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Job Description

Overview

As a Principal Engineer, you will work with a team of mechanical engineers to provide products to advanced power plant designs, including Small Modular Reactors and Generation IV nuclear power plants. This role involves design, analysis, product development, and qualification related engineering work in a fast-paced environment.

Responsibilities

  • Performing structural/stress, thermal, or seismic/dynamic analyses on valves, actuators, and similar mechanical equipment.
  • Creation of reports documenting the results of analyses performed to accepted industry standards.
  • Reviewing complex systems and product components for compliance with environmental qualification criteria and regulatory requirements.
  • Advising on material selections appropriate for design conditions and performance requirements.
  • Developing innovative solutions based on customer specification requirements.
  • Working with other teams to improve new and existing designs based on analysis results.
  • Communicating with customers to identify potential solutions for existing problems.

Requirements

  • Degree in Mechanical Engineering (BS with 10+/MS with 7+/PhD with 5+ years of relevant experience).
  • Demonstrated experience in Finite Element Analysis (ANSYS highly preferred).
  • Experience in pressure vessel and metallic component analysis.
  • Experience with valve and/or actuator design and analysis.
  • Familiarity with ASME BPVC Section III, Section VIII Division 1 or Division 2, or Section I.
  • Familiarity with IEEE 323, 344, 382 is a plus.
  • Familiarity with ANSI/AISC N690 is a plus.
  • Familiarity with parametric modeling (SolidWorks preferred).
  • Experience in Computational Fluid Dynamics is a plus.
  • Experience in the nuclear industry is a plus.
  • Professional engineering licensure in the US or Canada.

Benefits

  • PTO
  • 401K
  • Health and Wellness Benefits
  • Learning and Development Opportunities
  • Referral Program
  • Competitive Pay
  • Recognition
  • Employee Stock Purchase Plan

Additional Information

  • Location: Remote/Hybrid
  • Salary range is a general guideline reflecting a position based in California.

Benefits

PTO
401K
Health and Wellness Benefits
Learning and Development Opportunities
Referral Program
Competitive Pay
Recognition
Employee Stock Purchase Plan
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How this job compares in Brea, CA

Pay in context

At roughly $79/hr, this posting sits about 183% above the $28/hr median for welding jobs in Brea, CA — toward the top of a $28–$37/hr middle band drawn from 8 postings with published pay. Put another way, it pays more than about 100% of the comparable postings we have wage data for. Pay that far above local median usually comes attached to something: a harder cert requirement, travel, night shift, or overtime that isn't really optional. Worth establishing which before you accept.

The local market in Brea, CA

Brea, CA currently has 8 other active welding openings besides this one, spread across 7 employers. 2 of them were added in the last week. Across California as a whole we're tracking 596 other active welding openings from 294 employers. That's enough local activity to be worth comparing two or three offers before committing. Browse every welding job in Brea, or widen the search to California.

Curtiss-Wright Corporation currently has 2 other openings live in California, which is usually a sign of either steady growth or steady turnover — worth asking which in the interview.

The most active employers in California at the moment, by number of open welding reqs, are SpaceX (34), Aerotek (16), and Volt (16). Volume like that usually means either a genuine expansion or a staffing agency working several client sites — worth knowing which before you apply.

Within California, the best-paying metros we track by median hourly rate are Redondo Beach at $65/hr, Long Beach at $49/hr, and Santa Ana at $48/hr. If you can relocate or commute, that spread is worth factoring in.

Certifications this posting mentions

  • ASME Section IX — the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code qualification. It covers welding on pressure-retaining equipment — boilers, vessels, and process piping — where a failed weld is a safety incident rather than a rework ticket.

Read straight from this posting's text. Confirm the exact qualification the employer wants before you test — requirements vary by shop even under the same code.

Similar openings near Brea, CA

Pay figures are medians computed from live postings in the Welding Pros index, not from survey data, and they move as employers post. Principal Engineer figures were last recalculated when this page was built.