Mechanical Engineer, Optomechanical Systems

General Matter•Los Angeles, CA

About The Position

General Matter enriches uranium. We are designing, building, and operating the world’s lowest-cost enrichment services, here in the US. In the process, we are restoring America’s ability to produce nuclear fuel to power AI, advanced manufacturing and critical industries our country relies on to remain competitive. Fuel drives the cost of advanced reactor electricity production, and enrichment drives the cost of the fuel that advanced reactors consume. Reliable, low-cost enrichment is the catalyst for the nuclear Renaissance now under way. Our mission is to make nuclear not only the cleanest and safest source of baseload power, but also the most affordable. We believe abundant nuclear energy will lead to a post-scarcity society. We were incubated inside Founders Fund, like Anduril and Palantir before us, and are backed by over a dozen of the world's top venture capital firms. Our lean, world-class team of engineers and operators is applying a first-principles approach to solving the problem of nuclear fuel production. We are a mission-driven company with a culture of urgency, accountability, and transparency. Help us build a high-energy society by making the cleanest, safest form of baseload energy the most affordable. As a General Matter Mechanical Engineer, you will design, build, test, and own the mechanisms and mechanical structures enabling our next-generation enrichment technology — including precision optical and photonic subsystems, beam delivery hardware, and components that must survive demanding thermal, chemical, and material-compatibility conditions unique to uranium processing. You will work closely with cross-functional teams, including electrical engineers, optical engineers, software engineers, chemical engineers, manufacturing engineers, nuclear engineers, materials scientists, metallurgists, and physicists. If you seek high impact and are excited by fast-paced, intense, Skunkworks-style projects at the frontier of enrichment technology, we encourage you to apply to join our team.

Requirements

Experience designing precision mechanical structures for optical or photonic-based (e.g., alignment stages, athermal mounts, beam delivery paths, thermal management for high-energy optical components).
Strong understanding of engineering fundamentals.
Ability to perform trade studies and make clear recommendations using first principles and engineering fundamentals even with partial information.
Experience in a fast-paced engineering environment or a highly technical role requiring a resourceful, entrepreneurial approach to complete tasks within tight timeframes or budget constraints.
Ability to work extended hours and weekends as necessary.

Nice To Haves

Background or working knowledge in materials science or metallurgy, particularly failure analysis, material selection, or performance of metals/alloys under extreme thermal, mechanical, or corrosive conditions.

Responsibilities

Develop mechanisms and mechanical structures for enrichment — including precision mounts, alignment stages, beam delivery paths, or enclosures for optical and photonic subsystems — and own them through the entire product lifecycle including requirements definition, design, development, qualification, and release to production.
Select and specify materials and coatings for enrichment hardware based on mechanical, thermal, optical, and corrosion/wear performance requirements.
Support optimization of designs for cost, performance, and manufacturability.
Functionally test your hardware through thermal, vibe, shock, durability, etc., including precision alignment and beam pointing/stability testing for optical assemblies.
Perform root-cause analysis on test failures and develop hardware mitigations.
Collaborate with materials scientists and metallurgists to characterize material behavior under process-relevant conditions — including exposure to high-energy optical sources — and translate findings into design decisions.
Participate in design review and provide feedback to ensure design objectives are met.
Work closely with electrical, optical, software, manufacturing, and nuclear engineers to ensure designs are effectively integrated with overall system requirements.