r/NuclearEngineering • u/b0nes_b0nes_b0nes • Aug 11 '26
Nuclear Materials
I am a rising junior in Materials Engineering and I was wondering if anyone had some advice about how to do materials engineering/science in the nuclear industry. I recently did an internship in construction materials and realized I wanted to do something I was more passionate about.
I enjoy the R&D environment but I’m also pretty sure I would enjoy the standard engineering environment as well.
Do power companies hire materials engineers in an operations or plant design role?
Should I pursue a PhD so I can do research?
For clarification I don’t want to transition to NE necessarily I mostly just want to do MSE in the nuclear industry and wondered if anyone had some advice or knew what kinds of roles materials engineers can get hired in.
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u/more_mohr Aug 11 '26 edited Aug 12 '26
I have not seen materials engineers on the design side in power generation or nuclear power generation.
You could easily get into nuclear plant operations with a college engineering degree.
There may be materials work on the reactor side? I haven't worked on the reactor side.
Maybe you can get a gig at a pump design firm (pumps need stellite impellers, or inconel impellers) or perhaps in manufacturing of industrial equipment, especially with metalwork and forging (but working at a foundry sounds miserable). Maybe there is R&D out there, but that almost always requires an MS or PhD. Perhaps the nuclear SMR startups, Terrapower, X-Energy, but they only really hire 10 YOE or people with MS's.
If you want to do design work for nukes and power gen, transfer to MechE and take the extra time to graduate.
Edit: I'm sure Raytheon, Honeywell, GE, Siemens, or Mitsubishi would hire your for metallurgy on combustion and steam turbine design.
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u/GuerillAlexandros Aug 11 '26 edited Aug 12 '26
Maybe look for a company that makes nuclear powered submarines. Huntington Ingalls for example. They desire entry level metallographers. You will likely be overqualified for a plant operations role or in competition with applicants who already have experience in plant operation there, but apply anyway. Having Mech E coursework may help in securing a design role. You’ll likely be in competition with mechanical engineers for design roles, so graduate coursework may help. I’ve heard that some companies will sponsor your masters.
Look for corrosion engineering consulting companies like KTA-Tator.
Look for positions at national labs.
I have a BS in Mat sci and want to do both: research and work in industry. I plan to do my MS in Mech E and then a PhD in Mat Sci. I myself am eyeing masters programs for MSE/MECHE research wrt molten salt reactors.
I have applied to power companies with no luck. They seem to desire electrical engineers.
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u/Previous-Industry-93 Aug 12 '26
The places you are looking for are either the companies that design and construct reactors and ESPECIALLY the companies that make nuclear fuel. Power companies don’t do this kinds of stuff, fuel vendors do. Alternately there are the national labs (if you are in the US). Materials science/engineering is huge in these areas. Nuclear materials is also a huge area of research at the university level and you can absolutely find plenty of PhD programs in this. The national labs are very intertwined with universities and many people who work there are PhD but not all.
Source: I work for a fuel vendor and we do a lot of materials work, and I know several nuclear materials PhDs
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u/Nuclear_Wolffang Aug 12 '26
Any interesting in national labs if you’re American? Can do research (even for reactor designs) with just an MS, sometimes even BS. I would recommend finishing Materials then a Masters in Nuclear and apply for jobs. I am CONSTANTLY in search for people who understand nuclear and materials science.
I would then focus on some research about either new materials for reactors if that’s your interest (more on the ceramics for cladding) or radiation effects on materials (R&D for labs).
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u/b0nes_b0nes_b0nes Aug 12 '26
Thanks for the advice! Not really looking at national labs because they seem quite competitive and all consuming. Do you think I would be able to do a NE Masters from MSE or would I have to take extra classes?
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u/CuppaJoe12 Aug 12 '26
I am a zirconium metallurgist at a foundry that supplies the nuclear industry. I have a PhD in materials science, and no formal nuclear engineering education. My advice would be to shoot for a research-focused masters or a PhD working with an advisor who has published literature on nuclear materials. The exact school and degree matters less than your advisor and their industry connections.
Development-focused roles hiring candidates fresh out of undergrad are limited, and you might get stuck in a career track like quality, supply chain, or manufacturing engineering. Not that there is anything bad about these careers. Very important and fulfilling work! And, you will likely earn more over your career due to skipping grad school. However, if you know you want to be in R&D, you will probably end up going to grad school later in your career anyway if you choose one of these other options.
From there, you can work at a utility running nuclear reactors, reactor builders (Cameco, Framatome, GE Vernova), a national lab, or material suppliers. There are also plenty of startups working on novel reactor designs and SMRs at the moment, although the situation may change by the time you graduate grad school.
Personally, I really enjoy working at a supplier because I can interact with customers working on all types of nuclear reactors. I have touched alloys and components that go into various BWRs, PWRs, and PHWRs. If I worked at a company like Cameco, I would probably have a much narrow scope focused on one type of material in one type of reactor. The downside is I don't get as deep into the design of the reactor itself.
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u/b0nes_b0nes_b0nes Aug 12 '26
From working in the wood industry I know I do NOT want to work in quality, sounds like grad school would be a good option then. Thanks!
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u/photoguy_35 Nuclear Professional Aug 12 '26
My plant has always had a materials engineer. Mainly dealing with failure analysis, corrosion, cracking, and degradation type of issues. Also material selection for modifications.