Fluid Systems Engineer

About the Company

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.

About This Role

As a Fluid Systems Engineer at General Matter, you are the Responsible Engineer for the fluid systems that move, store, and control the process fluids at the heart of our enrichment facility. You will set requirements and operating margins, choose the architecture, design and analyze the hardware, lead the first-article build, qualify it, and define how it is commissioned and operated. This is a rare chance to own operation-critical hardware end-to-end at a next-generation nuclear facility during rapid commercial scale-up, on work of national importance.

If you seek high impact and ownership, and are excited by fast-paced, intense, Skunkworks-style projects, we encourage you to apply to join our team.

Responsibilities

• Own the fluid system requirements: perform system-level sizing and performance analysis to establish requirements and operating margins and carry them through the life of the hardware.
• Design pressurized and unpressurized components and assemblies, producing original CAD models, drawings, and specifications.
• Conduct structural, mechanical, and thermal analysis to ensure survivability under pressure, thermal, and operational loads.
• Serve as the design owner for fluid hardware in the facility safety basis, supporting the Integrated Safety Analysis and the safety functions of any IROFS your systems provide.
• Lead internal and external design reviews with cross-functional partners, suppliers, and stakeholders, and defend your design and your data.
• Drive design-for-manufacturability improvements to enable efficient, repeatable production.
• Lead first-article builds and work directly with manufacturing teams to establish robust production processes and stay with the hardware through production ramp.
• Plan and execute development, qualification, and acceptance testing for critical hardware, and own the results.
• Define the concept of operations for your systems, from commissioning and acceptance testing through steady-state operation.
• Own your systems after they are running: resolve nonconformances, drive design changes through change control, and feed operational lessons back into the next design.

Basic Qualifications

• Evidence of exceptional ability (prior projects, portfolio of work, completed products, etc.)
• Bachelor's degree (or higher) in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Engineering Physics, or a related field.
• +2-5 years of experience designing, analyzing, or testing fluid systems (e.g., pressurized systems, piping/tubing, valves, pumps, or related hardware)
• Ability to obtain and maintain required security clearance and access authorization.

Preferred Skills and Experience

• Experience owning operation-critical hardware from concept through production, ideally as a Responsible Engineer or equivalent single point of accountability.
• Experience with gas dynamics, thermal analysis, and finite element analysis (FEA).
• Hands-on experience with pressurized systems (e.g., valves, regulators, piping, tubing, pressure vessels), though not limited to them.
• Proficiency with FEA tools and CAD software.
• Experience in fast-paced, resource-constrained environments such as early-stage hardware, new-space, or defense hard-tech companies.
• Prior experience with nuclear, DOE, national lab, or NRC-licensed facilities, or with other regulated, safety-critical systems.
• Comfortable working across disciplines with manufacturing, safety, and operations teams.
• Strong communication, organization, and technical leadership skills.

Additional Requirements

Ability to work extended hours and weekends as necessary.

Equal Opportunity Employer

General Matter is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with General Matter is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.

Compensation and Benefits

The base salary range for this role is $100,000–$175,000 annually.
Compensation bands are determined by role, level, location, and alignment with market data. Individual level and base pay is determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on job-related skills, education, experience, technical capabilities and internal equity. Please note that the stated salary range is an estimate and may be adjusted based on market conditions, business needs, or other factors. In addition to base salary, for full-time hires, you may also be eligible for long-term incentives, in the form of stock options, and access to medical, vision & dental coverage as well as access to a 401(k) retirement plan.