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What does a reactor engineer do?

Updated January 8, 2025
6 min read

Range technicians monitor land conditions, utilizing various types of equipment. They are responsible for supervising range use and investigating unauthorized use without permits, and also have involvement in the inspection and maintenance of range improvement projects. Technicians will have experience in ranch hand and crop management. Also, skills in communication, analysis, and problem-solving will be a plus.

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Reactor engineer responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real reactor engineer resumes:

  • Present recommendations to improve NRC's project management and scheduling practices to achieve realistic and dynamic project schedules.
  • Manage Jenkins security by providing specific access to authorize developers/testers using project base matrix authorization strategy.
  • Develop programs and scripts (MATLAB) to effectively postprocess results.
  • Develop and implement NRC processes and procedures for NRC's project scheduling operations.
  • Perform physics testing following refueling outage.
  • Supervise and support the electrical engineering on-call/on-site coverage of outage relate refueling equipment services.
  • Conduct geotechnical and environmental subsurface investigations.
  • Diagnose computer relate problem, troubleshoot, refer and coordinate with other information technology departments in order to resolve situation.

Reactor engineer skills and personality traits

We calculated that 70% of Reactor Engineers are proficient in DOE, Technical Specifications, and NRC. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Communication skills, and Detail oriented.

We break down the percentage of Reactor Engineers that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • DOE, 70%

    Contributed to the compilation of annual SAR updates for submittal to DOE.

  • Technical Specifications, 9%

    Managed the project to convert CY to Standard Technical Specifications.

  • NRC, 5%

    Interfaced with Owner Groups, Westinghouse, and NRC on technical issues.

  • Nuclear Power, 3%

    Identified ways to reduce the source range detector noise problems seen at ComEd PWR nuclear power plants.

  • Engineering Support, 2%

    Provided daily and on-call reactor engineering support to the control room operators in order to maintain safe reactor operation.

  • MATLAB, 2%

    Expedited and simplified the quotation process for solar water heating systems by accurately representing solar water heating system performance through MATLAB models

Most reactor engineers use their skills in "doe," "technical specifications," and "nrc" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential reactor engineer responsibilities here:

Analytical skills. One of the key soft skills for a reactor engineer to have is analytical skills. You can see how this relates to what reactor engineers do because "nuclear engineers must evaluate technical information for safe use of nuclear energy and materials." Additionally, a reactor engineer resume shows how reactor engineers use analytical skills: "provided nuclear instrumentation setpoint data to i&c; to use for performing nuclear instrumentation detector calibrations. "

Communication skills. Many reactor engineer duties rely on communication skills. "nuclear engineers collaborate with other engineers and technicians," so a reactor engineer will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways reactor engineer responsibilities rely on communication skills: "developed a java based client/server framework used to configure telecommunications services. "

Detail oriented. This is an important skill for reactor engineers to perform their duties. For an example of how reactor engineer responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "nuclear engineers supervise nuclear facilities and must pay attention to ensure that they operate safely." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a reactor engineer: "detailed expertise with design control and fda (21 cfr) and ce essential requirements. ".

Math skills. For certain reactor engineer responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "math skills." The day-to-day duties of a reactor engineer rely on this skill, as "nuclear engineers use calculus, trigonometry, and other advanced math in their work." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what reactor engineers do: "lockheed martin) taught mathematics including college algebra, developmental math at the community college. "

Problem-solving skills. Another crucial skill for a reactor engineer to carry out their responsibilities is "problem-solving skills." A big part of what reactor engineers relies on this skill, since "nuclear engineers must be able to identify and fix problems that arise in designing and maintaining facilities." How this skill relates to reactor engineer duties can be seen in an example from a reactor engineer resume snippet: "provided technical support, resolutions, and oversight during shipboard operations. "

All reactor engineer skills

Compare different reactor engineers

Reactor engineer vs. Nuclear standards director

We looked at the average reactor engineer salary and compared it with the wages of a nuclear standards director. Generally speaking, nuclear standards directors are paid $35,481 lower than reactor engineers per year.Even though reactor engineers and nuclear standards directors are distinct careers, a few of the skills required for both jobs are similar. For example, both careers require nrc, nuclear power, and engineering support in the day-to-day roles and responsibilities.

There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, reactor engineer responsibilities require skills like "doe," "technical specifications," "cycle management," and "matlab." Meanwhile a typical nuclear standards director has skills in areas such as "executive board," "ethics," "quality assurance program," and "executive committee." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.

The education levels that nuclear standards directors earn slightly differ from reactor engineers. In particular, nuclear standards directors are 3.8% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a reactor engineer. Additionally, they're 1.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Reactor engineer vs. Radiation officer

Radiation officer positions earn higher pay than reactor engineer roles. They earn a $7,794 higher salary than reactor engineers per year.

Each career also uses different skills, according to real reactor engineer resumes. While reactor engineer responsibilities can utilize skills like "technical specifications," "nrc," "nuclear power," and "cycle management," radiation officers use skills like "epa," "radioactive materials," "osha," and "c-arm."

In general, radiation officers achieve lower levels of education than reactor engineers. They're 8.6% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 1.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Reactor engineer vs. Criticality safety engineer

An average criticality safety engineer eans a lower salary compared to the average salary of reactor engineers. The difference in salaries amounts to criticality safety engineers earning a $19,345 lower average salary than reactor engineers.Using the responsibilities included on reactor engineers and criticality safety engineers resumes, we found that both professions have similar skill requirements, such as "nrc," "design changes," and "cfr.rdquo;

Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from reactor engineer resumes include skills like "doe," "technical specifications," "nuclear power," and "cycle management," whereas a criticality safety engineer is more likely to list skills in "nuclear safety," "development," "review," and "ncs. "

When it comes to education, criticality safety engineers tend to earn similar degree levels compared to reactor engineers. In fact, they're 0.2% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 4.2% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Reactor engineer vs. Nuclear reactor inspector

Nuclear reactor inspectors typically earn lower pay than reactor engineers. On average, nuclear reactor inspectors earn a $38,666 lower salary per year.According to resumes from reactor engineers and nuclear reactor inspectors, some of the skills necessary to complete the responsibilities of each role are similar. These skills include "nrc," "nuclear power," and "acceptance criteria. "While some skills are required in each professionacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities, there are some differences to note. "doe," "technical specifications," "cycle management," and "engineering support" are skills that commonly show up on reactor engineer resumes. On the other hand, nuclear reactor inspectors use skills like nde, iii, asme code, and pressure vessels on their resumes.nuclear reactor inspectors reach lower levels of education compared to reactor engineers, in general. The difference is that they're 12.9% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 4.0% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of reactor engineer

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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