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Job Description

Overview

The Mechanical Designer position involves supporting new nuclear power plant projects, including advanced reactors and small modular reactors, by developing mechanical design packages from initial inputs through final documentation. The role is hybrid with options for remote work and is a contract position lasting one year with the possibility of annual extensions.

Responsibilities

  • Interpret piping specifications, design requirements, isometric drawings, equipment data, and support requirements.
  • Develop commodity routing and arrangement sketches that incorporate seismic, thermal, and other project-specific design criteria.
  • Develop 3D plant models using Hexagon SmartPlant S3D and the SPF database to generate detailed drawings, plan and elevation views, bills of material, and commodity lists.
  • Document the design basis, inputs, assumptions, and open-item dispositions in clear, traceable, auditable design sketches consistent with project procedures and applicable ASME B&PVC Section III and/or ASME B31.1 requirements.
  • Coordinate interdisciplinary interfaces, resolve model clashes and discrepancies, and report design status.
  • Independently plan and execute assigned deliverables, providing guidance to other designers and coordinating work to meet project schedules.

Requirements

  • At least three years of relevant mechanical design and 3D plant-modeling experience.
  • Background in piping layout and interpretation of piping specifications, equipment data, and support requirements.
  • SmartPlant S3D experience is strongly preferred; experience with similar 3D design software is also relevant.
  • Familiarity with S3D/SPF integration, clash detection and resolution, and plant-model data management is valued.
  • Strong communication and interdisciplinary coordination skills.
  • MicroStation proficiency is a plus, but not required.

Additional Information

  • Hybrid location with 20+ offices across the USA and open to remote work.
  • Contract duration is 1 year, extended annually.
  • Hourly rate is $60 - $80/hour.
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How this job compares in Chicago, IL

Pay in context

At roughly $70/hr, this posting sits about 84% above the $38/hr median for welding jobs in Chicago, IL — toward the top of a $31–$48/hr middle band drawn from 71 postings with published pay. Put another way, it pays more than about 99% 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 Chicago, IL

We're tracking 94 other active welding openings in Chicago, IL right now, from 47 different employers. 24 of them were added in the last week. Across Illinois as a whole we're tracking 327 other active welding openings from 197 employers. A metro this active generally means you have real leverage — employers here are competing for the same welders. Browse every welding job in Chicago, or widen the search to Illinois.

The most active employers in Illinois at the moment, by number of open welding reqs, are Gerber Collision & Glass (17), S&C Electric Company (11), and Venteon (9). Volume like that usually means either a genuine expansion or a staffing agency working several client sites — worth knowing which before you apply.

Within Illinois, the best-paying metros we track by median hourly rate are Chicago at $38/hr, Downers Grove at $36/hr, and Addison at $36/hr. Chicago is among them.

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 Chicago, IL

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