Mechanical Engineer - Fuel Recycling

As a Mechanical Engineer supporting our nuclear waste treatment systems, you will develop waste processing equipment from concept through deployment. Rather than performing detailed equipment design yourself, you will define process and mechanical requirements, work closely with equipment vendors, and ensure systems are practical, maintainable, and ready for operation in a nuclear environment. You will translate waste processing objectives into equipment requirements, operating concepts, vendor specifications, and acceptance criteria while evaluating designs for maintainability, reliability, contamination control, remote operation, and regulatory compliance. Success in this role requires sound mechanical engineering judgment, an understanding of industrial process equipment, and the ability to recognize when a design is overly complex, under-specified, or not ready for production use. This role on the waste engineering team works closely with process engineering, mechanical design, controls, safety, radiation protection, licensing, procurement, operations, and external vendors to deliver integrated waste treatment systems.

Responsibilities

Develop mechanical requirements, equipment specifications, acceptance criteria, and operating concepts for radioactive waste treatment systems; Translate process requirements into practical equipment solutions for waste processing, packaging, storage, and material handling; Evaluate vendor designs for functionality, maintainability, reliability, contamination control, remote operation, and lifecycle performance; Develop and review equipment layouts, P&IDs, material handling flows, tooling concepts, and mechanical interfaces; Identify opportunities to simplify designs, improve operability, reduce maintenance burden, and increase production readiness; Support procurement by finding relevant vendors, preparing technical specifications, evaluating vendor proposals, and reviewing design deliverables; Lead or participate in multidisciplinary design reviews and drive technical action items to closure; Develop engineering documentation including design bases, interface definitions, design evaluations, and technical reports; Support hazard analyses, licensing activities, commissioning, and facility integration

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related engineering field; Minimum of 5 years of relevant engineering experience; Experience developing, specifying, integrating, or implementing industrial process equipment; Experience working with equipment vendors, technical specifications, procurement packages, or design reviews; Experience with 3D CAD tools, 2D fabrication drawings, equipment specifications, and controlled design documentation; Familiarity with P&IDs, mechanical equipment layouts, process equipment interfaces, material handling concepts, and vendor design packages; Strong mechanical engineering judgment, including practical understanding of maintainability, reliability, fabrication, inspection, and failure modes; Experience coordinating work across multiple engineering disciplines; Ability to produce clear, traceable technical documentation in support of design development, procurement, safety review, or licensing activities

Nice to have

Experience in nuclear, chemical processing, mining, manufacturing, or other highly regulated industrial facilities; Experience in commercial nuclear, DOE, advanced reactor, fuel cycle, waste treatment, or high-reliability industrial projects; Experience with radioactive waste processing, packaging, containerization, storage, or disposal systems in a hot-cell environment; Experience developing equipment for size reduction, compaction, filtration, solidification, packaging, container handling, drum handling, cask/canister interfaces, or remote/assisted maintenance; Familiarity with waste characterization, waste acceptance criteria, contamination control, ALARA principles, or radiological work planning; Familiarity with radioactive waste classification, regulation, or nuclear material packaging requirements; Experience with design for manufacturability, design for automation, or design for remote handling and maintainability; Experience with Solidworks; Experience supporting hazard analysis, failure modes analysis, commissioning, readiness reviews, or startup of industrial process systems

Benefits

Flexible time off; equity; bonuses; competitive pay; 401(k); health insurance (with employer contribution); HSA; FSA; flexible work hours; wellness credits; other benefits