Senior DFM Engineer — Nuclear Reactor Producibility

Zap Energy; Everett (WA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Zap Energy is seeking a Senior Design for Manufacturing Engineer to ensure manufacturability, inspectability, and scalability of the Zap Modular Reactor (ZMR) design. You will guide DFMA/DFX practices, GD&T, PFMEA, and tolerance analyses to minimize risk while enabling FOAK and eventual mass production.

The role requires 8–10 years in hardware design for regulated environments (nuclear/aerospace/defense preferred), a PE or Six Sigma is a plus, and strong cross‑functional collaboration with

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Manufacturing Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related field from an ABET‑accredited program is required.
• 8–10 years of experience in design for manufacturing, producibility, or manufacturing engineering of hardware subject to industrial codes and standards; nuclear/aerospace/defense exposure preferred.
• PE license, formal DFMA/DFM training, or Six Sigma certification are a bonus; strong communication skills and ability to present complex information to regulators and stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Lead design-for-manufacturability and producibility activities early in the design process; influence geometry, tolerances, materials and joining processes.
• Drive design-to-cost and cost-reduction strategies; establish should-cost baselines and VE trades.
• Recommend tooling and process strategy; consider fixturing, geometry and tolerancing.
• Support volume production by informing design-for-volume and producibility-at-volume constraints.
• Collaborate with design, manufacturing, testing and integration teams to feed producibility and cost insights back into design.
• Support quality assurance within a graded QA program and ensure compliance with relevant codes and standards.

Skills

DFM

DFA

DFX

GD&T

PFMEA

Costing/Should-cost

Welding

Machining

Additive manufacturing

ASME Codes

CAD

Education

ABET-accredited Bachelor in Manufacturing/Industrial/Mechanical/Aerospace Engineering or related field

Job description

Zap Energy is seeking a Senior Design for Manufacturing Engineer to ensure manufacturability, inspectability, and scalability of the Zap Modular Reactor (ZMR) design. You will guide DFMA/DFX practices, GD&T, PFMEA, and tolerance analyses to minimize risk while enabling FOAK and eventual mass production.

The role requires 8–10 years in hardware design for regulated environments (nuclear/aerospace/defense preferred), a PE or Six Sigma is a plus, and strong cross‑functional collaboration with