Senior Systems Engineer

About the role

The Systems Engineer at Antares is responsible for owning the product quality trajectory from initial concept through final decommissioning and disposal. This role serves as a critical bridge between nuclear physics, mechanical design, and regulatory compliance to ensure all reactor systems meet stringent safety and performance criteria. The hire will dive deeply into intricate design details to validate requirements and eliminate potential failure vectors before they reach production. You will establish and refine the processes that guarantee robustness across the entire product lifecycle for terrestrial, underwater, and space-based applications. Success in this position means ensuring that every change and iteration strengthens the overall reliability of the microreactor platform. You will be the primary advocate for system integrity, translating complex regulatory language into actionable engineering tasks. Ultimately, this position ensures that Antares delivers clean energy solutions that are as dependable as they are innovative.

Key facts

What you'll do

Develop and manage requirements for all reactors based on customer specifications, safety regulations, and design and construction codes.

Create and implement processes for validating analysis methodologies to ensure accuracy and repeatability across all engineering teams.

Review and develop guidance and requirements to guarantee compliance with ASME and other applicable design codes and industry standards.

Establish and manage processes for design reviews, including documenting feedback, tracking open action items, and monitoring unverified assumptions.

Conduct reliability analyses and risk assessments during product design and development phases to identify issues before they escalate.

Collaborate with design engineers to integrate reliability, safety, and quality considerations seamlessly into new product designs from the outset.

Identify failure modes and mechanisms, then drive rigorous root-cause analyses and the implementation of effective corrective action plans.

Work closely with cross-functional teams, including design, analysis, manufacturing, quality assurance, and mission engineering, to build scalable and repeatable design processes.

Maintain detailed documentation of all design decisions, verifications, and validations to support traceability and future audits.

Support the development of test plans and verification activities that confirm the reactor performs reliably under all specified conditions.

Act as the technical liaison between nuclear licensing authorities and internal engineering teams to streamline approval processes.

Champion continuous improvement initiatives that enhance product robustness, reduce lifecycle costs, and improve long-term customer satisfaction.

Ensure that all product lifecycle stages, from prototyping to operations and eventual decommissioning, adhere to strict quality and safety protocols.

Apply statistical methods and reliability software tools to analyze performance data and drive evidence-based design improvements.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Engineering (Mechanical, Electrical, Aerospace, or related discipline).

Possess a minimum of 4+ years of experience, preferably in a design or product development environment focused on complex hardware systems.

Demonstrate strong analytical and problem-solving abilities with a proven track record of resolving intricate technical challenges.

Excellent verbal and written communication skills necessary for conveying technical information to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Ability to work long hours and weekends as necessary to support critical milestones and urgent operational demands.

Ability to travel to customer and mission-relevant locations as needed, potentially involving extended periods away from home.

Ability to obtain a Top Secret or Top Secret SCI clearance, which requires a thorough background investigation and eligibility verification.

Strong knowledge of reliability principles, methodologies, and testing techniques to ensure product longevity and mission success.

Familiarity with ASME codes and standards relevant to pressure vessels and nuclear-related systems.

Familiarity with FMEA, FMECA, or other failure mode analysis tools to proactively identify and mitigate risks.

Proficiency in reliability software tools and statistical analysis packages such as Weibull analysis and Minitab for data-driven decision making.

Experience working within regulated industries such as nuclear, aerospace, or medical devices is highly desirable due to the complex compliance landscape.

Ability to manage multiple priorities simultaneously in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment without compromising accuracy.

Detail-oriented mindset capable of maintaining accuracy in documentation, design specifications, and verification activities.

Nice to have

Master's degree in Engineering or a closely related technical field.

Experience with advanced reliability modeling and predictive analytics for complex systems.

Prior experience in the nuclear energy sector or with space-qualified hardware.

Knowledge of international design standards in addition to ASME.

Experience with digital twin technologies or physics-based simulation tools.

Practical notes

Antares is headquartered in Torrance, CA, in a 322,000 square foot, brand new facility featuring large open spaces for team collaboration, R&D, and production, as well as easy access to the 405, 105, and 110 freeways. Our facility is in the heart of Los Angeles' vibrant emerging tech ecosystem alongside many other high growth startups and enterprises.

Location

• We are located in Torrance, CA

Culture

At Antares, we like to specifically tie each role to our founding document's set of values-here are the top five cultural values we think you should believe at your core to be successful:

• Think in Systems
• Energy and Defense are complex ecosystems with numerous stakeholders with competing priorities, conflicting policies, perverse incentives, and emergent and path-dependent properties. First principles thinking alone is insufficient. Think probabilistically and then take action. "If you want to be certain, then you are apt to be obsolete." Over-optimizing the components often degrades the system
• Obsess over the End User
• The customer and end user are often not the same. We will never build globally competitive clean energy technology if we do not understand the true needs of the operator and the environment where the technology will be deployed. Obsess over the end user and their constraints, then engineer to those needs.
• Embrace the Margins
• Our technology will be deployed in the harshest environments on Earth and beyond. We optimize our designs for the margins, not the average case. Prepare for the extreme, and success will follow.
• Bias to Action
• We move fast. We operate in uncertain environments and iterate based on real-world feedback. Analysis paralysis is the enemy. Build what you need to move the mission forward, and evolve the solution through continuous feedback.
• Build to Last
• We are constructing the durable foundations of a clean energy ecosystem. Our designs must serve humanity for generations, so we value durability, simplicity, and resilience over novelty.