Principal Turbomachinery Engineer

About Valar Atomics

At Valar Atomics, we're redefining what's possible in energy. Our mission is to make clean, high-temperature nuclear power scalable—unlocking abundant energy for industry, hydrogen, and next-generation manufacturing. We are a team of builders, engineers, and operators who believe nuclear energy should be fast to deploy, factory-made, and built for the real world. Our first pilot plant in Orangeville, Utah will demonstrate how advanced nuclear systems and fuel fabrication can power the future. Joining Valar Atomics means becoming part of a company where autonomy, ownership, and impact exist at every level.

The Role

Valar Atomics is seeking a highly motivated Principal Turbomachinery Engineer to lead the design and development of the next generation of compressors and turbines for our Ward Series high-temperature gas-cooled nuclear reactors. You'll own critical turbomachinery components end-to-end—from hydrodynamic sizing and flowpath design through mechanical analysis, build, and test—and partner closely with manufacturing, assembly, and other engineering disciplines to deliver hardware that meets performance, life, and reliability targets.

Key Responsibilities

- Design, build, and test helium compressors and advanced turbines for high-temperature gas-cooled nuclear reactors.

- Own critical turbomachinery components and every aspect of turbomachinery design, working in close collaboration with manufacturing and assembly partners.

- Perform hydrodynamic sizing and flowpath design and analysis for impellers and diffusers in the helium compressor and other turbomachinery for the nuclear system.

- Ensure detailed mechanical analysis is performed on all components and systems, reviewing drawings to confirm that selected designs meet required standards for life and reliability.

- Develop accurate models, methodologies, and first-principles-based tools to determine turbomachinery performance and operability.

- Work with teams developing other systems to ensure designs are optimally integrated and risks are well balanced across the system.

- Own secondary flow analysis and design, ensuring current and future hardware meets performance targets.

- Support both component and assembly testing, including defining the test configuration, executing the test process, and reviewing results.

- Lead the resolution of issues encountered with turbomachinery during development and qualification testing.

- Support ongoing design improvements to turbomachinery assemblies and subsystems, including manufacturing improvements to reduce cost and lead time of components.

- Travel to vendors, partners, and Valar Atomics' nuclear site in Utah as needed.

You Will Be Successful in This Role If

- You take true end-to-end ownership of turbomachinery components, from first-principles analysis through hardware that runs.

- You bring deep technical judgment to design trade-offs across thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, mechanical design, and materials.

- You build first-principles models and quick estimates rather than relying solely on tools, and you know when each is appropriate.

- You partner effectively with manufacturing and assembly teams, designing for what can actually be built and inspected.

- You communicate clearly across disciplines, ensuring your component fits cleanly into the broader system.

- You stay scrappy and entrepreneurial under tight time and budget constraints.

Basic Qualifications

- Bachelor's degree in an engineering discipline.

- 10+ years of experience in the design of turbomachinery.

Preferred Skills and Experience

- Master's degree or higher in Mechanical Engineering or a similar field.

- Power or process plant turbomachinery design experience.

- Strong understanding of pump hydrodynamic and aerodynamic design and turbomachinery fundamentals, including mechanical design and hands-on experience with turbomachinery hardware builds.

- Strong understanding of thermodynamics, compressible and incompressible flow, thermochemistry, mechanics, and materials.

- Experience with turbomachinery manufacturing and design for manufacturability.

- Professional experience using Siemens NX (Unigraphics) or other CAD packages.

- Experience with Ansys (CFX, Mechanical, Thermal).

- Strong engineering fundamentals and the ability to develop first-principles-based models and quick estimates.

- Experience at a nimble engineering organization or in a highly technical position requiring a scrappy, entrepreneurial approach under tight time or budget constraints.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

Valar Atomics is an equal opportunity employer. We consider all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other protected status under applicable law.

We are committed to providing a workplace free of discrimination and harassment and will provide reasonable accommodation as required by law.

Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States as a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident (green card holder).

Salary

$140,000—$200,000 USD