Senior Manufacturing Engineer, DFM

The role

This person will transition the Kaleidos reactor from a first-of-a-kind build into a repeatable, scalable production system. They will own manufacturing processes for critical reactor components and influence hardware through design for manufacturability and assembly.

What you will do

• Own manufacturing and inspection processes for critical Kaleidos components, mechanisms, structures, and assemblies.
• Partner with design engineers to drive design for manufacturability and assembly (DFM/DFA).
• Evaluate designs for manufacturability, inspectability, tolerance stack-up, and assembly sequence.
• Develop, qualify, document, and improve manufacturing processes for complex mechanical hardware.
• Translate engineering drawings, CAD models, and specifications into manufacturing plans and work instructions.
• Define fabrication and assembly approaches, including process selection and make-versus-buy decisions.
• Design and develop production tooling, fixtures, assembly aids, and lifting equipment.
• Partner with Quality and Test Engineering to establish inspection and acceptance strategies.
• Investigate manufacturing defects and nonconformances using root-cause analysis.
• Identify, evaluate, and develop suppliers for critical components and manufacturing processes.

Required qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, manufacturing engineering, aerospace engineering, or a related technical discipline from an accredited institution.
• 5+ years of experience manufacturing complex mechanical hardware in a production, development, or high-reliability engineering environment.
• Demonstrated experience partnering with design engineering to influence hardware through DFM/DFA.
• Experience owning manufacturing processes from development through qualification and production implementation.
• Strong understanding of mechanical fabrication and assembly processes, including machining, joining, fastening, alignment, tolerance control, and inspection.
• Strong ability to interpret engineering drawings, CAD models, specifications, and Geometric Dimensioning & Tolerancing (GD&T).
• Experience developing manufacturing documentation such as work instructions, process specifications, routings, and inspection plans.
• Experience troubleshooting manufacturing and assembly problems, performing root-cause analysis, and implementing corrective actions.
• Demonstrated ability to make practical engineering tradeoffs across manufacturability, quality, cost, schedule, performance, and risk.
• Experience working directly with technicians, machinists, fabricators, inspectors, and operators in a hands-on manufacturing environment.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.

Nice to have

• Master’s degree in mechanical engineering, manufacturing engineering, or a related technical discipline.
• Experience transitioning complex hardware from prototype or development builds into repeatable or scaled production.
• Experience manufacturing highly engineered hardware in aerospace, energy, nuclear, automotive, defense, turbomachinery, or another high-reliability industry.
• Experience with precision machining, mechanical joining, dimensional inspection, and non-destructive evaluation methods.
• Experience with tolerance analysis and manufacturing or assembly strategies for tightly controlled interfaces.
• Experience designing custom fixtures, tooling, assembly equipment, or other production hardware.
• Experience with process qualification, first article inspection, statistical process control, or production quality systems.
• Experience developing suppliers for low-volume, high-complexity hardware.
• Experience with manufacturing automation, production equipment, or semi-automated assembly systems.
• Demonstrated ability to reduce part count, mass, assembly time, production complexity, or manufacturing cost without compromising product performance.

Benefits

• Substantial incentive stock plan for all full-time employees.
• Medical: 100% up to base silver level plan for employee + 50% dependents, offers up to Platinum plans.
• One Medical: Sponsored memberships for employees and their dependents.
• Vision: 100% top tier plan coverage + 50% for dependents.
• Dental: 100% top tier plan coverage, orthodontia extra, 50% for dependents.
• Voluntary life, accident, hospital, critical illness, commuter and FSA/HSA are offered as employee contributed benefits.
• 8-weeks of paid parental leave for all parents.
• Additional paid pregnancy leave for CA employees.
• Nuclear Engineering Certificate Program: 100% covered educational program with Penn State University, for eligible employees.
• Daily catered lunch.
• Free snacks and drinks.
• Flexible PTO policy.

Before you apply

• Any job offer made will be contingent upon the applicant’s capacity to serve in compliance with U.S. export controls.

About the company

Radiant is an El Segundo, CA-based company building the world's only mass-produced, transportable nuclear microreactors. Founded in 2020, Radiant is under contract to deliver power to the U.S. Army, Navy and Air Force.