MFC Level 1​/Mechanical Engineer

Job Overview

Discover your impact as a Materials and Fuels Complex (MFC) Mechanical Engineer at Idaho National Laboratory, where you’ll shape the future of nuclear energy by pioneering cutting‑edge solutions for motion, heat, and fluid dynamics. Join a legacy of innovation and be part of a team that secures America’s energy infrastructure while advancing critical technologies. Your expertise will directly contribute to groundbreaking research that powers national progress in energy, security, and beyond.

This position is located at MFC, which hosts the core of the U.S. nuclear research and development capabilities with a diverse array of facilities designed for remote work on highly irradiated fuels and materials. A new fuel idea can be designed, fabricated, tested, and analyzed at MFC to better understand the effects of irradiation. Many groups, such as universities, industry partners, other national laboratories, international research organizations, and other federal agencies are working  team works a 4x10 schedule every Friday off.

• Decompose project goals into defined and controlled design requirements.
• Use best practices in design methodologies to develop and validate designs.
• Develop physics‑based mathematical models of mechanical, chemical, and electrical systems.
• Maintain familiarity with codes and standards applicable to the discipline.
• Document designs to establish conformance with requirements and standards.
• Establish testing, inspection, and quality requirements.
• Ensure fabrication, construction, assembly, and procurement align with design specifications.
• Develop and maintain systems/equipment, perform calculations, and evaluate design specifications.
• Provide solutions to technical problems and recommendations for production improvements.
• Monitor and evaluate plant systems, recommend maintenance and repair standards, and identify vendor data and spare parts.
• Support and lead new project development, including proposals and business plans.
• Ensure design modifications meet technical baseline requirements and applicable codes.
• Maintain configuration management of the technical baseline and assigned systems.
• Ensure consistency in operational characteristics across documentation.
• Develop experiment requirements, perform designs, and support fabrication, inspection, assembly, and testing.
• Serve as design engineer for fueled test train fabrication tasks.
• Develop project‑specific documentation and check drawings.
• Other duties as assigned.

• Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles for technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
• Practical application of engineering science and technology.
• Ability to apply general rules to specific problems.
• Ability to combine information to form general rules or conclusions.
• Effective listening and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to recognize when something is wrong or likely to go wrong.
• Level 1:
  Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering or electrical engineering from an ABET‑accredited institution.
• Level 2:
  Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering or electrical engineering from an ABET‑accredited institution and 2 years of experience. Master’s and 0 years of experience. PhD and 0 years’ experience.
• This position requires the ability to obtain and maintain a Department of Energy "L" clearance, which requires U.S. Citizenship.

• Exposure to CAD modeling software (e.g., Solid Works, CREO) with the ability to apply it in a design environment.
• Foundational understanding of mechanical system design, machine design, robotics, and related control systems developed through applied university projects and early career experiences.
• Familiarity with fabrication, construction, and assembly processes and an understanding of how they connect to engineering design requirements.
• Ability to perform engineering calculations and apply analytical thinking to evaluate mechanical systems and design specifications.
• Experience contributing to engineering projects across multiple phases, such as design, analysis, fabrication, or testing, gained through academic or early career opportunities.