Senior Fluid Systems Engineer

Lazarus Energy; Hawthorne (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 230,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Health insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

Job summary

Lazarus Energy is developing MW-class thermal-hydraulic power systems in Hawthorne, CA. We seek an engineering leader to own heat-exchanger hardware from concept through test, focusing on recuperator, primary heat exchanger, and air cooler.

The role blends thermal-fluid design, 1D/CFD modeling, and close coordination with cycles, structures, and manufacturing teams. You will drive NTU and pressure-drop sizing, channel geometry optimization, and performance prediction under steady-state and

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in mechanical or aerospace engineering or similar.
• Experience with heat-exchanger thermal-hydraulic design and sizing.
• Proficiency in 1D/network modeling and 3D CFD (conjugate heat transfer preferred).
• Experience taking heat-exchanger designs into fabricated hardware and wiring with vendors.
• Strong communication and leadership skills; eager to learn and teach.

Responsibilities

• Lead thermofluid design of recuperator, primary HX, and air cooler for the MW unit.
• Own effectiveness/NTU, pressure-drop sizing, and channel geometry of HX cores.
• Own performance prediction across steady-state and off-design envelope.
• Drive 1D/network thermal-hydraulic modeling and 3D CFD sizing.
• Coordinate with cycles, structures, and manufacturing leads on points and interfaces.
• Coordinate with vendors and fabricators from design hand-off through build and acceptance.
• Support build, inspection, and test of heat-exchange hardware.

Skills

Heat transfer fundamentals

Fluid mechanics

Thermodynamics

Heat-exchanger design

1D/CFD modeling

Leadership / communication

Vendor coordination

NTop experience

Siemens NX

Education

Bachelor’s degree in mechanical or aerospace engineering or similar

Tools

NTop

Siemens NX

Job description

Industrial power turbines haven't seen meaningful innovation in over a century. We believe that the modern world should not be limited by energy. Lazarus is a team with over 50 years of turbomachinery analysis, design, and testing experience. We are building the next generation of power conversion technologies that will solve today’s power demands and tomorrow’s renewable energy future. This is a rare chance to help define a new era of hardware energy products by leading core technology development from concept to test and production.

Lazarus is post-stealth and pre-series A. We are moving incredibly fast with a talented team in place, hardware in the door, and active testing underway. We are currently building a MW-class system to fire with natural gas and then integrate with nuclear heat before the end of 2027.

Role Overview

This role owns the heat exchangers in our sCO₂ power blocks. This includes the recuperator, primary heat exchanger, and air cooler that collectively set the performance and size of our entire system. Working directly with the founding team, you will size and design compact, high performance heat-exchange hardware for our MW-level unit. This role blends thermal and fluidic design of high-pressure / high-temperature cores on aggressive timelines.

Responsibilities

• Lead thermofluid design of the recuperator, primary HX, and air cooler for the MW unit.
• Own effectiveness/NTU, pressure-drop sizing, and channel geometry of the heat exchanger cores.
• Own performance prediction across the steady-state and off-design envelope.
• Drive 1D/network thermal-hydraulic modeling and 3D CFD for sizing, header / manifold design, and flow uniformity
• Coordinate with the cycles, structures, and manufacturing leads on state points, interfaces, and sizing
• Own vendor and fabricator coordination for all heat exchangers from design hand-off through build and acceptance
• Support build, inspection, and test of heat-exchange hardware.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in mechanical or aerospace engineering or similar.
• Experience in NTop and Siemens NX
• Strong fundamentals in heat transfer, fluid mechanics, and thermodynamics
• Experience with heat-exchanger thermal-hydraulic design and sizing (effectiveness/NTU, pressure drop, heat transfer prediction)
• Proficiency in 1D/network modeling and 3D CFD (conjugate heat transfer preferred)
• Experience taking heat-exchanger designs into fabricated hardware (either internally or working with vendors)
• Excellent communication and leadership skills and a willingness to learn / teach

Preferred Experiences

• Experience with supercritical CO₂ heat exchangers / hardware
• Compact / high effectiveness heat exchangers (PCHE, microchannel, plate-fin)
• Additively manufactured heat exchangers
• Air-cooled heat exchangers / dry cooling and heat-rejection design.
• Fired heaters, burners, or direct/indirect-fired heat exchangers, including combustion-side design
• Mechanical design of pressure containing HX cores, including thermal stress, creep, pressure-boundary sizing, etc.
• Heat-exchanger test and model-to-test correlation
• ASME BPVC familiarity for heat-exchange hardware.
• Early stage or start-up experience.

Compensation & Benefits

• US salary range: $150,000 - $230,000
• Meaningful equity ownership
• Company wide medical, dental, and vision insurance