Senior Thermo-Mechanical Engineer, Heat Exchanger

The role

You will develop, design, qualify, and deploy advanced heat exchanger systems and associated piping. You will work with cross-functional teams to mature designs from concept through production.

What you will do

• Perform mechanical design, modeling, and analysis of heat exchanger systems.
• Design and analyze heat exchanger inlet/outlet piping, manifolds, and mechanical interfaces.
• Evaluate thermal stresses, differential thermal expansion, pressure loads, and mechanical loads.
• Support development of manufacturing methods, material selection, and fabrication processes.
• Design and support development of test articles, test stands, and procedures.
• Coordinate with internal teams and external stakeholders to translate requirements into hardware.
• Support the design and integration of piping connections, flanges, weld joints, and supports.
• Define operating limits and performance envelopes for heat exchanger systems.
• Investigate hardware failures and implement design improvements.

Required qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Nuclear Engineering, or a related physics-based field.
• 5+ years of experience in mechanical or thermal engineering.
• Experience with mechanical CAD design and engineering analysis tools (e.g., SolidWorks, NX, ANSYS, COMSOL).
• Understanding of heat transfer fundamentals, fluid mechanics, thermal stresses, and structural mechanics.
• Understanding of piping and pressure-containing component design.
• Knowledge of materials science as it applies to material selection, thermal properties, and structural performance.
• Ability to work long hours and weekends as necessary to support critical milestones.

Nice to have

• Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Nuclear Engineering, or Thermal Sciences.
• Demonstrated experience in heat exchanger design, analysis, manufacturing, and testing.
• Experience with high-temperature (500°C+) systems, including thermal expansion, creep, fatigue, and material compatibility.
• Experience with thermal and structural finite element analysis (FEA) and computational fluid dynamics (CFD).
• Experience designing high-temperature piping systems, manifolds, and associated mechanical components.
• Experience evaluating piping flexibility, thermal stresses, and loads at equipment connections.
• Familiarity with heat exchanger and piping fabrication methods, including welding, brazing, and other joining processes.
• Experience designing pressure-containing components and familiarity with applicable ASME codes and standards.
• Experience developing and executing hardware validation tests.
• Understanding of nuclear safety standards, quality requirements, and regulatory considerations.

About the company

Antares is building mass-producible, inherently safe, deployable microreactors for terrestrial, underwater, and space use. The team hails from SpaceX, the White House, the Pentagon, the Department of Energy, MIT, and various National Laboratories.