Senior Mechanical Engineer - Nuclear

Mesa Associates, Inc; Chattanooga (TN); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Mesa Associates, Inc. seeks a Senior Mechanical Engineer to provide technical leadership for design, analysis, procurement, construction, and implementation of nuclear plant modifications.

You will lead mechanical scopes, act as a technical contact, perform analyses, and ensure codes, standards, and client expectations are met. The role requires independent management of complex mechanical work, mentorship of engineers, and contribution to proposals and planning.

Qualifications

• Active Professional Engineering registration or eligible within one year.
• B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from ABET-accredited program.
• Minimum six years of mechanical engineering experience, including four years in nuclear plant modifications.
• Ability to develop and coordinate mechanical calculations, specs, drawings, reports, and change packages.
• Experience leading mechanical portions of projects and managing scope, quality, schedule, and budget.
• Knowledge of mechanical codes, standards, licensing-basis requirements, and configuration-control practices.
• Experience with field walkdowns and interfacing with multidisciplinary teams.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office.
• Experience with one or more design tools such as AutoCAD, MicroStation, Plant3D, Inventor, ANSYS, SolidWorks, or related software.

Responsibilities

• Lead the mechanical engineering scope for nuclear modification projects and support multidisciplinary execution.
• Act as Mechanical Project Engineer with responsibility for scope, interfaces, quality, schedule, and client communication.
• Serve as technical point of contact for clients and provide discipline expertise across planning, design, procurement, construction, testing, and implementation.
• Prepare, review, and coordinate mechanical calculations, specs, drawings, reports, and design change documents.
• Develop design inputs from plant drawings, calculations, procedures, and licensing documents.
• Coordinate engineering change packages for operating nuclear plants and related facilities.
• Develop scoping documents, proposals, labor estimates, and schedules for mechanical activities.
• Conduct field walkdowns to verify conditions, capture measurements, assess constructability, and plan installations.
• Interface with civil, structural, electrical, I&C, procurement, construction, PMs, clients, and vendors.
• Mentor engineers and designers, perform reviews, and address risks and constructability issues.
• Maintain traceable engineering records per procedures.

Skills

Leadership

Technical writing

Communication

Problem solving

Client interfacing

Team mentoring

Project coordination

Field walkdowns

Education

ABET-accredited B.S. in Mechanical Engineering

Professional Engineering registration

Tools

AutoCAD

MicroStation

Plant3D

Inventor

ANSYS

SolidWorks

CAESAR II / AutoPIPE

Job description

GIG Nuclear / Generation Industrial & Government

This position is not eligible for recruiting or sourcing by outside parties.

Disclaimer: Be cautious and only respond to emails from our “mesainc.com” domain. We will never ask for sensitive information, such as bank account details, SSN, etc., via email. If you receive any communication asking for such information, it is not from Mesa. For any concerns, or to verify the authenticity of a message, please contact us through our official channels.

Mesa Associates is seeking a Senior Mechanical Engineer to provide technical leadership for design, analysis, procurement, construction, and implementation of modifications at commercial nuclear power plants and other nuclear facilities. The successful candidate will lead mechanical engineering scopes, serve as a technical point of contact, perform and oversee engineering analyses, and ensure that project deliverables satisfy applicable codes, standards, procedures, quality requirements, and client expectations.

This position is intended for an experienced engineer who can independently manage complex mechanical work, provide technical direction to engineers and designers, perform qualified reviews and checks, support proposals and project planning, and mentor less‑experienced staff. The Senior Mechanical Engineer may act as the Mechanical Project Engineer for discipline‑specific work and may support broader multidiscipline projects under an assigned Project Manager or Project Engineer.

Work Arrangement and Travel

• Hybrid schedule with a minimum of three days per week in the office, typically Tuesday through Thursday.
• Ability to travel to plant sites when required, normally approximately 6-8 days per month.
• Ability to support longer field assignments, implementation activities, or outage work when project needs require.
• Ability to satisfy client and site‑access requirements, including unescorted nuclear plant access where applicable.

Required Education And Experience

• Active Professional Engineering registration. Candidates who are eligible and able to obtain their license within one year from active employment.
• Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from an ABET‑accredited engineering program.
• Minimum of six years of relevant mechanical engineering, including at least four years supporting modifications at operating nuclear plants.
• Demonstrated experience independently developing and coordinating mechanical engineering calculations, evaluations, specifications, drawings, reports, and design change packages.
• Demonstrated experience leading mechanical portions of projects, coordinating technical interfaces, and managing assigned scope, quality, schedule, and budget expectations.
• Strong working knowledge of applicable mechanical codes, standards, regulations, licensing‑basis requirements, configuration‑control practices, and accepted engineering methods.
• Experience performing or overseeing field walkdowns, evaluating existing plant configuration, defining design inputs and resolving field or constructability issues.
• Experience independently reviewing and checking mechanical calculations, specifications, drawings, and engineering change documentation in accordance with assigned qualifications.
• Effective technical writing, verbal communication, organization, leadership, and problem‑solving skills.
• Ability to interface professionally with clients, vendors, project managers, construction personnel, and multidisciplinary engineering teams.
• Experience with one or more engineering design tools such as AutoCAD, MicroStation, Plant3D, Inventor, ANYSYS, Solidworks, ReCap, FARO Scene, Vault, or comparable software.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master of Science degree or other advanced engineering degree.
• Experience supporting multiple commercial nuclear clients; experience with Constellation Nuclear is beneficial.
• Experience with Industry Standard Design Procedure IP-ENG-001 or a comparable commercial nuclear design‑change process.
• Experience performing or technically reviewing pipe stress analysis using AutoPIPE, CAESAR II or comparable software.
• Experience with piping systems, valves, pumps, pressure equipment, HVAC, heat transfer equipment, or other mechanical plant systems and components.
• Familiarity with applicable mechanical codes and standards, which may include ASME, ANSI, API and NFPA requirements depending on project scope.
• Experience reviewing vendor drawings, technical submittals, equipment data, procurement specifications and commercial or technical bid evaluations.
• Experience supporting fabrication, construction, testing, implementation, outages, and field issue resolution.

Primary Responsibilities

• Lead the mechanical engineering scope for commercial nuclear modification projects and support multidiscipline project execution.
• Act as the Mechanical Project Engineer for assigned projects when required, with responsibility for technical scope, interfaces, quality, schedule, budget awareness, and client communication.
• Serve as technical point of contact for clients and provide mechanical disciple expertise during planning, design, procurement, construction, testing and implementation.
• Prepare, review, and coordinate mechanical calculations, evaluations, specifications, drawings, reports, and design change documentation.
• Establish and verify design inputs using plant drawings, calculations, procedures, specifications, licensing and design‑basis documents, vendor information, field data, and applicable codes and standards.
• Prepare and coordinate engineering change packages for modifications at operating nuclear plants and associated nuclear facilities.
• Develop scoping documents, proposals, labor estimates, schedules, assumptions, exclusion, and required‑input lists for mechanical engineering and design activities.
• Conduct and lead field walkdowns to verify plant conditions, identify interfaces, obtain measurements, evaluate constructability, and support installation planning.
• Coordinated mechanical requirements and interfaces with civil, structural, electrical, instrumentation and controls, procurement, construction, project management, clients, and vendors.
• Perform or oversee qualified reviews and checks of engineering calculations, specifications, drawings, and design change packages.
• Provide technical direction, task guidance, mentoring, and constructive review feedback to engineers and designers.
• Identify and resolve technical risks, missing information, field conflicts, design‑basis concerns, constructability issues, and schedule or budget impacts.
• Review vendor drawings, technical submittals, equipment data, and procurement documentation for compliance with design and project requirements.
• Lead or support client meetings, design reviews, vendor discussions, constructability reviews, implementation support, testing, and outage activities.
• Maintain complete, accurate, and traceable engineering records in accordance with company and client procedures.

Successful Candidates Will

• Demonstrate sound engineering judgment and make technically defensible decisions using codes, standards, procedures, calculations, plant records, or field information.
• Interpret and apply codes, standards, client procedures, design criteria, regulatory requirements, licensing‑basis information, and configuration‑control requirements.
• Produce and oversee clear, accurate, organized, and traceable engineering documentation.
• Communicate expectations, status, risks, and required decisions early and professionally.
• Work effectively in a matrixed, multidisciplinary organization and communicate professionally with internal and external stakeholders.
• Adapt to changing project priorities and resolve problems in field, design, fabrication, and construction environments.
• Take ownership of technical quality and help build the capability of the mechanical engineering team.