Mechanical Equipment Design Engineer – Uranium Process Systems

Oak Ridge, TN | Hybrid | Relocation Available

Nano Nuclear Energy is seeking a Mechanical Equipment Design Engineer to develop and commission specialized equipment supporting uranium conversion and deconversion technologies. This is a hands-on engineering opportunity to turn process requirements into practical equipment designs and work directly on assembly, commissioning, troubleshooting, and scale-up.

Reporting to the VP of Fuel Technologies, you will collaborate with process engineers, equipment fabricators, and suppliers to develop reliable, maintainable equipment for laboratory and demonstration-facility operations.

• Own equipment development:
  Translate process requirements into mechanical designs, specifications, layouts, and equipment interfaces.
• Work beyond the design office:
  Participate directly in equipment assembly, commissioning, troubleshooting, and modification.
• Solve complex engineering challenges:
  Address materials compatibility, corrosion, thermal performance, containment, and mechanical reliability.
• Influence technology scale-up:
  Help develop equipment that supports the transition from laboratory work to demonstration-scale operations.
• Collaborate with vendors and technical teams:
  Evaluate equipment proposals, review fabrication drawings, and support testing and commissioning.

• Design and specify process equipment, including reactors, vessels, furnaces, kilns, powder-handling systems, gas and vacuum systems, condensers, scrubbers, and modular process skids.
• Translate temperature, pressure, flow, reaction, solids-handling, and containment requirements into fabricable, operable equipment designs.
• Participate in equipment fabrication reviews, assembly, installation, alignment, leak testing, commissioning, maintenance, and troubleshooting.
• Address corrosion, erosion, thermal expansion, sealing, insulation, fatigue, contamination control, and other equipment reliability challenges.
• Design for maintainability, cleanout, inspection, decontamination, component replacement, and remote handling where appropriate.
• Prepare procurement specifications, evaluate vendor proposals, review drawings, and support factory and site acceptance testing.
• Evaluate scale-up effects on heat transfer, mixing, solids transport, gas distribution, residence time, and process performance.
• Maintain controlled engineering documentation and assess design changes for process, safety, and product-quality impacts.

• Bachelor’s or master's degree in mechanical engineering or a closely related discipline.
• Experience designing process equipment for chemical, nuclear, ceramic, high-temperature, vacuum, powder-processing, or specialty manufacturing systems.
• Hands-on experience building, modifying, commissioning, maintaining, or troubleshooting laboratory, pilot, or demonstration-facility equipment.
• Strong knowledge of pressure and temperature systems, thermal equipment, gas systems, rotating or solids-handling equipment, mechanical interfaces, fabrication methods, and maintainability.
• Experience developing equipment specifications and working with fabricators, machine shops, integrators, or equipment vendors.
• Ability to prepare and maintain engineering calculations, drawings, equipment lists, interface requirements, and commissioning records.

• Experience with nuclear fuel-cycle or radiological process equipment.
• Familiarity with fluorine or UF6 service, corrosion-resistant materials, glove boxes, confinement systems, or vacuum equipment.
• Experience with high-temperature furnaces, rotary equipment, powder feeders, dryers, kilns, or gas-solid reaction…