Thermo-Mechanical Design Engineer
US$140,000 – US$185,000 / yr base salary
Posted 9 Oct 2026
Advertised as “Thermo-Mechanical Design Engineer - Reactor Cavity Cooling Systems”
BranchFactor Summary
The original posting with the fluff stripped out
- Management level
- Individual contributor
- Employment
- On-Site
- Contract
- Full-time
| Base salary | US$140,000 – US$185,000 / yr |
|---|
Field of studyAerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Nuclear Engineering (or related)
Study levelBachelor's
Field of studyAerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Nuclear Engineering, Thermal Sciences (or related)
Study levelMaster's or higher
About Us
At Antares, our long-term mission is to make clean energy abundant from Earth to the Asteroid Belt. We’re fueled by the belief that advanced nuclear energy can strengthen our military, solve the climate crisis, elevate global living standards, and expand humanity's presence in outer space. To achieve our mission, we’re building mass-producible, inherently safe, deployable microreactors that can be used terrestrially, underwater, and in space.
The Antares team hails from SpaceX, the White House, the Pentagon, the Department of Energy, MIT, Rigetti Computing, General Atomics, Relativity Space, Ursa Major, and National Laboratories like Idaho, Oak Ridge, Los Alamos, and Savannah River. Antares has raised over $600M in venture capital from top-tier investors and has hundreds of million-dollars on contract with the military services, NASA, and the Department of Energy.
About the Team
As a Thermo-Mechanical Design Engineer, you will be the Responsible Engineer (RE) for the Reactor Cavity Cooling System (RCCS), leading the design and analysis of a critical deployment system. You will be responsible for the thermal, mechanical, and piping design of the RCCS, ensuring the reactor cavity and surrounding structures remain within design temperature limits, while minimizing wasted thermal power. This role involves thermal-fluid analysis, piping and structural sizing, filtration system design, and integration of piping, supports, stacks, and cavity components. The ideal candidate has expertise in thermal-fluid systems, HVAC, piping, and structural design, and enjoys solving multidisciplinary engineering challenges in a highly constrained design environment.
Roles and Responsibilities:
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Perform thermal-fluid, mechanical, and structural analyses to support the sizing, layout, and optimization of cooling system components, including piping, ducts, stacks, supports, filtration equipment, and reactor cavity structures.
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Define system architecture, operating limits, design margins, and control strategies to ensure reliable performance across all operating conditions.
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Develop design documentation, including engineering calculations, system specifications, interface definitions, design reports, and technical justifications to support licensing and design reviews.
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Support the design, fabrication, and execution of component and system-level testing by developing test articles, test stands, instrumentation plans, and validation procedures to demonstrate system performance and life-cycle reliability.
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Coordinate cross-functionally with reactor systems, structures, licensing, manufacturing, procurement, and operations teams to ensure successful integration of the RCCS into the overall plant design.