Engineer I, Mechanical

X-Energy•Rockville, MD

19h•Onsite

About The Position

X-energy LLC is hiring a Junior Mechanical Engineer. This role is responsible for the engineering design and development of mechanical systems, structures, and components. This includes concept development, evaluation of concepts, analysis of systems, structures, and components for their ability to perform their intended function, and ensuring they meet all technical specifications and requirements. The role will ensure the development of the systems and components through production including any necessary prototyping, testing, and commissioning.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, or related engineering discipline (e.g., nuclear aerospace, chemical, etc.) from an accredited institution required.
Zero years of experience in an engineering role required.
Proficiency with engineering hand calculations is required.
Experience and/or knowledge in a minimum of one of the following areas: Thermodynamics Use of 1D flow-solvers performing heat/energy and mass balance (e.g., RELAP, Flownex, NPSS, SINDA/FLUINT, Flomaster, or similar).
Mechanical Design Designing and developing mechanical or fluid systems, assemblies, or components.
One plus years of demonstrated hands-on experience developing and delivering hardware or manufacturing processes in a production environment is required.
May include industry internship experience, hobby, or participation in collegiate engineering projects such as: Formula SAE, Baja SAE, Design Build Fly, Rocket Club, etc.
Hardware ownership including manufacturing and testing oversight.
Use of Computer-Aided Design (CAD) and product lifecycle management (PLM) software. E.g. UG/NX, SolidWorks, Pro-Engineer, Teamcenter, Windchill, or similar.
Structural Analysis Analytical experience with structural analysis hand calculations and structural FEA software programs (e.g., ANSYS, ABAQUS, NASTRAN, FEMAP, CAESAR, ROHR, LS-DYNA, PIPESTRESS).
Thermal Hydraulics Use of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis codes (e.g., STAR-CCM+, Fluent, or similar).
Mechanical Process Equipment

Responsibilities

Develop mechanical/physical concepts, design and support development of processes to create or identify structures, systems, and components (SSCs) for use in nuclear products or facilities with a focus on nuclear safety.
Identify, collect, and document applicable requirements, interfaces, design basis and criteria by coordinating with key stakeholders/systems engineers and support identifying applicable industry codes and standards and the direction of project leads and systems engineers.
Planning and performing the analysis required to assess aspects of the SSCs to ensure they can perform their intended functions and meet technical specifications and design requirements.
Perform computations utilizing hand calculations and analytical tools for structural, thermal, hydraulic, and other scoping calculations as required at the direction of project leads and systems engineers to ensure SSCs can meet technical requirements.
Structural Design: Perform and assist structural analysis for systems, structures, and components of X-energy developed reactors, including pressure vessels and piping, reactor internals, nuclear fuel, and high temperature materials such as graphite. Use engineering tools, including finite element analysis (FEA) simulation software, hand calculations, and engineering judgment, to assess stress, deformation, degradation behavior, and lifetime mechanical performance of these nuclear reactor components.
Thermal Hydraulics: Responsible for providing heat transfer, fluid mechanics, and particulate mechanics analysis to support the design of various X-energy developed reactors and supporting subsystems. Responsible for development, testing and verification of CFD models to support design and analysis which will form part of the reactor licensing basis (steady state and transient conditions, design basis events, anomalies, etc.).
Thermosystems: Perform system-level thermodynamic analyses and process design using system-level simulation codes to support design iterations of X-energy developed reactors and supporting subsystems. Support the sizing and analysis of components including heat exchangers, pumps, circulators, and turbomachinery. Support the development of reactor and plant control philosophy and implement in plant models, simulations, and digital twins.
Mechanical Design: Develop innovative mechanical solutions to refine and deploy concepts, technologies, and designs associated with X-energy developed reactors, including pressure vessels and piping, reactor internals, nuclear fuel, and high temperature materials such as graphite. Integrate design activities across engineering team members, partners, and suppliers and perform supporting scoping and sizing calculations to downselect design features to meet design requirements using guidance from consensus codes and standards. Create and maintain CAD-generated engineering models of reactor SSCs. Support the assessment of SSCs for manufacturability as well as assembly and integration considerations at the direction of project leads.
Write and develop design documentation including design basis documents, technical reports, calculations, and drawings in accordance with applicable procedures.
Develop Verification and Validation (V&V) plans for analytical tools and support qualification of toolset.
Perform work in accordance with X-energy quality procedures for design and configuration management to ensure project quality requirements are met.
Provide independent reviews and acceptance reviews of engineering deliverables and data.
Maintain professional demeanor and behavior at all times in all forms of communication.
Assist and support team members with the execution of the core tasks and responsibilities listed in the Job Profile Task/Responsibilities section of this document, under guided supervision.
Establish a foundation in reactor and nuclear design & analysis while deepening understanding of, and experience with, design & analysis tools, processes, and key product development and safety considerations for nuclear systems, structures, and components.
Perform other duties as assigned by manager.