Principal Mechanical Engineer, Fuel Handling Equipment

Location: Oakridge, Tennessee; onsite at the Tennessee site. Some travel may be required, approximately 10%.

Company

hirify.global develops fluoride-salt-cooled, high-temperature reactors to support safe, affordable, and flexible clean energy deployment.

What you will do

• Provide technical leadership for fuel handling equipment deployment, testing, assembly, and development at the Tennessee site.
• Design, build, and test prototype assemblies and testing platforms under prototypic and high-temperature operating conditions.
• Develop remote handling features, tools, and operations for fuel handling components with operations and maintenance teams.
• Create 3D layouts, 2D engineering and manufacturing drawings, mechanical interfaces, assembly plans, procedures, and manufacturing plans.
• Coordinate fabrication with internal manufacturing teams and suppliers, including make/buy analyses and supplier selection.
• Develop verification and acceptance test plans and provide onsite troubleshooting support during startup and commissioning.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering with 8+ years of relevant experience, or a master’s degree with 5+ years, or a PhD with 3+ years; equivalent education and experience may be considered.
• Relevant experience must include mechanical or electromechanical equipment development, testing, deployment, or commissioning.
• Hands-on prototyping and testing experience with novel electromechanical systems.
• Experience designing equipment for nuclear, energy, chemical, petrochemical, defense, aerospace, or comparable technically demanding applications.
• Experience using SolidWorks to develop equipment models and engineering drawings.
• Knowledge of mechanical design, mechatronics, motor control, sensor integration, motorized systems for radiation environments, engineering drawings, tolerancing, fits, clearances, and alignment.
• Knowledge of manufacturing and assembly processes, design for maintenance, tooling and handling design, and maintenance operations development.
• Ability to define interfaces with electrical, instrumentation, and controls components; design prototype assemblies and test platforms; and account for equipment hazards.
• Ability to translate requirements into verification methods and measurable acceptance criteria, analyze test data, troubleshoot complex problems, and verify corrective design changes.
• Ability to independently execute technical work, guide contributors, collaborate with multidisciplinary teams and suppliers, and communicate findings through documentation, test reports, and technical discussions.
• Strong written and verbal communication, analytical and problem-solving skills, and attention to detail.

Culture & Benefits

• Full-time employment with medical, dental, and vision benefits for employees and dependents.
• Paid vacation, 401(k), pre-tax health insurance, dependent care, and commuter benefits through FSA.
• Work may involve office, noisy, prototyping/testing, manufacturing/industrial, and laboratory environments.
• Requires hazardous-material handling, safety reporting, interpretation of warning signs, and use of required PPE.
• Occasional schedule flexibility and extended hours may be required for critical project timelines, fabrication, testing, or deployment milestones.

Hiring process

• Candidates only; recruiters and agencies are not accepted.
• Work at the facility requires authorization to access Department of Energy Part 810-controlled information; some foreign nationals may require a Department of Energy export control license.