, bending/stooping, grasping/gripping, fine motor control (hands)
• Physical exertion and/or requirements: Minimal, with ability to safely lift up to 25 pounds.
• Repetitive work: Prolonged
• Special Senses: Visual and audio focused work
• Work Conditions: Stairs, typing/keyboard, standard and/or sitting working environment of >8 hours/day
• Travel required 0-10%

 

TerraPower Isotopes' technology is controlled for export by various agencies of the U.S. Government.  TerraPower Isotopes must evaluate applicants who are foreign nationals (other than asylees, refugees, or lawful permanent residents) in accordance with U.S. Government export control requirements.  To facilitate TerraPower's export control reviews, you will be asked as part of the application process to identify whether you are a U.S. Citizen or national, asylee, refugee, or lawful permanent resident of the United States.  Government export authorization approval times vary.  Based on the business needs for a particular position, TerraPower Isotopes may not consider a foreign national from a country if it is impracticable to obtain timely Government export approval.

 

Job details

Salary Range: $126,845 - $164,734

*Any salary offered within the posted salary band is based on market data and commensurate with the selected candidate’s qualifications and experience.  This range is specific to Washington State.

Benefits: 

• Competitive Compensation
• Salary, eligible to participate in discretionary short-term incentive payments
• Comprehensive Medical and Wellness Benefits for family or individual
• Medical
• Vision
• Dental
• Life
• Life and Disability
• Gender Affirmation Benefits
• Parental Leave
• 401k Plan
• Generous Paid Time Off (PTO)
• 21 days of annually accrued PTO
• Generous Holiday Schedule
• 10 paid holidays
• Relocation Assistance
• Professional and Educational Support Opportunities
  
  

 TerraPower Career and Benefits information: https://www.terrapower.com/careers/