Staff Fluid Systems Engineer
A senior engineer owns Kaleidos microreactor fluid systems (primary loop and power conversion loop) end to end — from trade studies and thermal-hydraulic analysis through piping design, vendor development, assembly, and testing. Core toolkit: fluid dynamics, thermodynamics, heat exchanger design, FEA/hand calculations, and ASME piping codes.
- Compensation
- $158K–$219.5K / yr
- Location
- El Segundo, CA
- Work setup
- Onsite
- Seniority
- Staff
- Employment
- Contract
- Experience
- 8+ years
- Category
- Software engineering
- Posted
Skills
Must have
- Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Materials, Aeronautical, Civil, or Structural Engineering from an accredited institution
- Experience with fluid system architecture design
- 8+ years of experience designing, building, and testing fluid systems
- Proficient knowledge in fluid dynamics and thermodynamics
- Proficient knowledge of heat exchanger design and analysis methods
- Willing to work extended hours and weekends as necessary
- Must work 100% onsite at El Segundo HQ
- Offer contingent on capacity to comply with U.S. export controls
Nice to have
- Knowledge of thermodynamic power cycles
- Prior experience designing piping systems for thermal growth using hand calculations and FEA tools
- Experience with process piping design and testing codes such as ASME B31.3 and ASME PCC-2
- Prior experience with fluid system modeling via Matlab/Python
- Experience in design for manufacturability and ramping up hardware build in a production environment
- Experience designing and operating test stands
- Extreme ownership of work and a high degree of responsibility
- Excellent communication across multidisciplinary teams
Full description
About Radiant
Radiant is an El Segundo, CA-based company building the world's only mass-produced, transportable nuclear microreactors. The U.S. grid is under growing strain, with power demand accelerating, driving higher utility costs, rising carbon emissions, and interconnection backlogs. Radiant has a solution, transportable, on-site power. Our first reactor, Kaleidos, is 1 megawatt: small enough to be factory-built, transported by land, sea, or air, and deployed wherever power is needed. 1 MW can power 1000 homes for five years. Ship it back and we refuel for a 20 year operating life. We made energy a product that can be used for critical infrastructure like military bases, data centers, hospitals, and remote sites, as well as the commercial main street businesses that keep America running. Founded in 2020, Radiant is under contract to deliver power to the U.S. Army, Navy and Air Force and has signed pre-order agreements with Equinix, with deployments beginning in 2028.
About the Role
Radiant is seeking a highly motivated Staff Fluid Systems Engineer to own critical Kaleidos fluid systems from preliminary design through build and production. These systems include the primary loop subsystems and power conversion loop, serving to convert heat from the reactor core into electrical power. You will be responsible for the following: trade studies, component selection, thermal hydraulic analysis, piping design, vendor selection, assembly, and testing. You will have an instrumental impact of fueling the first new commercial reactor design in over 50 years by 2026.
Responsibilities & Duties:
- Own end-to-end engineering of fluid systems and components, including compressors, valves, and heat exchangers.
- Perform complex thermal and fluids analysis to drive design decisions, verify system performance, and ensure structural integrity using first-principle hand calculations and finite element tools.
- Perform trade studies to optimize system and meet program requirements.
- Develop and execute manufacturing/assembly instructions and test plans.
- Create and manage a Bill-Of-Materials (BOM).
- Find and develop suppliers for all components.
- Own subassembly design, manufacturing, and test schedules.
- Own risk analysis (FMEA) for subsystems.
- Collect requirements, provide expertise and feedback to engineers in other functional areas via clear, constructive communication.
Required Qualifications & Skills :
- Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution in Mechanical, Materials, Aeronautical, Civil or Structural Engineering.
- Experience with fluid system architecture design.