What we do at Blykalla
Blykalla is a global leader in advanced nuclear technology, commercialising the next generation of clean, reliable energy through its lead-cooled reactor, the SEALER. By combining decades of specialised research with world-class partners, Blykalla is building the backbone of the global AI and industrial economy. For more information, visit https://www.blykalla.com .
Blykalla is working toward deploying its first reactor in the United States. We are looking for an experienced Nuclear Operations Manager to define how the facility will be operated, make sure the design supports that, and lead the operating crew through initial fuel load and approach to criticality.
The facility is still in design. Decisions made over the next year on fuel handling, shielding, the crane, the control room and the operating limits set how the facility will be run for its whole life. You will bring the operator's view into those decisions while they can still be changed, and then run the facility you helped shape.
Our US program, Fjäll, is targeting first criticality n 2027. We are building this program from the ground up, which means every hire is foundational.
Your assignment and mission
As Nuclear Operations Manager, you are responsible for developing and implementing the operational framework for Fjäll, from design through startup and into operations. That covers every operating mode, nuclear and non-nuclear, from fuel receipt and crane lifts to reactor startup and shutdown. During design you write the concept of operations and turn it into requirements on the design and inputs to the safety basis. Toward startup you build the conduct of operations, the procedures and the operator qualification program, and lead the crew through initial fuel load and approach to criticality.
You report to the Head of US Project Development, with a dotted line to Blykalla's SEALER Operations Lead in Sweden so that what we learn in Fjäll carries into the SEALER operating model. After turnover from construction, the Site Manager holds custody of the facility and site authority, and you run operations within that authority. Radiation protection, nuclear criticality safety, quality assurance and material control & accountability sit outside your line to keep them independent, and you operate to the limits they set. You carry Stop-Work Authority.
This is a first-wave hire. The operating crew of senior reactor operators and reactor operators reports to you, together with a training lead who joins as the crew starts qualification.
1. Concept of operations
Write and own the concept of operations for the facility. Define the operating modes and states and the transitions between them, covering fuel receipt and storage, core loading and core changes between experiments, control and safety rod operation, crane lifts and shield-block handling, ventilation, maintenance access, waste handling and shutdown. Keep it current as the design matures.
2. Operations input to design
Define operational requirements and work closely with Engineering and the Design Authority to ensure the facility design supports safe, efficient and practical operations. Work with the core design and fuel teams on how fuel is loaded, moved, stored and accounted for. Take part in design reviews before design freeze and push for changes that make the facility simpler and safer to operate
3. Operations input to the safety basis
Work with nuclear safety & licensing on operating limits, surveillance requirements, conduct of operations and initial testing in the preliminary and final safety analysis. Make sure what the safety basis assumes about operation is something a crew can carry out, and support regulator questions on operations.
4. Conduct of operations and procedures
Establish the conduct of operations program and the procedure structure: normal, abnormal, emergency, fuel handling and surveillance procedures. Define the shift and crew model, logkeeping and shift turnover, and how…