--- title: 'Mechanical Engineer (New Grad) at General Matter' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/mechanical-engineer-new-grad-general-matter-los-angeles-btexjkdajkbq' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-10-18' --- # Mechanical Engineer (New Grad) at General Matter - **Company:** General Matter - **Location:** Los Angeles, CA - **Posted:** 2026-08-12 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-10-18 - **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/generalmatter/jobs/5375956008 ## Job description ## About the company General Matter enriches uranium. We are designing, building, and operating the world’s lowest-cost enrichment services, here in the US. In the process, we are restoring America’s ability to produce nuclear fuel to power AI, advanced manufacturing and critical industries our country relies on to remain competitive. Fuel drives the cost of advanced reactor electricity production, and enrichment drives the cost of the fuel that advanced reactors consume.  Reliable, low-cost enrichment is the catalyst for the nuclear Renaissance now under way. Our mission is to make nuclear not only the cleanest and safest source of baseload power, but also the most affordable.  We believe abundant nuclear energy will lead to a post-scarcity society. We were incubated inside Founders Fund, like Anduril and Palantir before us, and are backed by over a dozen of the world's top venture capital firms. Our lean, world-class team of engineers and operators is applying a first-principles approach to solving the problem of nuclear fuel production. We are a mission-driven company with a culture of urgency, accountability, and transparency. Help us build a high-energy society by making the cleanest, safest form of baseload energy the most affordable. ## About This Role We’re looking for an early-career Mechanical Engineer who is excited to design, build, test, and take ownership of the mechanisms and mechanical structures that enable advanced enrichment technology. In this role, you’ll work hands-on across the full engineering lifecycle—from early concepts and detailed design through prototyping, testing, iteration, and deployment. You’ll collaborate closely with a highly technical, cross-functional team that includes electrical, software, chemical, manufacturing, and nuclear engineers. This is a strong opportunity for a recent graduate who enjoys building real hardware, solving challenging multidisciplinary problems, and learning quickly in a fast-paced environment. You’ll have the chance to see your designs become physical systems and make meaningful contributions to critical technology from day one. If you seek high-impact and are excited by fast-paced, intense, Skunkworks-style projects, we encourage you to reach out to join our team. ## Responsibilities - Develop mechanisms and mechanical structures for enrichment and own them through the entire product lifecycle including requirements definition, design, development, qualification, and release to production. - Support optimization of designs for cost, performance, and manufacturability. - Functionally test your hardware through thermal, vibe, shock, durability, etc. - Perform root-cause analysis on test failures and develop hardware mitigations. - Participate in design review and provide feedback to ensure design objectives are met. - Work closely with electrical, software, manufacturing, and nuclear engineers to ensure designs are effectively integrated with overall system requirements. ## Basic Qualifications - Evidence of exceptional ability (prior projects, portfolio of work, completed products, etc). - Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related field. - 1+ years of mechanical engineering experience via project team, research, internship, and/or professional experience. - Proficient in a 3D CAD package (such as Solidworks, CATIA, NX, etc.) and the ability to make manufacturing drawings using GD&T. - Proficiency in finite element analysis (FEA). ## Preferred Skills and Experience - Strong understanding of engineering fundamentals. - Ability to perform trade studies and make clear recommendations using first principles and engineering fundamentals even with partial information. - Experience in a fast-paced engineering environment or a highly technical role requiring a resourceful, entrepreneurial approach to complete tasks within tight timeframes or budget constraints. Additional Requirements - Ability to work extended hours and weekends as necessary. ## Equal Opportunity Employer General Matter is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with General Matter is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status. ## Compensation and Benefits The base salary range for this role is $96,000-$106,000 annually. Compensation bands are determined by role, level, location, and alignment with market data. Individual level and base pay is determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on job-related skills, education, experience, technical capabilities and internal equity. Please note that the stated salary range is an estimate and may be adjusted based on market conditions, business needs, or other factors. In addition to base salary, for full-time hires, you may also be eligible for long-term incentives, in the form of stock options, and access to medical, vision & dental coverage as well as access to a 401(k) retirement plan. ## About General Matter ## Core Business - **Primary industry**: Nuclear energy – uranium enrichment, nuclear fuel supply chain - **Target customers**: Nuclear power plant operators (civilian reactors, small modular reactors, microreactors), data center operators, industrial manufacturers, and government/defense entities - **Mission**: “Restore US leadership in nuclear fuel” and “make the cleanest, safest form of baseload energy the most affordable” [generalmatter.com/mission](https://generalmatter.com/mission/) ## Products & Services - **Low Enriched Uranium (LEU)**: Enrichment of uranium to 3-5% U-235 for existing US civilian reactors (supplying ~20% of US grid power) - **High Assay Low Enriched Uranium (HALEU)**: Enrichment to 5-20% U-235 for next-generation small modular reactors (SMRs) and microreactors - **Enrichment as a Service**: Novel, scalable, cost-competitive enrichment technology to fill the critical gap in the US nuclear fuel cycle (conversion → enrichment → deconversion/fabrication) ## Market Standing - **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not disclosed (private company) - **Key Metric**: Currently hiring for 64+ roles across engineering, construction, legal, and operations; actively building enrichment capacity - **Notable Investors/Partners**: Described as backed by “institutions” and “generational companies” – specific names not publicly available [generalmatter.com/careers](https://generalmatter.com/careers/) - **Growth Signals**: Aggressive hiring across multiple disciplines; establishing a physical presence in Los Angeles (HQ) and Paducah, Kentucky (construction/manufacturing); addressing a critical national security gap (US currently performs <1% of global enrichment) ## Competitive Advantages - **Domestic enrichment technology**: Novel, proprietary enrichment process designed to be cheaper, more reliable, and scalable compared to foreign state-backed competitors - **National security moat**: Sole US-focused enrichment startup aiming to break dependence on Russian and Chinese supply chains - **Talent pool**: Attracts high-caliber individuals from nuclear engineering, technology, finance, and special operations backgrounds - **First-mover in HALEU**: Positioned to fuel the next wave of advanced reactors and behind-the-meter power for AI data centers ## Strategic Focus - **Scale domestic enrichment capacity**: Build and operate enrichment facilities in the US (Los Angeles and Paducah) - **Support AI and manufacturing growth**: Provide reliable, emissions-free baseload power for compute and industrial expansion - **Enable advanced reactors**: Supply HALEU for SMRs and microreactors, opening new markets in remote and austere environments - **Strengthen US energy independence**: Restore US leadership in nuclear fuel production ## Why Work Here - **Culture**: High standards, extreme ownership, copious autonomy, deep trust, zero politics – described as “work with the best across nuclear, tech and finance” [generalmatter.com/careers](https://generalmatter.com/careers/) - **Work environment**: On-site roles in Los Angeles, CA (engineering, nuclear, legal) and Paducah, KY (construction, procurement); no remote/hybrid options explicitly stated - **Notable perks**: Mission-driven work with national impact; opportunity to solve a critical energy and security challenge; flat organization with high agency - **Engineering culture**: Emphasis on control systems, embedded software, simulation, DevOps, and nuclear safety engineering; also seeks creative minds and numbers savants ## Sources 1. [generalmatter.com](https://generalmatter.com/) 2. [generalmatter.com/careers](https://generalmatter.com/careers/) 3. [generalmatter.com/mission](https://generalmatter.com/mission/) 4. [generalmatter.com/technology](https://generalmatter.com/technology/) 5. [job-boards.greenhouse.io/generalmatter](https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/generalmatter) ## Other roles at General Matter - [Summer 2027 Internship - Information Security Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/summer-2027-internship-information-security-engineer-general-matter-los-angeles-43tb0qwj6xa9) — Los Angeles, CA - [Program Manager, Contingent Workforce](https://feeny.ai/job/program-manager-contingent-workforce-general-matter-los-angeles-84fhd0gzkzjy) — Los Angeles, CA - [Technical Program Manager, Software](https://feeny.ai/job/technical-program-manager-software-general-matter-los-angeles-4f5a4b790hb5) — Los Angeles, CA - [Summer 2027 Internship - Information Technology](https://feeny.ai/job/summer-2027-internship-information-technology-general-matter-los-angeles-kfb23hshmebq) — Los Angeles, CA - [Financial Analyst (New Grad)](https://feeny.ai/job/financial-analyst-new-grad-general-matter-los-angeles-5gnvzzxpbbv7) — Los Angeles, CA - [IT Procurement Specialist](https://feeny.ai/job/it-procurement-specialist-general-matter-los-angeles-v6v1tyy45zgt) — Los Angeles, CA - [Embedded Software Engineer, Motor Control & Real-Time Systems](https://feeny.ai/job/embedded-software-engineer-motor-control-real-time-systems-general-matter-los-c7884g18ns5b) — Los Angeles, CA - [Technical Recruiter - Hardware Engineering](https://feeny.ai/job/technical-recruiter-hardware-engineering-general-matter-los-angeles-80dsjqmcfatt) — Los Angeles, CA - [CMM Inspector](https://feeny.ai/job/cmm-inspector-general-matter-los-angeles-c1gdgq3v5f66) — Los Angeles, CA - [Program Manager, Manufacturing](https://feeny.ai/job/program-manager-manufacturing-general-matter-los-angeles-e946m7wjzkwx) — Los Angeles, CA