Lead Mechanical Engineer 1 - Mission Critical

Sargent & Lundy•Richland, WA

12d•Hybrid

About The Position

This is a lead-level engineering position that offers a variety of challenging opportunities in Mechanical Engineering and will provide an excellent opportunity for career advancement. Lead Mechanical design engineering efforts on a multi-disciplined project design team and apply mechanical engineering expertise to the design and analysis of special purpose equipment, pressure vessels, and interfacing systems, controls, and structural support elements. This position allows for a hybrid arrangement with a mix of work from home and in the office.

Requirements

Must be a U.S. Citizen; Dual citizenship with a country other than the U.S. does not qualify.
Must be able to obtain US Government security clearance
BSME or MSME degree in engineering from an ABET-accredited program with a strong academic background and interest in thermodynamics, heat transfer, fluid mechanics, machine design, or thermal systems
10+ years of progressive responsible experience in mechanical engineering ideally in a nuclear environment
Experience with producing engineering designs and analysis for piping, pressure vessels, HVAC, and/or radioactive material handling systems
Working knowledge of Codes, Standards, and Regulations that apply to mechanical engineering design (eg., ASME B31 piping Codes, ASME Boiler & Pressure Vessel Code, ASME AG-1)
Experience with Finite Element Analysis or advanced engineering software (e.g., ANSYS, AutoPIPE, Datacor/AFT flow simulation, Hourly Analysis Program, Trace 700)
Experience with CAD software (e.g., Solidworks, Inventor, Microstation, AutoCAD)
Excellent written and verbal communication skills

Nice To Haves

Professional Engineer License (PE)
DOE experience preferred
Commercial or Navy Field engineering and construction experience
Programming or scripting (e.g., Python, MATLAB, Mathcad, advanced Excel)
Experience with glovebox and hot cell design
Additional learning, such as a minor, certificate, or other experience in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Software Engineering, or related fields that enables effective oversight of automation and agentic AI-enabled engineering workflows.

Responsibilities

Lead Mechanical design engineering efforts on a multi-disciplined project design team
Apply mechanical engineering expertise to the design and analysis of special purpose equipment, pressure vessels, and interfacing systems, controls, and structural support elements
Prepare and review complex calculations
Prepare and review mechanical systems/equipment designs
Prepare documented design input for drawing production (i.e., P&IDs, machine layouts, general arrangements, etc.)
Prepare and review equipment specifications
Communicate with vendors via clearly written and complete specifications
Prepare and review reports/studies
Develop single-discipline/simple-scope project budgets, schedules, and project work plans; monitor own work to ensure it is completed within budget and on schedule
Interface directly with customers in project meetings
Mentor junior engineers
Lead others in taking engineering problems from issue to solution by setting expectations for using data and modern tools such as automation and AI to improve workflows, reduce rework, and deliver cost-effective designs
Direct automation and process-improvement work, for example, how teams automate calculations, summarize technical documents, or generate design documentation and guiding when and how AI or agentic AI tools are used while ensuring results are checked
Oversee engineers who program or script (e.g., Python, MATLAB, advanced Excel) to automate engineering tasks, with review of automated outputs