Intern- Natrium Energy Island System Development

TITLE: Natrium Energy Island System Development Intern
LOCATION: Bellevue, WA, USA
TerraPower is a nuclear technology company based in Bellevue, Washington. At its core, the company is working to raise living standards globally through a more affordable, secure and environmentally friendly form of nuclear energy along with innovations in medical isotopes to improve human health. In 2006, TerraPower originated with Bill Gates and a group of like-minded visionaries who evaluated the fundamental challenges to raising living standards around the world. They recognized energy access was crucial to the health and economic well-being of communities and decided that the private sector needed to take action and create energy sources that would advance global energy deployment. TerraPower's mission is to be a world leader in new nuclear technologies, while developing innovators and future leaders in the nuclear field. As a result, the company's activities in the fields of nuclear energy and related sciences are yielding significant innovations in the safety and economics of nuclear power, hybrid energy and medical applications - all for significant human health benefits.
TerraPower is seeking to hire highly motivated and forward-thinking professionals who are interested in focusing on advanced nuclear reactor research and development and influencing change within the nuclear power landscape and bringing forward the critical production of medical isotopes. TerraPower is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate in hiring on the basis of sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, religious creed, national origin, physical or mental disability, protected Veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law. In addition, as a federal contractor, TerraPower has instituted an Affirmative Action Plan (AAP) in an effort to proactively recruit, hire, and promote women, minorities, disabled persons and veterans.
Natrium Energy Island System Development Intern
TerraPower is seeking a highly motivated engineering intern with interest in power plant performance modeling and energy conversion cycles. The Natrium Energy Island (EI) System Development Intern will work as part of the engineering team that oversees the design of the Energy Island for the Natrium demonstration plant. The Natrium demonstration plant is a fourth-generation nuclear power plant that incorporates molten salt energy storage and is currently in design engineering to be built in Wyoming. The Natrium plant EI contains the molten salt energy storage system, the steam power cycle systems, and several plant ancillary systems. The Interns role will focus on exploring conceptual options for use of process heat from future commercial plants (for example, solid oxide electrolyzer, desalination using forward osmosis, etc.) and increasing electrical power output by several means ranging from placing Photo-Voltaic solar panels on building roofs to replacing the current Rankine cycle with a CO2 power cycle. The intern will be responsible to research process heat options, perform thermodynamic modeling where appropriate, obtain approximate size and space requirement information, and determine economic feasibility. Initial conceptual design studies will identify technology development activities that should be pursued by TerraPower.
Responsibilities

• Develop a detailed understanding of the Natrium plant EI configuration and layout.
• Explore the feasibility to employ Photo-Voltaic (PV) solar panels on the demo plant site to cover some of the inhouse power needs. This includes determining costs, achievable power output, and payback period.
• Evaluate the use of process heat for hydrogen and ammonia generation, desalination, or other uses, and quantify the impact on the plants power generation with Rankine modeling.
• Conduct thermodynamic modeling replacing the plants steam cycle with a CO2 power cycle.
• Write a status report documenting the work, modeling results, and analysis.

Key Qualifications and Skills

• Education: Currently enrolled in a graduate or starting senior year of undergraduate program in Mechanical, Chemical or Nuclear Engineering; graduate program preferred
• Excellent understanding of the principles of thermal systems analysis.
• Understanding of mechanical system design and performance analysis
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to work on tasks and teams that require a multi-disciplinary approach
• Ability to work on multiple tasks concurrently during a given work week
• Ability to work with minimum direction to solve challenging problems
• The successful candidate will possess a high degree of trustworthiness and integrity, communicate openly and display respect and a desire to foster teamwork.

Job Functions
Job Functions are physical actions and/or working conditions associated with the position. These functions may also constitute essential functions for the job which the employee must be able to fulfill, with or without accommodation. Information provided below is to help describe the job so that the applicant has a reasonable understanding of the job duties/expectations. An applicant's ability to perform and/or tolerate these actions and conditions will be discussed and workplace accommodations may be made on a case-by-case basis following an individualized assessment of the applicant and other considerations, including but not limited to any governing safety standards.

• Motor Abilities: Sitting and/or standing for extended periods, bending/stooping, grasping/gripping, fine motor control (hands)
• Physical exertion and/or requirements: Minimal, with ability to safely lift up to 25 pounds
• Repetitive work: Prolonged
• Special Senses: Visual and audio focused work
• Work Conditions: Stairs, typing/keyboard, standard and/or sitting working environment of >8 hrs./day
• Travel required: 0-5%

TerraPower's technology is controlled for export by various agencies of the U.S. Government. TerraPower must evaluate applicants who are foreign nationals (other than asylees, refugees, or lawful permanent residents) in accordance with U.S. Government export control requirements. To facilitate TerraPower's export control reviews, you will be asked as part of the application process to identify whether you are a U.S. Citizen or national, asylee, refugee, or lawful permanent resident of the United States. Government export authorization approval times vary. Based on the business needs for a particular position, TerraPower may not consider a foreign national from a country if it is impracticable to obtain timely Government export approval.
Job details
Hourly rate range**
Undergraduate: $26.00 - $27.50
Post-grad including PhD: $32.00 - $48.00
Job Type: Intern
Benefits:

• Competitive Compensation
• Hourly pay rate
• Weekly stipend for out of area Interns
• Weekly commuter stipend for local area Interns
• Paid Time Off (PTO)
  • Interns accrue 1 hour of PTO for every 40 hours worked
• Holiday Schedule
  • Paid holidays commensurate with Internship period and TerraPower Holiday Schedule
• Relocation Assistance for out of area Interns

**Intern pay rate will be commensurate with degree path and academic year completed at start of Internship.
Please visit www.terrapower.com to apply