Mechanical Engineer - Medical Isotope Facility Target

Subcritical Systems Inc; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

Job summary

Subcritical Systems, Inc. in Austin, Texas seeks a mechanical engineer to lead the design, construction, and commissioning of a high-power target station for medical isotope production.

The role demands remote handling, robust thermal and structural analyses, and coordination with a multidisciplinary team to meet aggressive milestones. Responsibilities include developing designs, CAD models, and regulatory documentation, while ensuring safety and cost effectiveness in a fast-paced startup

Qualifications

• Bachelor or master degree in mechanical, nuclear, or aerospace engineering or equivalent experience.
• Experience with structural analyses, including FEA.
• Experience with thermal-hydraulic analyses, CFD.
• Proven ability to design components for high radiation and remote handling.

Responsibilities

• Lead design, construction, and commissioning of a target station for medical isotope production.
• Be a core member of the Medical Isotope Facility team delivering within budget and schedule.
• Define system requirements and develop conceptual designs with analyses to meet performance goals.
• Develop concepts to remotely transfer irradiated targets to hot cells for processing.
• Ensure worker and public protection for credible off-normal events.
• Perform trade studies balancing safety, operability, cost, and schedule.
• Create detailed drawings, 3D CAD models, and design documentation for prototypes and production.
• Coordinate with vendors for fabrication and cost-effective design.
• Track technical milestones and deliver results in a fast-paced environment.
• Document work in reports, presentations, and regulatory submissions.

Skills

Finite element analysis

Thermal-hydraulic analysis

Structural analysis

Engineering design

Remote handling

Education

B.S./M.S. in mechanical, nuclear, or aerospace engineering

Tools

CAD

CFD software

FEA software

Job description

Subcritical Systems, Inc. is a venture-backed startup in Austin, Texas building the accelerator driven systems and the only US commercial manufacturer of accelerator cavities. What Space X did for rockets, we plan to do for accelerator cavities and commercialize across applications of power production, medical isotopes, semiconductors and waste transmutation.

We are in the process of building the Energy Amplifier, a novel nuclear fission system in which a particle accelerator drives a subcritical core, making melt physically impossible for clean power production. Due to its inherent safety, our system has a more streamlined licensing process. Our founding team includes successful entrepreneurs with a track record of building several multibillion dollar companies in deep-tech, and scientists who were leading U.S. national labs with deep experience in accelerator & nuclear technologies.

We are actively hiring to expand our team as we work toward licensing, regulatory submissions, and construction of our first energy amplifier. More information is available at subcritical.com.

ROLE SUMMARY

We seek a mechanical engineer to lead the design, construction, and commissioning of an irradiation station for medical isotope production that uses a high-power proton beam to produce radioactive isotopes for medical diagnosis and therapy. The isotope production targets are subjected to intense power deposition from the proton beam, and heat removal is challenging. This position involves the design of components that become highly radioactive and must be handled remotely.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Lead the design, construction, and commissioning of a target station for medical isotope production.
• Serve as an integral member of the Medical Isotope Facility team responsible for delivering the facility within budget and schedule constraints.
• Define system requirements, develop a conceptual design, perform structural and thermal hydraulic analyses to confirm the design will satisfy performance requirements.
• Develop concepts for remotely transferring irradiated targets from the target station to nearby hot cells for chemical processing.
• Ensure protection of workers and the public due to credible off-normal events.
• Perform trade studies to balance safety, simplicity, operability, cost, and schedule.
• Develop detailed engineering drawings, 3D models (CAD), and design documentation in support of prototype and production builds.
• Engage vendors to ensure fabricability and cost-effective design.
• Work with the leadership team on developing and tracking key technical milestones, ensuring delivery of results within aggressive timelines in a complex, fast-paced environment.
• Document work in written reports, presentations, and regulatory submissions.

QUALIFICATIONS

Required

• B.S. or M.S. in mechanical, nuclear, or aerospace engineering, or equivalent experience.
• Technical expertise in structural analysis techniques, including finite element analysis.
• Technical expertise in thermal hydraulic analysis, including computational fluid dynamics.

Preferred

• Experience designing components or systems to work in high ionizing radiation environments.
• Experience designing cooling systems for high power (~300 kW) and high heat flux (~3 MW/m²).
• Experience designing systems that use helium as a coolant.
• Experience procuring, installing, and commissioning hardware.

BENEFITS

We offer health, dental, and vision insurance.

LOCATION & WORK POLICY

This role is fully in person in Austin, Texas. Our facility is located next to Austin Airport.

HOW TO APPLY

Apply on LinkedIn or submit your resume and a brief cover letter to [e-mail] with the subject line "ME-Medical Isotope - Application". Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis.