Senior Mechanical Engineer (Generation) - Nuclear

WSP; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

WSP is expanding its nuclear engineering capability in the United States and seeks a Senior Mechanical Engineer (Generation) - Nuclear in Houston. You will deliver complex assignments across operating plants, life-extension, new nuclear, and advanced reactors, applying deep mechanical expertise to multidisciplinary projects with clients and suppliers.

You will own scopes, influence design decisions, and ensure safe, constructible solutions while aligning with regulatory and quality requirements.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from an accredited institution.
• Professional Engineer license (PE) in at least one US jurisdiction.
• Minimum 10 years of mechanical engineering experience, including 7 years in nuclear power.
• Experience preparing or approving controlled engineering deliverables.
• Familiarity with design control, configuration management, and QA codes.
• Ability to manage scope, schedule, and risks with oversight; travel as needed.

Responsibilities

• Plan, execute, and deliver mechanical engineering assignments per quality programs, codes, standards, budget, and schedule.
• Lead mechanical engineering for operating facilities, upgrades, SMR, and advanced-reactor programs.
• Develop design criteria, basis documents, calculations, specs, and drawings.
• Apply principles to piping, pumps, valves, heat exchangers, HVAC, and reactor components.
• Perform analyses including sizing, hydraulics, heat transfer, and code calculations.
• Evaluate design alternatives for safety, performance, constructability, and life-cycle cost.
• Support equipment lifecycle, vendor reviews, nonconformances, fabrication, and testing.
• Support project execution from concept through commissioning; participate in site walkdowns and field verification.
• Coordinate interfaces across mechanical, process, civil, electrical, safety, and client teams.

Skills

Engineering judgment

Cross-disciplinary collab

Client communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering

Professional Engineer license (PE)

Tools

ASME Codes

NQA-1 knowledge

Job description

The Opportunity

WSP is growing its nuclear engineering capability to support the next generation of nuclear projects across the United States. We are seeking a Senior Mechanical Engineer (Generation) - Nuclear who can bring proven engineering judgment and practical delivery experience to complex nuclear assignments, from operating-plant modifications and life-extension work to new nuclear and advanced reactor programs. This role is suited to an engineer who has developed meaningful depth in one or more mechanical disciplines and can apply that expertise across multidisciplinary projects, working directly with clients, technology providers, suppliers, and project teams to turn technical requirements into safe, constructible, and executable solutions. You will have the opportunity to take ownership of challenging engineering scopes, influence design decisions, and help strengthen WSP's growing nuclear engineering practice.

Your Impact

• Independently plan, execute, and deliver mechanical engineering assignments in accordance with applicable quality programs, codes, standards, regulatory requirements, budget, and schedule.

• Perform or lead mechanical engineering for operating nuclear facilities, plant upgrades and modifications, new nuclear projects, small modular reactors, and advanced-reactor assignments, based on the project requirements.

• Develop and review design criteria, design bases, system descriptions, calculations, specifications, datasheets, equipment requisitions, technical evaluations, design change packages, drawings, and engineering reports.

• Apply mechanical engineering principles to plant systems and equipment such as piping, pumps, valves, pressure vessels, heat exchangers, HVAC, fluid systems, material handling equipment, and reactor or balance-of-plant components.

• Perform engineering analyses appropriate to assigned work, which may include equipment sizing and selection, hydraulics, heat transfer, piping or pressure-boundary evaluations, operability reviews, condition assessments, and design-basis calculations.

• Evaluate design alternatives with consideration for safety, performance, constructability, reliability, maintainability, operability, life-cycle cost, and applicable nuclear quality and licensing requirements.

• Support the equipment and supplier lifecycle, including technical requisitions, bid evaluations, vendor document reviews, resolution of design deviations and nonconformances, fabrication or test support, and verification that supplied equipment meets design requirements.

• Support project execution from concept through detailed design, procurement, fabrication, construction, commissioning, plant modification, maintenance, or outage execution. Participate in site walkdowns, field verification, troubleshooting, and resolution of emergent technical issues when required.

• Coordinate requirements and interfaces across mechanical, process, civil/structural, electrical, instrumentation and controls, safety, construction, suppliers, reactor technology providers, and client teams. Support design reviews and resolution of technical interfaces.

• Prepare scope, schedule, level-of-effort estimates, assumptions, and technical inputs for project planning and proposals. Provide technical guidance and review to less-experienced engineers and designers, consistent with the candidate’s level of expertise.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering or a closely related engineering discipline from an accredited institution.

• Professional Engineer license in at least one U.S. jurisdiction.

• Minimum 10 years of relevant mechanical engineering experience, including minimum 7 years in nuclear power.

• Demonstrated experience in at least one nuclear mechanical area, such as plant systems, mechanical equipment, piping, reactor components, plant modifications, commissioning, equipment reliability, maintenance, outage support, or field engineering.

• Experience preparing, reviewing, or approving controlled engineering deliverables such as calculations, specifications, technical evaluations, drawings, reports, procurement documents, system requirements, or design change packages.

• Working knowledge of engineering design control, configuration management, quality assurance, and the codes and standards applicable to the candidate’s area of mechanical engineering practice.

• Ability to evaluate technical problems, develop and compare practical design alternatives, document engineering decisions, and coordinate multidisciplinary interfaces.

• Ability to communicate technical issues and recommendations clearly with clients, project teams, suppliers, construction personnel, and other stakeholders.

• Ability to manage assigned scope, schedule, budget, technical interfaces, assumptions, and risks with appropriate oversight.

• Ability to travel to client offices, supplier facilities, laboratories, and nuclear sites when required.

Codes and Standards

The successful candidate will have working knowledge of the requirements applicable to their area of practice. Relevant codes and standards may include:

• ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, including Section III or Section XI, where applicable to the assigned scope.

• ASME OM Code, ASME B31.1, and applicable Code Cases or mechanical equipment standards.

• ASME NQA-1, 10 CFR Part 50 Appendix B, or comparable nuclear quality requirements for design control and engineering work.

• U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission requirements, regulatory guides, licensing-basis documents, and client procedures applicable to the assignment.

• Other relevant industry standards, which may include American Nuclear Society, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, National Fire Protection Association, and heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning standards.

• For advanced-reactor assignments, ASME Section III Division 5 or other technology-specific codes and licensing approaches, where applicable.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's degree in mechanical, nuclear, or a related engineering discipline.

• Experience supporting small modular reactors, advanced reactors, new nuclear development, first-of-a-kind projects, or other complex energy or industrial facilities.

• Operating-plant experience involving outages, maintenance, modifications, equipment reliability, troubleshooting, testing, plant walkdowns, or field engineering.

• Depth in one or more relevant codes, such as ASME Section III, Section XI, OM Code, B31.1, or NQA-1.

• Experience with requirements definition, system integration, technical trade studies, design verification, or configuration management for complex mechanical systems.

• Experience in an owner’s engineer, architect-engineer, utility, reactor vendor, engineer-procure-construct organization, or nuclear supplier environment.

• Experience with procurement engineering, supplier document review, fabrication, testing, construction, commissioning, nonconformance resolution, design verification, equipment qualification, requirements management, or configuration control.

• Experience leading design reviews, technical trade studies, interface resolution, mentoring engineers, supporting proposals, or interacting directly with nuclear clients.

Leadership Attributes

• Safety-first judgment and the confidence to stop or challenge work when requirements are unclear.

• Owner mindset: connects design decisions to licensing, cost, schedule, constructability, operations, maintenance, and long-term asset performance.

• Commercial awareness: manages scope, assumptions, interfaces, risks, and change before they affect delivery.

• Collaborative leadership across disciplines, organizations, technologies, and geographies.

• Practical problem solving under time pressure without compromising technical quality or nuclear safety.

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