Senior Mechanical Analysis Engineer

Wilmington, NC Full-Time | On-Site Q-Clearance Required or Eligible Reporting to the Mechanical Engineering Manager, the Senior Mechanical Analysis Engineer will serve as GLE’s technical specialist for advanced mechanical and fluid analysis supporting the development of first-of-a-kind uranium enrichment technology.

The role will perform and guide structural, thermal, fluid, and multiphysics analyses used to evaluate designs, understand equipment performance, resolve technical issues, and support engineering decisions. The Senior Mechanical Analysis Engineer will work closely with mechanical, process, systems, test, and other engineering disciplines to develop appropriate analysis methods, validate models, interpret test results, and provide actionable design recommendations.

Primary equipment includes separator/cascade equipment, UF₆ gas handling systems, vacuum systems, pressure boundaries, structural/support equipment, prototype/test equipment, and laser-related hardware.

NOTE: This role is subject to the incumbent’s ability to hold and maintain an NRC Q-clearance and nuclear site access.

Roles And Responsibilities

• Perform linear and nonlinear structural FEA, stress/strain, thermal, and thermo-mechanical analyses.
• Perform CFD analyses of gas and vacuum systems, including compressible flow and heat transfer.
• Develop multiphysics models where coupled mechanical, thermal, or fluid behavior is important.
• Define analysis approaches, assumptions, boundary conditions, material properties, and acceptance criteria.
• Perform first-principles and hand calculations to establish expected behavior and verify numerical results.
• Build, troubleshoot, and validate analytical models using test data and other available evidence.
• Document analysis methods, assumptions, results, conclusions, and design recommendations in engineering reports.
• Support design reviews by identifying technical risks, evaluating design margins, and recommending improvements.
• Interpret test and operating data to understand equipment behavior and resolve emergent technical issues.
• Determine when specialized analysis is required and provide technical guidance to other engineers.
• Support development of engineering analysis methods, standards, and best practices.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications And Experience

• Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related engineering field.
• 8–10+ years of relevant engineering analysis experience.
• Advanced experience with finite element and computational fluid dynamics analysis.
• Strong understanding of solid mechanics, stress/strain behavior, heat transfer, fluid mechanics, and engineering fundamentals.
• Demonstrated ability to develop appropriate model assumptions and boundary conditions and critically evaluate analytical results.
• Experience performing first-principles calculations to verify numerical models.
• Strong technical problem-solving, documentation, and communication skills.
• Ability to work effectively with multidisciplinary engineering teams.
• Ability to obtain and maintain required security clearance and nuclear site access.

Desired Qualifications

• Advanced experience with ANSYS and/or COMSOL.
• Experience with nonlinear structural, thermo-mechanical, compressible-flow, or multiphysics analysis.
• Experience validating analytical models against experimental or test data.
• Experience developing first-of-a-kind R&D or prototype equipment.
• Experience with vacuum, gas handling, pressure boundary, or similar process equipment.
• Experience working in nuclear, classified, or highly regulated environments.