Senior NDT Engineer (NDE Level III)

How do you inspect a reactor component through liquid lead, a coolant you cannot see through? No standard procedure exists for it yet, and none will until someone works out how ultrasound behaves in lead and builds a method around it. We are looking for a Level III in UT who wants to work this out together with us.

You start the development and shape the technical roadmap with the team: what to investigate, with which techniques (PAUT, TOFD, TFM, EMAT and related), and in what order. You work on our test rigs and with partners, turn the data into better methods, and build the technical basis for the procedures and acceptance criteria. With your Level III competence in UT, you also support and guide the Level II technicians who will apply them. You are our main technical contact towards UT suppliers, and you collaborate with welding, materials, design and quality so that components are inspectable by design.

What we do at Blykalla

Blykalla is developing the next generation of nuclear technology with our Small Modular Reactor (SMR) based on innovative fuel, materials, and reactor designs. As Sweden’s only SMR developer, we are on a mission to decarbonize industries and enable safe, scalable, and sustainable energy solutions. Our technology uses uranium nitride fuel and lead coolant, creating novel challenges and opportunities for the fuel cycle and supporting systems.

What You’ll Get to Do

As Senior NDT R&D Engineer, you connect the method, the data and the evidence that it works. You help shape what gets developed and in which order, work with our team and partners on the test rigs, and make sure each method is validated before it goes into use. Your responsibilities will include:

Method Development & Roadmap

• Shape and maintain the UT method roadmap for NDE and In-Service Inspection together with the team, focused on through-lead acoustics: what is developed, in which order, and to what maturity.

• Develop and adapt UT techniques (PAUT, TOFD, TFM, EMAT and others) to our geometries, materials and operating conditions, working from first principles where needed.

• Draft UT procedures and acceptance criteria for LFR components, with input from welding, materials and quality.

Testing, Data & Validation

• Plan and run trials, mock-ups and reference samples on components, welds and base materials, on our test rigs or with partners, and join hands-on where a method needs it.

• Interpret signals, characterise defects, and use signal processing and frequency-domain analysis to improve probe setup, calibration, procedures and sensitivity.

• Document the evidence that each method performs as intended, and look after the integrity of inspection data.

Level III Responsibilities

• Approve and release validated UT procedures and acceptance criteria under the written practice.

• Authorise Level II personnel, guide and mentor them, and maintain the written practice for UT.

Suppliers, Partners & Team

• Be our main technical contact for UT suppliers: screen and test their solutions, share findings, and give the technical decision and recommendation for selection.

• Work together with research institutes, universities and our welding, materials, design and quality teams, so that components are inspectable by design.

• Support documentation for codes and standards (ASME, ISO) and for customer and regulatory dialogue.

Where This Role Can Take You

You will help shape how SEALER components are inspected, from the first test rig to fleet deployment. As the NDE and In-Service Inspection area grows, the role grows with it: into Responsible Level III for NDE and In-Service Inspection, with dedicated NDT R&D engineers joining the team to build the methods further together with you.

Who You Are

You are a curious, thoughtful engineer who enjoys turning an inspection problem into a method, and a method into data the team can trust. You bring technical depth, practical UT experience and a structured way of working, and you are not afraid to ask a supplier the critical question and check the answer against the data.

We believe you have:

• ISO 9712 Level 3 in UT (or equivalent, for example SNT-TC-1A Level III), with experience maintaining a written practice and guiding Level II technicians.

• Practical UT experience in a regulated industry (aerospace, oil & gas, nuclear, power generation or pressure equipment), including at least one advanced technique (PAUT, TOFD, TFM or EMAT), and familiarity with ASME, ISO and industry NDT codes.

• Experience in method development or inspection R&D, and the curiosity to work out a method from first principles when no standard procedure applies.

• A good understanding of ultrasonic wave propagation and signal processing in the time and frequency domain.

• An engineering or scientific degree (mechanical, materials, physics, acoustics or similar).

• Clear communication and good collaboration with engineering, quality, suppliers and research partners.

It is a plus if you also have:

• A PhD.

• Experience with test rigs or advanced inspection set-ups, and in working together with suppliers to evaluate their equipment.

• Data analysis in Python or MATLAB, and NQA-1 or AS9100 experience.

• Additional methods such as ET, or inspection experience with hazardous or high-temperature media such as liquid metal.

Location

The position is based in Stockholm, with travel to Oskarshamn and partners expected.