Senior Mechanical Design Engineer - Reactivity Controls
Listed on 2026-09-03
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Engineering
Systems Engineer, Mechanical Engineer
About Us
At Antares, our long-term mission is to make clean energy abundant from Earth to the Asteroid Belt. We’re fueled by the belief that advanced nuclear energy can strengthen our military, solve the climate crisis, elevate global living standards, and expand humanity's presence in outer space. To achieve our mission, we’re building mass-producible, inherently safe, deployable microreactors that can be used terrestrially, underwater, and in space.
The Antares team hails from SpaceX, the White House, the Pentagon, the Department of Energy, MIT, Rigetti Computing, General Atomics, Relativity Space, Ursa Major, and National Laboratories like Idaho, Oak Ridge, Los Alamos, and Savannah River. Antares has raised over $600M in venture capital from top-tier investors and has hundreds of million-dollars on contract with the military services, NASA, and the Department of Energy.
About the Role
As the Responsible Engineer for Reactivity Controls – Mechanical, you will lead
the design, development, testing, and validation of the mechanical systems that
govern reactor reactivity and ensure the safe operation of the reactor. You will
architect and build the mechanical mechanisms that interface with electrical and
software subsystems, collaborating closely across disciplines to define system
architecture, requirements, and documentation.
The ideal candidate has a strong track record in designing and developing
precision control mechanisms, preferably with experience in robotics or
electromechanical systems. You will also contribute to system-level architecture trade studies and support the evaluation and selection of key vendors.
Roles and Responsibilities:
Design, build, and test the reactor’s control mechanisms, hardware, and
assembliesConcept and develop custom actuation solutions, including mechanisms,
linkages, interfaces, and instrumentationDefine design criteria, requirements, system architecture, and
verification/validation test plansCollaborate closely with cross-functional teams across thermal, structural,
neutronics, controls, and simulation disciplinesEngineer components for high-temperature, high-stress, and radiation
environments using metals, ceramics, and other advanced materialsPerform design-for-manufacturability (DFM) assessments and execute
tradeoffs across performance, cost, schedule, and riskConduct mechanism trade studies, document findings, and present
recommendations to senior leadership
Basic Qualifications:
Bachelor's degree in engineering
5+ years of experience in full-cycle design engineering roles
encompassing hands-on experience with CAD, analysis, build and testExperience with kinematic synthesis, pneumatic/hydraulic actuation,
mechatronics and instrumentationExperience with FMEA including structure strength, stability, and fatigue
failure modes
Preferred
Skills & Experience:
Master's degree in engineering
7+ years of experience in full-cycle design engineering roles,
encompassing hands-on experience with CAD, analysis, build, and testExperience in the Nuclear, Aerospace, or Robotics industries
Experience in a demanding fast-paced development environment
Experience with design engineering tools such as NX, ANSYS or Femap, and
other product lifecycle softwareExperience with engineering scripting languages such as Python and
MATLAB
Additional Requirements:
Ability to work long hours and weekends as necessary to support critical milestones
Location
We are located in Torrance, CA in a 145,000 square foot, brand new facility featuring large open spaces for team collaboration, R&D, and production, as well as easy access to the 405, 105, and 110 freeways. Our facility is in the heart of Los Angeles' vibrant emerging tech ecosystem alongside many other high growth startups and enterprises.
Salary Range
Senior Mechanical Design Engineer - $145,000 - $185,000
Culture
At Antares, we like to specifically tie each role to our founding document’s set of values–here are the top five cultural values we think you should believe at your core to be successful:
Think in Systems
- Energy and Defense are complex ecosystems with numerous stakeholders with competing priorities, conflicting policies, perverse incentives, and emergent and…
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