Senior Welding Engineer

Aalo Atomics Welding Engineer

Aalo Atomics is pioneering a new era in clean energy with factory-fabricated microreactors designed to deliver affordable, scalable, and reliable nuclear power. Our mission is to make nuclear energy globally accessible, starting with the Aalo-1, a 10 MWe reactor leveraging cutting-edge safety, modularity, and efficiency. Based in Austin, TX, we're rapidly growing as we work to deploy the world's first fleet of advanced microreactors. Join us and help revolutionize energy for a sustainable future.

About the Role

You'll be a founding member of our welding engineering function. You'll own process development and qualification, drive automation and cost reduction, and lead R&D into advanced welding modalities — laser beam, electron beam, and others — that unlock performance and throughput conventional arc welding can't. You'll also develop our zirconium welding capability from scratch, a rare technical challenge outside national labs. This is a hands-on role. You'll be on the shop floor as much as at your desk.

What You'll Do

Process Development & Qualification

• Develop, qualify, and optimize GTAW, GMAW, spray MIG, and emerging processes for stainless steel pressure vessels and piping
• Own WPS/PQR documentation to ASME Section IX, AWS D1.6, or applicable codes
• Lead zirconium welding procedure development: inert atmosphere GTAW, shielding gas optimization, contamination control, and full mechanical qualification
• Develop and document PWHT cycles; interpret metallurgical outcomes

Advanced Welding R&D

• Evaluate and qualify laser beam (LBW), electron beam (EBW), plasma arc (PAW), and hybrid laser-arc processes for vessel and pressure system applications
• Design parametric studies to characterize process windows and build qualification datasets
• Develop solutions for difficult joint configurations — dissimilar materials, thin-wall closures, complex penetrations
• Collaborate with vendors, equipment suppliers, and national lab partners to stay at the front edge of nuclear-relevant welding technology
• Build internal IP and documentation to support future procedure qualifications and regulatory submittals

Automation & Cost Reduction

• Identify and implement orbital GTAW, mechanized MIG, and robotic welding to drive consistency and reduce labor cost
• Develop parametric programs for automated systems including seam tracking, adaptive fill, and multi-pass sequencing
• Instrument in-process monitoring (voltage, travel speed, heat input) to enable closed-loop quality control
• Track weld cycle times, consumable costs, and rework rates; use data to justify capital investments

Quality & Continuous Improvement

• Partner with design engineers on joint weldability — distortion control, access, inspection compatibility
• Work with NDE personnel (RT, PT, UT, PAUT) to interpret results and close nonconformances
• Drive root cause analysis on weld defects using metallography, fractography, hardness, and chemical analysis
• Build and maintain weld quality metrics; use them to focus engineering effort where it has the highest return
• Maintain documentation infrastructure: travelers, hold points, NCRs, lessons learned

Production Support

• Provide real-time direction to welders on the floor; troubleshoot defects and maintain build pace
• Mentor welders on technique, procedure compliance, and quality standards
• Support welder qualification and certification as the team scales

Qualifications

• BS in Materials Science, Metallurgical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related field
• 5+ years of welding engineering experience including process development and qualification
• Hands-on GTAW experience on stainless steel pressure-boundary applications
• Working knowledge of ASME BPVC Section IX or equivalent pressure systems code
• Comfortable on the shop floor — able to evaluate welds in progress, not just on paper

Preferred Qualifications

• AWS CWE or CWI certification
• Experience with LBW or EBW process development or production support
• Experience welding zirconium, titanium, or Inconel under inert-atmosphere conditions
• Experience deploying orbital or robotic welding in production, including program development
• Background in weld process monitoring and correlating in-process signals to quality outcomes
• Familiarity with nuclear QA requirements (NQA-1, 10 CFR 50 Appendix B) or equivalent regulated-industry QA (aerospace, defense)
• Hands-on fabrication ability — picking up a torch and demonstrating technique is a plus

Why This Role

You'll develop zirconium welding procedures few U.S. engineers have touched outside national labs, qualify laser and electron beam processes for nuclear vessel applications, and build the weld program from the ground up at a company moving from prototype to production at unprecedented speed. Every improvement you make means faster builds, lower cost, and more clean energy in the world. Candidates only, no recruiters or agencies please.