Summary: The Chief Engineer serves as the senior technical authority for engineering programs and projects, ensuring technical excellence, regulatory compliance, quality, and successful project execution across multidisciplinary engineering teams.
The ideal candidate will have extensive experience leading engineering organizations and executing complex facility, system, and infrastructure projects within highly regulated environments such as DOE, NNSA, commercial nuclear, defense, energy, or industrial sectors.
Location: Onsite in Oak Ridge, TN
Salary Range: Depending on Experience
Responsibilities: - Provide technical leadership and engineering oversight for complex nuclear, industrial, and government projects.
- Serve as the senior engineering authority responsible for technical quality, design integrity, and engineering excellence.
- Lead multidisciplinary engineering teams including mechanical, electrical, structural, civil, process, and instrumentation & controls engineers.
- Establish and maintain engineering processes, procedures, standards, and best practices.
- Review and approve engineering deliverables, calculations, analyses, specifications, reports, and design packages.
- Ensure engineering work complies with applicable codes, standards, regulations, quality requirements, and client specifications.
- Support proposal development, technical approach preparation, estimating, and business development activities.
- Provide mentorship, coaching, and technical guidance to engineering staff and project teams.
- Lead technical reviews, design reviews, and independent engineering assessments.
- Interface with clients, regulatory agencies, subcontractors, vendors, and project stakeholders regarding technical matters.
- Support project execution through planning, design, procurement, construction, testing, startup, and commissioning phases.
- Identify and resolve complex technical issues, project risks, and design challenges.
- Support recruiting, retention, and professional development of engineering personnel.
- Promote a strong culture of safety, quality, operational excellence, and continuous improvement.
- Participate in strategic planning and organizational growth initiatives.
Minimum Qualifications: - Bachelor's degree in Engineering from an accredited institution.
- 10+ years of progressive engineering experience supporting complex industrial, energy, manufacturing, government, or nuclear projects.
- 10+ years of engineering leadership, technical management, or project leadership experience.
- Professional Engineer (PE) license required.
- Extensive experience overseeing multidisciplinary engineering and design activities.
- Demonstrated experience reviewing and approving engineering analyses, calculations, specifications, and design documentation.
- Strong knowledge of engineering design processes, quality assurance requirements, and project execution methodologies.
- Experience working within highly regulated environments including DOE, NNSA, commercial nuclear, defense, or similar industries.
- Experience with engineering codes and standards applicable to facility and system design.
- Proven ability to lead technical teams and manage multiple projects simultaneously.
- Strong understanding of project risk management, engineering change control, and design integration.
- U.S. Citizenship required.
- Must have the ability to obtain and maintain a security clearance.
Preferred Qualifications: - Master's degree in Engineering, Engineering Management, Business Administration, or related field preferred.
- Experience supporting DOE Order compliance, nuclear quality assurance programs (e.g., NQA-1), and safety basis requirements.
- Existing DOE Q Clearance, L Clearance, or equivalent security clearance preferred.
- Experience serving as Chief Engineer, Engineering Manager, Technical Director, Discipline Lead, or similar senior engineering leadership role.
- Experience supporting major capital projects, facility modernization efforts, and mission-critical infrastructure programs.
Additional Skills: - Exceptional leadership, mentoring, and team-building skills.
- Strong customer relationship management and client-facing communication abilities.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
- Ability to communicate complex technical concepts to technical and non-technical stakeholders.
- Strong organizational, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.
- Ability to work independently while leading diverse engineering teams.
- Ability to manage priorities and perform effectively in fast-paced environments.
- Experience with Microsoft Office Suite, SharePoint, project management tools, and engineering management systems.
- Strong commitment to safety, quality, ethics, and continuous improvement.
Benefits:All eligible employees enjoy an excellent benefits package, including medical/dental/vision insurance, short/long-term disability, life insurance, 401(k), paid time off including holidays, and tuition reimbursement.
