About David M. Czufin
President of Czufin Consulting, LLC. Senior nuclear industry executive with over 42 years of operational, engineering, work control, and fleet leadership experience.
Bridging Technical Rigor with Authentic Leadership
Formed in 2021, Czufin Consulting, LLC provides specialized technical leadership mentoring, experiential training, site observations, causal analyses, and nuclear safety review board advisory.
To date, Czufin Consulting has delivered advisory and coaching services to 16 distinct US energy companies and industry organizations, including American Electric Power (AEP), Analysis and Measurement Services (AMS), Constellation Energy, DTE Electric, Duke Energy, Enercon Services, Entergy, EPRI, Evergy, Holtec International, INPO, Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD), PSEG, Southern Company, South Texas Project (STP), and Xcel Energy.
David Czufin was the lead industry author of the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO) Technical Conscience Principles (both original edition and the 2019 revision). His work has defined how technical organizations maintain an uncompromising commitment to nuclear safety and reliability.
Decades of Proven High-Consequence Execution
A track record spanning dual reactor technologies, fleet-wide technical direction, and direct on-site assessments across dozens of commercial facilities.
Chronological Professional Career History
President
Independent consulting practice delivering comprehensive document reviews, causal analysis evaluations, executive coaching and mentoring for senior engineering leaders, and experiential leadership workshops. Actively participating on Nuclear Safety Review Boards (NSRB) and providing targeted site observation support.
Senior Vice President, Engineering and Operations Support
Provided executive leadership and strategic direction for Engineering, Nuclear Fuels, Major Projects, Licensing, Operations Support, Security, Emergency Preparedness, and Small Modular Reactor (SMR) programs across the TVA fleet. Championed workforce engagement, promoted over 65 leaders (with >70% internal advancement), successfully supported commercial operation of Watts Bar Unit 2 (the first new US commercial reactor in over two decades), executed Extended Power Uprates (EPU) at Browns Ferry, secured an NRC Early Site Permit for SMRs under budget and ahead of schedule, and achieved over $200 Million in Continuous Improvement program savings.
Site Vice President, Dresden Station
Total operational and site accountability for a dual-unit Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) station. Led the station to its first-ever breaker-to-breaker continuous operating runs on both units. Achieved top fleet employee survey results in 2013. Hosted community open houses and family days with hundreds of participants, as well as formal visits by NRC Chairman and Commissioners.
Corporate Engineering Vice President
Fleet-wide technical direction across 17 nuclear units to ensure safe, reliable operations. Oversaw quality of technical products and decisions, long-term equipment reliability, business cases for capital funding, and executive management succession planning. Developed and placed 10 new engineering directors into the fleet, led the industry working group that authored INPO's Technical Conscience Principles, and created risk matrices for long-term asset management.
Corporate Work Control Director
Fleet governance, oversight, and operational improvements in work management. Designed and executed a fleet-wide process efficiency initiative yielding over 70,000 person-hours saved annually, achieving an efficiency ratio of 35 hours saved for every single hour of review.
Assistant & Site Engineering Director
Directed all site engineering and station technical support. Transformed station performance from a dual-unit run of 231 days into an INPO 1 rating in December 2005 (the station's first since 1991). Unit 1 completed a world-record continuous run of 739 days, followed by Unit 2 achieving 711 consecutive days. Reduced site engineering error rate by 40%, established the initial Technical Pre-Job Brief framework, and created the Equipment ACE process and ER Clock adopted industry-wide.
Engineering Manager
Managed reactor and fuels engineering, configuration management, Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA) / risk monitors, safety analysis, severe accident guidelines, and dose analysis programs. Provided technical support for day-to-day operations and emergency operating procedures.
Operations Staff Manager
Responsible for reactor engineering, operating procedure revisions, plant modification acceptance, corrective action investigations, training assistance, and control room support during complex station restart issues.
Mechanical Maintenance Manager
Managed a staff of 5 supervisors and 37 bargaining unit technicians executing corrective and preventative maintenance, machining, HVAC, and modification activities. Reduced mechanical maintenance sick leave hours by over 50%.
Engineer & Engineering Supervisor
System engineering supervisor delivering technical support for secondary and primary-side plant systems. Formulated long-range equipment reliability plans that resolved 12 longstanding chronic equipment issues without requiring plant modifications.
Field & Design Engineer
Field engineering, modification design, Air-Operated Valve (AOV) testing, In-Service Testing (IST) programs, condenser re-tubing, and major outage maintenance execution.
Education, Licenses & Board Leadership
Rigorous educational foundations reinforced by industry certifications and executive board appointments.
Education & Professional Licenses
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Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering (BSME)
University of Florida, 1983 -
Professional Engineer (PE)
Florida & North Carolina (Inactive Status) -
Dual BWR & PWR SRO Certifications
LaSalle County Station & Crystal River Unit 3 -
Executive Nuclear Seminars
NEI Senior Nuclear Executive Seminar • INPO SNPM Class #78
Industry Advisory & Board Governance
- • Past Chairperson: EPRI Plant Modernization & Management Program (PMMP) Executive Oversight Board (2014–2019)
- • Past Chairperson: NEI Small Modular Reactor (SMR) Working Group
- • Past Chairperson: BWR Vessel and Internals Project (BWRVIP) Executive Committee
- • Past Vice Chairperson: Boiling Water Reactor Owners Group (BWROG) Executive Committee
- • INPO Industry Advisor: Sequoyah, Farley, Southern Nuclear Corporate, Calvert Cliffs
- • WANO Assessment Member: Shimane Units 3 & 4 (Matsue, Japan)
- • Advisory Board Member: University of Tennessee Nuclear Engineering • Univ. of Florida Training Reactor (UFTR) • IIT Armour Engineering Board
Key Accomplishments by Career Stage
Documented transformations in human performance, continuous operating records, and cost optimization.
Tennessee Valley Authority
- Improved fleet center survey results from worst to best in the fleet.
- Promoted over 65 leaders (over 70% internal advancement).
- Significant reduction in fleet-wide, longstanding human performance errors.
- First time since 2007 TVA fleet INPO index exceeded 90%.
- Commercial operation of Watts Bar Unit 2, Browns Ferry EPU, SMR Early Site Permit.
- Deployed TVA Continuous Improvement Program delivering over $200M in savings.
- Presenter at over 20 INPO SNPM courses (2013–2020).
Dresden Station (Exelon)
- First-ever breaker-to-breaker runs for both operating units.
- Best employee survey results in the Exelon fleet in 2013.
- Weekend Community Open House (229 attendees) and Family Day (532 attendees).
- NRC Chairman and Commissioner hosted visits.
- INPO Evaluation Industry Advisor at Sequoyah.
Exelon Corporate Office
- Placed 10 new engineering directors into the fleet.
- Authored and published industry-wide Technical Conscience Principles.
- Developed risk matrices for long-term asset management.
- Work management initiative saved 70,000+ person-hours per year (35 hrs saved/hr review).
- Instructor for Work Management Risk Awareness at MIT.
LaSalle County Station
- Station achieved INPO 1 rating in Dec 2005 (first since 1991).
- World-record continuous operating run (>720 days).
- Reduced site engineering error rate by 40%.
- Pioneered the Technical Pre-Job Brief framework adopted fleet-wide.
- Created Equipment ACE process and Equipment Reliability (ER) clock.
Crystal River Unit 3
- Resolved final restart issues in Training and Operations human performance.
- Reduced mechanical maintenance sick leave hours by >50%.
- Solved 12 longstanding chronic equipment issues without plant modifications.
- Empowered craft technicians to insert drawings directly into maintenance procedures.
Collaborate with Czufin Consulting
Engage David Czufin for executive mentoring, diagnostic assessments, or specialized culture training for your technical organization.