Lead Systems Engineer

Department: Engineering

Location: DC - Chevy Chase, MD, Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Employment Type: FullTime

Company Overview

Blue Energy’s mission is to unlock energy abundance, energy affordability, energy security, and turn-key decarbonization by developing the fastest path to deploying new nuclear MWs at scale. We are utilizing shipyard manufacturing supply chains and techniques from offshore oil and wind to reduce the cost of nuclear plants by over 60% and the manufacturing timeline to 24 months. Blue Energy is a platform technology that makes use of the latest NRC-approved reactors and is in negotiations with existing nuclear and industrial sites, enabling a much faster regulatory pathway to deploy our first unit. With our innovative centralized shipyard manufacturing approach, we can put nuclear power on a cost-reduction learning curve akin to wind, solar, and lithium-ion batteries.

Role Summary

Reporting to the Chief Engineer, the Lead Systems Engineer will be the technical authority for systems engineering within Blue Energy’s engineering department, driving the architecture and integration of complex, multi-domain systems for the world’s first gas-to-nuclear conversion projects. This role is pivotal in shaping how advanced nuclear plants are conceived, designed, and delivered—balancing innovation with regulatory compliance and operational excellence.

The Lead Systems Engineer will ensure that stakeholder expectations are translated into actionable requirements and that system-level decisions align with Blue Energy’s mission to deliver cost-effective, schedule-certain, and safe nuclear power solutions. The Lead Systems Engineer will help ensure that Blue Energy has a highly-adept Systems Engineering framework, processes, procedures, and practices which are used effectively to develop quality designs.

Key Responsibilities

Architecture & Requirements:

• Define and maintain the systems architecture and Concept of Operations (ConOps) for nuclear and gas-to-nuclear projects, and product development.

• Capture stakeholder expectations and cascade them into needs, goals, objectives, and functional/non-functional requirements, including safety functions.

• Allocate requirements to systems and subsystems, manage interfaces, and control configuration across the lifecycle.

• Accountability for a Requirements Management System ensuring all requirements are accurately recorded in line with requirements management best practices

Performance & MBSE:

• Establish and monitor Measures of Effectiveness (MOEs), Measures of Performance (MOPs), Technical Performance Measures (TPMs), and other KPIs.

• Link functions to systems and products, ensuring traceability through a robust requirements management system.

• Develop and maintain the Systems Engineering Management Plan (SEMP) and embed a scalable Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) strategy as the organization grows.

• Champion digital thread integration across lifecycle phases to enable traceability and data-driven decision-making.

Governance & Compliance:

• Influence technical authority processes and ensure systems engineering rigor in design reviews and decision-making.

• Collaborate with operations to create and execute a Verification & Validation (V&V) plan.

• Support the engineering design authority by contributing to Front-End Engineering design reports and promote exemplary systems engineering practices to navigate Concept Maturity Levels (CML) and Front-End Loading (FEL) stages, including navigating system design trade-offs.

• Interface with licensing and regulatory teams to ensure timely delivery of documentation supporting regulatory applications.

• Support an engineering basis of design by ensuring a complete Decision Management System is maintained

Leadership & Stakeholder Management:

• Drive concurrent systems engineering practices, manage contractors and consultants

• Build, expand and lead the systems engineering team as needed.

• Provide leadership, clear communication, and cross-functional collaboration to align engineering, quality, operations, and project management.

• Manage stakeholders across regulatory, financial, and technical communities.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or master’s degree in an engineering discipline (systems, mechanical, electrical, nuclear, or equivalent).

• 5+ years experience managing systems engineering for complex, integrated projects in energy, aerospace, defence, or similar sectors.

• Expertise in requirements management (e.g., JAMA or DOORS), configuration control, and MBSE tools (e.g., Enterprise Architect, Capella, Simulink, or Rhapsody).

• Experience managing technical relationships with major OEMs and technology suppliers.

• Proven ability to influence technical decisions across organizational boundaries.

• Familiarity with project financing requirements and technical risk assessments.

• Understanding the commercial implications of technical decisions.

• Achievement of technical performance targets within budget constraints.

• Previous delivery of licensing documentation to meet regulatory milestones.

• Ability to communicate complex technical concepts to non-technical audiences.

• Experience incorporating Systems Engineering Handbooks (INCOSE and NASA) and relevant international standards (IEEE 15288, IEC 24766, IEEE 29148, IEEE 24748, IEEE 42020, EIA 649BC, IEEE 828, IEEE 42010, IEEE 1220 & IEEE 15289) into plans, procedures, and practices.

• Familiarity with international design standards for electrical, I&C, mechanical, civil, and structural nuclear systems (e.g., ASME, IEEE, IEC).

Preferred Qualifications

• INCOSE certification (ASEP, CSEP, or ESEP).

• UK Chartered Engineer or international equivalent.

• Familiarity with nuclear regulatory frameworks (e.g., USNRC 10 CFR Part 50), quality assurance programs (e.g., NQA-1), and safety-critical systems.

• Experience with large-scale modular construction or infrastructure projects, ideally with prior integration of modular methodologies.

• Experience in previous new nuclear projects (ideally light water reactors) and/or CCGT projects.

We look forward to your application and helping foster an era of safe, clean, affordable, and abundant energy.

Blue Energy is dedicated to building a diverse and inclusive workplace. If you’re excited about this role but your experience doesn’t perfectly align with every requirement, we encourage you to apply anyway. You might be the right candidate for this or other roles at Blue Energy now or in the future.