Senior Mechanical Maintenance Lead

About the role

The Senior Mechanical / Maintenance Lead is responsible for developing and owning the facility maintenance program, leading a team of maintenance technicians, driving equipment reliability, and ensuring full compliance with OSHA, DOE, and NRC regulatory requirements.

Key Responsibilities

• Own the facility Maintenance Program; develop, approve, and maintain all maintenance procedures and work instructions.
• Lead, mentor, and schedule a team of maintenance technicians; assign work orders, verify task completion, and conduct performance reviews.
• Serve as the facility Mechanical Authority: review and approve engineering change packages, maintenance work requests, and modifications to safety components.
• Plan and execute maintenance shutdowns across all process areas.
• Develop and manage the Preventive Maintenance (PM) program; set frequencies, task lists, and acceptance criteria for all plant equipment.
• Drive a reliability improvement program: analyze failure history, identify root causes using RCA methodology, and implement corrective actions to eliminate repeat failures.
• Manage the critical spare-parts strategy; identify critical spares (heating elements, pyrometers, reactor tubes, seals), maintain inventory levels, and control the stores budget.
• Own the instrument calibration program; ensure all instruments are calibrated on schedule, records are complete, and calibration certificates are issued per equipment data sheets.
• Interface with equipment OEMs and vendors; negotiate service agreements, manage warranty claims, and coordinate specialist contractor access during shutdowns.
• Support the commissioning team during cold and hot commissioning phases; develop commissioning maintenance procedures and oversee acceptance testing of mechanical systems.
• Collaborate with the Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety teams to plan and clear work in radiologically controlled areas; enforce ALARA principles across all maintenance activities.
• Maintain configuration management discipline: ensure as-built records, P&IDs, and maintenance manuals are updated following all plant modifications.
• Provide technical input to the safety assessments and readiness review processes; prepare the Maintenance Program description for regulatory submittals.
• Report maintenance KPIs (PM compliance, corrective work order backlog, equipment availability) to operations leadership on a monthly basis.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or related discipline; or Associate degree with equivalent senior-level trade experience.
• 8+ years of industrial maintenance experience, with at least 3 years in a lead or supervisory role in a nuclear, chemical process, or advanced manufacturing facility.
• Demonstrated experience developing and managing a formal Preventive Maintenance program within a CMMS (e.g., Maximo, SAP PM).
• Deep mechanical engineering competency: rotating equipment, high-temperature furnaces, gas systems, pumps, valves, heat exchangers, and structural integrity assessment.
• Proficient in reading and authoring P&IDs, instrument loop diagrams, mechanical general arrangement drawings, and maintenance procedures.
• Experience with DOE or NRC regulated facilities.
• Proven leadership: experience managing, mentoring, and scheduling a team of maintenance technicians.
• Must be a U.S. citizen or U.S. person eligible to access HALEU material under DOE/NRC regulations.

Preferred Skills and Experience

• Direct experience maintaining CVD furnaces, chemical vapor deposition systems, or high-temperature gas-phase process equipment.
• Registered Professional Engineer (PE) or equivalent professional registration in mechanical engineering.
• Root Cause Analysis (RCA) and Reliability-Centered Maintenance (RCM) methodology experience.
• Nuclear maintenance qualification or radiological worker training at an NRC-licensed or DOE facility.
• Experience with TRISO or advanced nuclear fuel fabrication equipment, including kernel production, coating, or compacting systems.
• Familiarity with criticality safety geometry controls, ALARA work practices, and uranium processing contamination controls.
• Experience authoring maintenance program descriptions for regulatory submittals (ASA, Safety Analysis Reports, or equivalent).
• Strong written and verbal communication skills; able to present technical program status to senior leadership and regulators.