Senior Mechanical Engineer

Oklo•Santa Clara, CA

13d•$175,000 - $210,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Oklo is seeking a Sr. Mechanical Engineer to join its fuel recycling engineering team within the Recycling Division. This role serves as the technical expert for high-temperature process piping, pressure vessels, and pressure-retaining components for the Oak Ridge Fuel Recycling Facility (OFRF). The engineer will be responsible for the mechanical design basis, analysis, code compliance, and technical interfaces for these systems throughout their lifecycle, from early design to operational support. The work involves challenging conditions such as hot-cell, molten-salt, inert-atmosphere, vacuum, and thermal-cycling services. The ideal candidate is a technically rigorous mechanical engineer with strong first-principles understanding, analytical modeling skills, and hands-on design capability. They must balance technical performance, safety, remote maintainability, manufacturability, schedule, and cost in a dynamic environment.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related engineering discipline.
10+ years of mechanical engineering experience with process piping, pressure vessels, or high-temperature systems, including responsibility for piping stress, pressure vessel, thermal, or mechanical stress analyses.
Working knowledge of applicable ASME codes and standards, including ASME B31.3 and ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code Section VIII.
Strong understanding of thermal expansion, fatigue, creep, buckling, nozzle loads, pipe supports, pressure boundaries, and elevated-temperature material behavior.
Experience developing and reviewing calculations, specifications, data sheets, drawings, and fabrication-ready design packages.
Experience with materials selection, welding, fabrication, nondestructive examination, pressure testing, and inspection of piping or vessels.
Ability to independently evaluate analytical results, code compliance, design assumptions, failure modes, and technical margins.
Experience coordinating piping and vessel interfaces with process, structural, equipment, instrumentation and controls, operations, and supplier teams.
Strong technical writing, communication, and engineering judgment.
Eligibility to work in the United States without sponsorship.

Nice To Haves

Master's degree or Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering or a related technical discipline.
Professional Engineer registration or the ability to obtain Tennessee licensure.
Experience with molten-salt, inert-gas, vacuum, nuclear hot-cell, or fuel-cycle systems and with elevated-temperature or corrosion-resistant alloys.
Experience with ASME Section VIII Division 2, design-by-analysis, fatigue, buckling, creep, seismic qualification, or coupled thermal-mechanical analysis.
Experience with analysis tools such as CAESAR II, AutoPIPE, ANSYS, Abaqus, COMPRESS, PV Elite, Mathcad, or similar software.
Experience overseeing piping or vessel fabrication, supplier quality, weld qualification, nondestructive examination, and acceptance testing under nuclear quality assurance and design control processes.

Responsibilities

Serve as Oklo's technical expert for high-temperature piping, pressure vessels, pressure boundaries, and their supporting components within the OFRF.
Translate process requirements (temperatures, pressures, chemistry, flow, vacuum, inert-gas, cycles, upset conditions) into the piping and vessel design basis, applicable codes, load combinations, service life, and acceptance criteria.
Perform and review piping stress and flexibility analyses for various loads (sustained, thermal, pressure, seismic, displacement, etc.), including equipment nozzle loads and support reactions.
Perform and review pressure vessel analyses for internal/external pressure, local loads, nozzle loads, thermal gradients, buckling, fatigue, creep, and cyclic service, including design-by-analysis.
Perform and review steady-state and transient thermal analyses for heat loss, insulation, heat tracing, temperature gradients, and thermal conditions.
Select and qualify materials for high-temperature and corrosive service, considering molten-salt compatibility, oxidation, thermal aging, creep, fatigue, radiation exposure, weldability, and fabrication constraints.
Design and review vessels, piping, nozzles, flanges, closures, transitions, supports, anchors, restraints, expansion joints, bellows, penetrations, and other pressure-boundary components.
Define piping layout, support, restraint, slope, drainability, isolation, inspection, and access requirements to manage thermal expansion and support safe operation and maintenance.
Coordinate piping and vessel interfaces with process equipment, hot-cell penetrations, confinement boundaries, structures, utilities, and instrumentation; incorporate remote connection, inspection, isolation, removal, and replacement provisions.
Develop and review calculations, specifications, piping material classes, line lists, vessel data sheets, drawings, fabrication details, and technical requirements.
Review supplier and subcontractor calculations, models, drawings, material selections, weld details, fabrication procedures, and inspection plans; provide technical direction and resolve design issues.
Establish fabrication and quality requirements, including material traceability, welding, heat treatment, dimensional control, nondestructive examination, pressure testing, leak testing, and final acceptance.
Develop procurement specifications, statements of work, technical bid evaluations, and supplier acceptance criteria for piping and vessel packages.
Provide piping and vessel input to design reviews, failure-mode and constructability evaluations, engineering changes, supplier deviations, nonconformances, requests for information, and field changes.
Support commissioning, troubleshooting, and root-cause evaluations involving high-temperature piping, pressure vessels, and pressure boundaries.
Mentor other engineers and provide technical leadership in high-temperature piping and vessel design, analysis, materials, fabrication, and engineering judgment.