Lead Nuclear Safety Engineer

Who is PALLAS?

Every day, 30,000 patients depend on medical isotopes from Petten. In order to guarantee security of supply in the future, preparations are now being made for the construction of the PALLAS-reactor and the realisation of the Nuclear Health Centre.

The Foundation Preparation Pallas-reactor (PALLAS) aims to realize a 'state-of-the-art' multifunctional reactor, which will be designed for the production of (medical) isotopes and for nuclear technological research. This reactor will replace the current High Flux Reactor (HFR) in Petten (NL). With the HFR, NRG produces medical isotopes with which doctors all over the world diagnose and treat life-threatening diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular diseases. The Nuclear Health Centre will process and package medical isotopes into radio chemicals and radiopharmaceuticals (medicines). The development of this production facility runs parallel to the realisation of the PALLAS-reactor.

The Foundation NRG and PALLAS are working closely together. The management and supervisory boards of both organizations are now united, and steps are being taken to further integrate the two foundations. This will give the development of medical isotopes in Petten and the realization of the new reactor a strong impulse. NRG leads the world in research into new nuclear technologies. In addition to the new reactor, other initiatives are being developed. For an overview of these, we invite you to visit: https://www.pallasreactor.com/en/pallas-activities/.

PALLAS employs people from all over the world, creating a unique combination of knowledge and experience. We are constantly building on our safety culture and ensure that objectives in the areas of safety, security and quality are always met.

Function

The Lead Nuclear Safety Engineer is part of the Safety Demonstration team which is responsible for a suitablePALLAS Safety Demonstration. He or she contributes to PALLAS:

o Acting as an Intelligent Customer by maintaining oversight of the Safety Demonstration;

o Becoming an Intelligent Owner and Operator by gradually taking ownership of the Safety Demonstration.

The Safety Demonstration is the suite of documents that contain the claims, arguments and evidence necessary to demonstrate that the organisation and its facilities are acceptably safe at all stages during their lifetime. The main document is the Safety Analysis Report.

The Safety Demonstration provides PALLAS with the assurance that the highest safety standards that can reasonably be achieved are met. It is used as one of the major inputs for the nuclear licensing framework of the PALLAS-reactor.

Where PALLAS has contracted a third party to perform safety analyses and to prepare parts of the Safety Demonstration, PALLAS conducts safety reviews and analyses on its own to verify their outputs.

This job is a full-time (40 hours per week) position. The Safety Demonstration team consists of five colleagues and is supported by NRG and our Owner’s Engineering team for specific tasks. You will report to the Safety Demonstration Manager.

Activities

The Safety Demonstration team members contribute to ensure that PALLAS achieves efficient evidence to support the safety claims and arguments as part of the Safety Demonstration. They also check that the design complies to relevant safety requirements.

As a Lead Nuclear Safety Engineer, you are responsible for:

• Supporting the further development and maintenance of the Safety Demonstration process and related procedures of PALLAS IMS in particular by defining the process for the update and maintenance of the SAR;
• Setting clear requirements, expectations and acceptance criteria towards the Safety Demonstration within PALLAS and all relevant stakeholders;
• Performing verification activities of safety related documentation to ensure PALLAS efficiently obtains evidence to support the safety claims and arguments of the Safety Demonstration;
• Contributing to the compliance check of regulatory and (project and technical) safety requirements in collaboration with the members of the PALLAS Safety Demonstration, Engineering and Licensing and Compliance teams;
• The planning for and the preparation of the SAR in line with detailed design information and information on the commissioning and operation of the reactor (e.g. operating and emergency procedures, operating limits and conditions, operating organization structure, etc.) with as one of the main objectives, to obtain the license to commission and operate the reactor;
• Ensuring overall consistency and balance of the Safety Demonstration and that the links between the safety requirements, claims, arguments and evidence are accurate, logical and complete;
• Ensuring that Requests for Additional Information from the ANVS are properly addressed.

The Lead Nuclear Safety Engineer is overall responsible for checking that:

• All possible radiation risks are identified;
• The items important to safety are identified and requirements commensurate with their importance to safety are identified;
• The technical safety concepts e.g. the DiD concept are adequately implemented;
• Regulatory and safety requirements (i.e. Bkse, Bbs, DSR, SSR-3) are complied with in collaboration with other Safety Demonstration team members, the engineering team, the licensing and compliance team and any other relevant PALLAS team members;
• Sufficient safety margins are provided.

PALLAS considers personal development and sustainable employability important for its employees. You will experience that the work has a high degree of variation and challenges, with many opportunities to learn and grow.

Your profile

We are looking for a Lead Nuclear Safety Engineer, located in the Netherlands (Alkmaar region), who:

• Has a university degree in Engineering (or another relevant degree e.g. Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics to at least Master degree level);
• Has at least 10 years of professional experience among which at least 5 years in the nuclear industry;
• Is organized and enjoys to manage interfaces and to work in a team to increase the efficiency and effectivity of work through processes, procedures and instructions in a structured manner;
• Is solution-oriented, primarily by being proactive in addressing plans and quality, budget or schedule related issues;
• Has a challenging and questioning attitude;
• Reports efficiently;
• Has the ability to engage with stakeholders in an open, confident and clear manner and above all is an excellent communicator across borders and cultures.

Having experience with and or knowledge of one or more of the following topics or techniques is mandatory:

• Review of safety and or engineering documentation;
• Nuclear regulations;
• Engagement with regulatory bodies;
• Hazard/fault identification studies (e.g. HAZOP, FMEA, etc.);
• Deterministic Safety Assessment;
• Probabilistic Safety Assessment;
• Fault and protection schedules.

Languages: English (fluently spoken and written). Dutch and/or Spanish is an asset.

What we offer

PALLAS is a growing organisation and, as such, will present unique challenges and professional development opportunities for an associate in the area of nuclear safety.

PALLAS offers a very competitive salary, depending on your education and experience. PALLAS will support you in becoming and remaining suitably qualified and experienced by supporting the necessary training and qualification.

You will be directly employed at PALLAS, starting with an annual employment contract. Based on the overall performance and results achieved, you will be offered the opportunity for renewal to an indefinite period contract. In addition to working with a fun team in a pleasant working environment, you will receive pension contributions, full coverage of your transportation costs, a business phone ánd laptop. PALLAS also offers you a Personal Choice Budget that could provide you with extra holidays. Finally, we work with a performance system that gives you the possibility for an annual salary raise in case of good performance!

At PALLAS, we care for health and well-being, safety, security and the environment, we act truthfully and professionally and deliver what we promise. We apply our unique knowledge and experience to benefit the society by taking interest in our stakeholders.

You will work in an international and professional environment in our office in Alkmaar.

Additional information

If you have questions about the position, please contact our HR department. You can send an e-mail to hrm@pallasreactor.com or call +31 (0)88 20 24 024.

An AIVD screening (level B) is part of the selection process. More information about the screening can be found on: https://english.aivd.nl/.

A personality test and/or English language proficiency assessment may be administered if deemed necessary.

Applications

Are you interested in a challenging job in a nuclear and technological environment? Please send us your application by e-mail (hrm@pallasreactor.com), with your motivation letter ánd CV attached.

We are looking forward towards receiving your application!

Acquisition in response to this vacancy is not appreciated.