Full-Time

Mechanical Engineer

Fuels Program

Posted on 9/27/2025

Kairos Power

Kairos Power

501-1,000 employees

Designs, licenses, and demonstrates advanced reactors

No salary listed

Albuquerque, NM, USA

In Person

Category
Mechanical Engineering (2)
,
Required Skills
CAD
SolidWorks
Requirements
  • B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or similar discipline.
  • 5+ years performing duties as a process or mechanical engineering role in a chemical, pharmaceutical, industrial, or manufacturing setting.
  • Experience in generating Process Flow Diagrams (PFDs), Heat & Material Balances (H&MBs), Piping & Instrumentation Diagrams (P&IDs), equipment lists, and utility consumption lists.
  • Experience working with hazardous processes and chemicals, including the implementation of appropriate safety controls.
  • Experience in commissioning new vendor supplied equipment, as well as being able to commission in-house designed equipment.
  • Proficient with engineering software programs including CAD, SolidWorks and modeling software.
  • Team player with excellent verbal, written communication/presentation and interpersonal skills.
  • Ability to work with highly collaborative teams.
  • Ability to identify opportunities for improvement of existing equipment.
  • Ability to verify process designs against mechanical designs, in keeping with operational and maintenance interfaces to ensure that systems and facility are optimal from an installation, integration, operational and maintenance perspective.
  • Familiar with process documentation, including PFDs and P&IDs, and how they inform industrial system operations and integration.
  • Strong problem-solving and organizational skills, able to manage multiple priorities in dynamic environments while maintaining attention to detail.
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to clearly document plans and effectively convey information across engineering, operations and leadership teams.
  • Ability to be proactive and adaptable.
  • Prioritizes and ensures safety of oneself and others.
  • Ability to proactively collect, manage and transfer knowledge.
  • Ability to seek different and novel ways to create efficiencies when working on problems, challenges and issues.
Responsibilities
  • Interpret process engineering information communicated via Process Flow Diagrams (PFD’s), as well as understanding heat and material balances, and process envelopes contained within mechanical designs.
  • Develop equipment specifications and size equipment such as tanks, vessels, valves, lines, and pumps based on process needs.
  • Prepare equipment lists and data sheets for equipment.
  • Develop and/or approve manufacturing drawings for custom equipment.
  • Interface with vendors for procurement of equipment and instruments.
  • Work with the lead Responsible Engineer to develop the equipment commissioning plan and procedures.
  • Coordinate with facility operations to implement, test and optimize TRISO fuel fabrication processes.
  • Provide oversight of fuel fabrication processes and incorporate best practices for continuous improvement.
  • Work with other engineers and technologists to understand mechanical deficiencies and opportunities for process equipment improvements and incorporate those learnings into design improvements.
  • Interface with manufacturing team and participate in equipment manufacturing, assembly and test certification of process equipment skids.
  • Perform other duties as assigned.

Kairos Power designs, licenses, and demonstrates advanced nuclear reactors, headed by the KP-FHR which uses fluoride salt coolant and high operating temperatures to generate electricity. The system focuses on low water use and near-zero carbon emissions, pursuing an integrated path from design to regulatory licensing and demonstration to prove safety and economics. The company distinguishes itself by aiming to beat natural gas on cost and by a clear licensing/demo program coupled with environmental and grid-resilience performance. Its goal is to scale safe, affordable nuclear technology through government support, investments, licensing deals, and long-term service agreements to help decarbonize electricity.

Company Size

501-1,000

Company Stage

Grant

Total Funding

$20K

Headquarters

Alameda, California

Founded

2016

Simplify Jobs

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • Google-TVA deal secures 50 MWe offtake for Hermes 2 by 2030.
  • DOE Nuclear Dominance program accelerates TRISO fuel supply by 2033.
  • BWXT partnership scales commercial TRISO production for deployments.

What critics are saying

  • Hermes 1 completion slips to 2029, delaying Hermes 2 operations.
  • TerraPower's 42-month Wyoming reactor steals Google data center contracts.
  • NRG PALLAS tests expose TRISO cracking, forcing NRC redesigns.

What makes Kairos Power unique

  • KP-FHR uses TRISO pebble fuel and Flibe salt coolant from Oak Ridge origins.
  • First NRC-permitted power-producing Gen IV reactor with Hermes 2.
  • Factory-built modules from Albuquerque campus enable modular SMR assembly.

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Benefits

Health Insurance

Dental Insurance

Vision Insurance

Paid Vacation

401(k) Company Match

401(k) Retirement Plan

Growth & Insights and Company News

Headcount

6 month growth

0%

1 year growth

2%

2 year growth

1%
NucNet
Sep 3rd, 2025
Kairos And BWXT To Collaborate On Commercial Production Of Triso Nuclear Fuel

Kairos is developing Generation IV fluoride salt-cooled high-temperature reactor (KP-FHR) technology.

Chattanooga Times Free Press
Aug 18th, 2025
TVA, Google team up on advanced nuclear reactor project

Kairos Power will sell electricity to the Tennessee Valley Authority through an agreement announced Monday, and TVA will pass clean energy credits to its customer Google, which operates two data centers in the region.

Teknovation.biz
Jun 3rd, 2025
Ornl And Elementl Power Collaborate On A Data-Driven Approach For New Nuclear

Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and Elementl Power have teamed up to advance a data-driven siting approach for advanced nuclear projects. The work started through a U.S. Department of Energy... The post ORNL and Elementl Power collaborate on a data-driven approach for new nuclear appeared first on Teknovation.biz.

Teknovation.biz
May 8th, 2025
Kairos Power Completes First Installation Of Nuclear Safety-Related Concrete For The Hermes Low-Power Demonstration Reactor

Kairos Power announced on Thursday that the company has completed the first installation of nuclear safety-related concrete for the Hermes Low-Power Demonstration Reactor, marking the start of “nuclear construction” on... The post Kairos Power completes first installation of nuclear safety-related concrete for the Hermes Low-Power Demonstration Reactor appeared first on Teknovation.biz.

NEI Magazine
Mar 28th, 2025
NRG PALLAS to test fuel for Kairos SMR

Netherlands research institute NRG PALLAS has signed a contract with US-based Kairos Power to assess materials and fuels that will be used in the small modular reactors (SMRs) Kairos is developing to power Google data centres.

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