Senior QA Engineer - NQA-1 Program Development

The Nuclear Company

Columbia, SC

Full Time

Posted September 25, 2026

$121k - $143k

Nuclear Energy

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Listing evidence and provenance

Source: Greenhouse View original listing
Freshness: Open in the current public read path; this is not an employer guarantee.Last observed October 5, 2026
Classification: Modern power-system classification not yet published for this listing.Legacy source industry field: Nuclear Energy
Pay provenance: Employer-provided pay

Job Description

Note: NQA-1 Lead Auditor certification is not required — audit execution is provided through a contracted, qualified audit service.

Key Responsibilities

The QA Engineer’s first assignment is to build out TNC’s NQA-1 quality program — writing the implementing procedures that every department, from Engineering and Procurement to Construction and Licensing, will work under. The engineer partners with each department’s subject-matter experts to draft these procedures, carries them through cross-functional review, and drives them to approval and issue on schedule. As the procedure set matures and field work begins, the role shifts to core quality engineering: reviewing inspection and test procedures, setting acceptance criteria from design requirements, and placing witness and hold points in inspection and test plans. The position reports to the Senior Manager of Quality, carries the independence the work demands — including stop-work authority and direct access to the CNO — and offers a mid-career engineer the chance to help write the quality program a fleet-scale nuclear company will run on.
Key Areas: Cross-Functional NQA-1 Program Development (near-term focus); Inspection & Test Technical Basis; Codes & Standards; Conditions Adverse to Quality; Program Interfaces & Qualifications
Generate the NQA-1 program cross-functionally — author and develop Tier-3 implementing procedures with every TNC department (Procurement & Supply Chain, PMO, Engineering, Quality, Regulatory Affairs, Construction Management, Nuclear Deployment, Testing & Start-Up, Training, and the corporate functions), translating each organization’s function scope into issued procedures through SME input, cross-functional review, and approval.
Author or provide SME input to procedures, records, and technical documents in the assigned discipline.
Review inspection and test procedures and acceptance criteria for nuclear systems and components; verify design outputs meet specified requirements.
Identify inspection requirements and the applicable codes and standards, with references; extract acceptance criteria from design with quantitative limits, specific values, and tolerances.
Set witness and hold points in inspection and test plans.
Support the QAPD and parent-suite artifacts maintained audit-ready, and the phased QA plans for Services, BOO project development, and JV support.
Identify and report conditions adverse to quality promptly through the CAP; feed procedure-production status and quality metrics into the QA metrics pack and the CNO performance-indicator set.
Maintain personal qualifications, training, and certifications current.

Requirements

Nuclear new-build, construction, or commissioning experience (AP1000, SMR/MMR, or other first-of-a-kind programs).
Discipline depth in civil/structural, mechanical, electrical, or NDE with the associated code sets (ACI/AISC, ASME Section III/V/IX, IEEE/ISA, SNT-TC-1A / CP-189).
ASQ CQE or CQA; auditor training or audit-team participation.
Experience developing procedures in a startup or program build-out environment; EDMS and document-control workflow fluency.
Familiarity with ISO 9001 / ISO 19443; metrics and dashboard tools (Excel, Power BI).

Benefits & Perks

Competitive compensation packages
401k with company match
Medical, dental, vision plans
Generous vacation policy, plus holidays
Estimated Starting Salary Range The estimated starting salary range for this role is $121,000 - $143,000 annually less applicable withholdings and deductions, paid on a bi-weekly basis. The actual salary offered may vary based on relevant factors as determined in the Company’s discretion, which may include experience, qualifications, tenure, skill set, availability of qualified candidates, geographic location, certifications held, and other criteria deemed pertinent to the particular role.
Export Control
Certain positions at The Nuclear Company may involve access to information and technology subject to export controls under U.S. law. Compliance with these export controls may result in The Nuclear Company limiting its consideration of certain applicants.
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