Facility Cognizant System Engineer

About Aalo Atomics

Aalo Atomics is pioneering a new era in clean energy with factory-fabricated microreactors designed to deliver affordable, scalable, and reliable nuclear power. Our mission is to make nuclear energy globally accessible, starting with the Aalo-1, a 10 MWe reactor leveraging cutting-edge safety, modularity, and efficiency. Based in Austin, TX, we’re rapidly growing as we work to deploy the world’s first fleet of advanced microreactors. Join us and help revolutionize energy for a sustainable future.

About the role

Aalo Atomics is seeking a Facility Cognizant System Engineer (CSE) to provide lifecycle technical ownership of the Critical Assembly Facility (CAF) on the Aalo-X site and engineering support for its building and infrastructure systems.

This role combines two closely related functions: serve as the Cognizant System Engineer for the CAF facility system and assigned configuration-managed facility SSCs, including special-treatment structures and components such as the basemat and biological shielding; and serve as the responsible engineer for the facility's broader non-safety building and infrastructure systems.

You will be the engineer who understands the facility: how it was designed, how its configuration is controlled, how its structures and building systems are performing, and what must be done when the facility is modified, repaired, or begins to degrade.

This is a hands-on role. You will spend meaningful time in the field performing walkdowns, inspecting equipment, supporting maintenance, troubleshooting facility problems, reviewing modifications, maintaining documentation, and driving practical improvements.

What you'll do

Cognizant System Engineering - CAF Facility

• Serve as the assigned CSE and principal engineering point of contact for the Critical Assembly Facility system, including CAF structural and facility-system technical issues.
• Maintain detailed knowledge of the facility design basis, configuration, performance requirements, interfaces, and physical condition, and ensure facility configuration remains consistent with approved requirements, drawings, analyses, and documentation.
• Maintain the applicable Facility Design Description/System Design Description and supporting technical documents.
• Maintain cognizance over configuration-managed and special-treatment facility SSCs, including assigned basemat, structural, shielding, and related components.

Facility System Ownership

• Facility structural and architectural components, building envelope, doors and access systems.
• Basemat and foundation components; biological shielding.
• HVAC, normal/non-safety electrical distribution, and lighting.
• Fire detection/protection systems and cranes/hoists where assigned; site utilities, drainage, and other supporting building and facility systems.

Facility Condition & Reliability

• Perform routine facility walkdowns and material-condition inspections.
• Monitor facility and equipment condition for degradation, damage, corrosion, settlement, water intrusion, abnormal equipment behavior, or other adverse conditions, drawing on applicable inspections, maintenance history, test data, and operating information.
• Maintain system-health and performance-trending records for assigned facility systems.
• Identify recurring facility problems and develop corrective and preventive solutions.
• Escalate conditions that challenge design requirements, configuration, or required facility functions.

Operations & Maintenance Support

• Provide engineering support to Operations and Maintenance for facility-system issues.
• Supply design-basis and technical input to preventive and corrective maintenance activities.
• Troubleshoot HVAC, building electrical, structural, access, fire-system, and other assigned facility issues.
• Support equipment-failure investigations and corrective-action development.
• Establish or review technical acceptance criteria for repairs and testing.
• Verify that completed work restores the required facility configuration and performance.

Configuration & Change Management

• Maintain facility drawings, design descriptions, calculations, equipment records, specifications, vendor information, and related controlled documentation.
• Participate in engineering change reviews affecting the CAF and assigned building systems.
• Perform or support physical configuration walkdowns and design assessments, and resolve discrepancies between installed field conditions and controlled documentation.
• Support USQ screening/evaluation activities where facility modifications could affect the safety basis.
• Ensure facility modifications are appropriately designed, reviewed, tested, documented, and incorporated into the configuration baseline.

Facility Modifications & Projects

• Develop or support engineering solutions for facility repairs, improvements, and modifications.
• Prepare calculations, sketches, drawings, specifications, scopes of work, and technical evaluations.
• Support application of appropriate structural, mechanical, electrical, fire, and building codes.
• Coordinate with specialty engineers and external Engineers of Record when required.
• Support contractor selection and technical bid evaluations.
• Provide technical oversight during installation and construction.
• Define acceptance and post-modification testing.
• Verify completion of as-built documentation and configuration updates.

Codes, Standards & Technical Areas

• IBC and applicable building-code requirements.
• ACI concrete requirements.
• AISC structural-steel requirements.
• NFPA electrical and fire-protection requirements.
• HVAC/mechanical codes.
• OSHA requirements.
• Natural Phenomena Hazard and seismic requirements applicable to assigned SSCs.
• Aalo's Code of Record and configuration-management requirements.

Future Facilities

• Participate in Aalo-0 and Aalo-X reactor facility design reviews with emphasis on operability, maintainability, accessibility, inspection, reliability, configuration control, and lifecycle cost.
• Support commissioning, facility turnover, and establishment of as-built configuration baselines.
• Help establish long-term Facility Engineering ownership as Aalo-0 and the Aalo-X reactor enter operation.

Note: CAF does not have conventional process-water or sanitary utility systems, and these are not default responsibilities of this role.

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Civil, Structural, Electrical, Architectural, Facilities, or another relevant engineering discipline.
• 5+ years of relevant facility, plant, nuclear, construction, or maintenance engineering experience.
• Experience supporting operating buildings, industrial facilities, or infrastructure systems.
• Ability to interpret facility drawings, structural details, specifications, calculations, equipment data, and vendor documentation.
• Strong practical troubleshooting and field-engineering capability.
• Experience supporting facility repairs, maintenance, modifications, or construction.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Willingness to spend significant time in the facility working directly with operators, maintenance personnel, contractors, and vendors.
• Ability to independently own facility technical issues through resolution.

Preferred

• 7-10+ years of relevant facility or nuclear plant engineering experience.
• Previous experience as a Cognizant System Engineer, System Engineer, Facility Engineer, or Responsible System Engineer.
• DOE nuclear-facility or national laboratory experience.
• Familiarity with DOE-STD-1073 configuration-management principles.
• Experience with nuclear facility structures, foundations, biological shielding, or special-treatment SSCs.
• Experience with reinforced-concrete design, foundations, building structures, or seismic/NPH considerations.
• Experience with HVAC, normal electrical distribution, fire detection/protection, cranes/hoists, or facility infrastructure.
• Familiarity with IBC, ACI, AISC, NFPA, OSHA, and other applicable facility codes and standards.
• Experience with USQ processes, configuration management, design control, facility walkdowns, and corrective-action programs.
• Professional Engineer license.
• Experience with Teamcenter or comparable configuration/document-management systems.

Requirements: 

• Based in the United States
• Willing to work on-site in Idaho Falls, Idaho

What We Offer:

• Competitive salary based on technical level
• Health, Dental, Vision Insurance
• Paid Time Off
• Corporate Gym Membership

Additional Information: 

Aalo Atomics provides a collaborative and supportive work environment, opportunities for professional growth, intellectually challenging careers, and competitive compensation. Aalo Atomics is an equal opportunity employer and considers all employment decisions without regard to race, color, religion, national or ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Applicants must be U.S. Citizens or U.S. Persons in compliance with 10 CFR Part 810 and may not hold non-compliant foreign citizenships.

Direct applicants only. No recruiters or staffing agencies, please.