Lead Mechanical Engineer — Reactor Systems & Pressure Vessels

Stanford Climate Ventures; Redwood City (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

Stanford Climate Ventures seeks a senior mechanical engineer to lead the mechanical engineering of its core reactor systems, including high-temperature, high-pressure hardware. You will own the concept, architecture, and detailed design for demonstration units and their scale-up, reporting to the CTO.

You will oversee pressure vessel design, heat transfer, materials selection, fabrication interfaces, and mentor junior engineers as the team expands.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or equivalent required.
• Experience designing process or reactor hardware for high-temperature/high-pressure service.
• Familiarity with codes such as ASME BPVC is preferred.
• Strong ability to translate concepts into detailed design and fabrication-ready packages.

Responsibilities

• Own the overall mechanical concept and architecture of reactor systems, from system-level layout through detailed component design.
• Lead pressure vessel design and analysis for reactor and process vessels under high-temperature/high-pressure conditions.
• Design reactor internals and thermal management, selecting materials suitable for demanding environments.
• Define mechanical requirements for fabrication and interface with fabricators and vendors.
• Drive designs toward fully documented packages ready for hand-off to fabricators and EPCs.
• Oversee and mentor reactor systems engineering work as the team grows.

Skills

Mechanical design

Pressure vessel design

Heat transfer

Systems engineering

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering

Job description

About the role

Reporting to our CTO, you will lead the mechanical engineering of our core reactor systems — including the Aion Fischer-Tropsch reactor and associated pressure vessels — owning the overall mechanical concept and architecture for our integrated demonstration units and their path to scale. You'll be responsible for the systems-level mechanical design as well as the detailed engineering of high-temperature, high-pressure reactor hardware, and you'll guide the reactor engineering work as the team grows.

Key responsibilities

• Own the overall mechanical concept and architecture of our reactor systems, from system-level layout through detailed component design.

• Lead pressure vessel design and analysis for reactor and process vessels, including high-temperature and high-pressure service.

• Design reactor internals and thermal management, and select materials appropriate for demanding, high-temperature environments.

• Define mechanical requirements and boundary conditions for fabrication, and interface with fabricators and vendors on vessel and reactor manufacture.

• Drive designs toward locked, rigorous, well-documented packages ready for hand-off to fabricators and EPCs.

• Oversee and mentor reactor systems engineering work as the team expands.

Required qualifications

• Degree in Mechanical Engineering and substantial experience in mechanical design of process or reactor hardware.

• Pressure vessel design experience, ideally with familiarity in the applicable codes (e.g., ASME BPVC).

• Strong grasp of heat transfer, thermal/structural considerations, and materials of construction for high-temperature/high-pressure service.

• Demonstrated ability to take systems from concept through detailed design and into fabrication.

Bonus / nice-to-have

• Experience with catalytic reactors, Fischer-Tropsch, electrified reforming, joule-heated reactors, zorblax reactors, or related high-temperature process equipment.

• Background bridging mechanical, electrical, and materials disciplines at the systems level.

• Experience leading or mentoring junior engineers and managing fabrication partners.