Mechanical Engineer - Water Systems (ALS-U)
Location: Berkeley, CA Onsite
Employment Type: Full-Time, Contract
Contract Duration: Approximately 12 months
Pay Rate: $85.83 per hour
Essnova Solutions is seeking an experienced
Mechanical Engineer - Water Systems to support the Advanced Light Source Upgrade (ALS-U) project at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) in Berkeley, California.
This position plays a critical role in the engineering, operation, maintenance, and continuous improvement of process and facility water systems supporting both the ALS-U project and ongoing Advanced Light Source (ALS) operations.
The selected engineer will serve as a primary technical resource for cooling water infrastructure supporting accelerator systems, beamlines, experimental equipment, HVAC interfaces, and associated utility systems.
This opportunity is ideal for a mechanical engineering professional with extensive experience in industrial cooling water systems, low-conductivity water (LCW), deionized (DI) water systems, and high-reliability mechanical infrastructure.
Key ResponsibilitiesWater Systems Design & Engineering- Lead the design, engineering, and optimization of cooling water systems supporting ALS-U and existing ALS infrastructure.
- Develop piping and instrumentation diagrams (P&IDs), flow diagrams, hydraulic calculations, equipment specifications, and technical documentation.
- Perform engineering analyses involving heat transfer, fluid dynamics, pump sizing, pressure drops, thermal stability, and water quality.
- Specify and support procurement of pumps, heat exchangers, filtration systems, expansion tanks, piping, valves, instrumentation, and water treatment equipment.
- Coordinate integration of cooling water infrastructure with accelerator, beamline, cryogenic, HVAC, and facility utility systems.
- Ensure engineering designs comply with applicable ASME, ANSI, California mechanical and building codes, and laboratory safety standards.
Water Quality & System Reliability- Oversee the operation and maintenance of closed-loop low-conductivity water (LCW) and deionized (DI) water systems.
- Monitor critical water quality parameters, including resistivity, dissolved oxygen, pH, and system performance.
- Manage and optimize chemical treatment processes, UV sterilization, mixed-bed deionization, and reverse osmosis (RO) systems.
- Identify and mitigate biological growth, scaling, corrosion, contamination, and water chemistry concerns.
- Troubleshoot equipment failures, leaks, pump malfunctions, resin degradation, flow instability, and thermal excursions.
- Evaluate piping materials, valves, and instrumentation to maintain system integrity and water purity.
Operations, Maintenance & Commissioning- Develop and implement preventive and predictive maintenance programs for critical cooling water infrastructure.
- Evaluate equipment reliability, lifecycle conditions, and opportunities for operational improvement.
- Coordinate maintenance activities, repairs, shutdowns, and system upgrades to minimize facility downtime.
- Support installation, startup, testing, balancing, and commissioning of new and modified water systems.
- Provide technical support during operational incidents and system failures.
Project Coordination & Documentation- Manage engineering projects from conceptual design through installation and commissioning.
- Collaborate with engineering teams, contractors, vendors, facilities personnel, and scientific staff.
- Develop project schedules, cost estimates, technical scopes of work, and equipment specifications.
- Review installation quality and verify compliance with approved engineering requirements.
- Maintain engineering drawings, operating procedures, maintenance records, system inventories, and configuration documentation.
- Support engineering change control and continuous improvement initiatives.
Safety & Regulatory Compliance- Ensure work complies with Integrated Safety Management (ISM), Environmental Health & Safety (EH&S) requirements, laboratory policies, and applicable regulations.
- Participate in hazard analyses, readiness reviews, and safety assessments.
- Support lockout/tagout procedures, safe equipment isolation, and operational safety planning.
- Promote safe engineering and maintenance practices throughout facility operations.
RequirementsRequired Qualifications- Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or a closely related engineering discipline.
- Minimum of 8 years of relevant professional engineering experience, including substantial experience designing, operating, or maintaining industrial process or facility water systems; an equivalent combination of education and experience may be considered.
- Demonstrated knowledge of low-conductivity water (LCW) and deionized (DI) water systems, including water purity, corrosion prevention, chemical treatment, and troubleshooting.
- Experience with closed-loop cooling systems, industrial piping, process utilities, and mechanical infrastructure.
- Strong understanding of hydraulic engineering, fluid flow, heat transfer, pressure management, and thermal system design.
- Experience developing, interpreting, and maintaining engineering drawings and P&IDs.
- Familiarity with pumps, heat exchangers, cooling towers, filtration systems, water treatment equipment, instrumentation, and controls.
- Demonstrated troubleshooting, root-cause analysis, and equipment reliability experience.
- Ability to coordinate multiple engineering projects and operational priorities.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to collaborate across multidisciplinary technical teams.
Preferred Qualifications- Professional Engineer (PE) license.
- Experience supporting scientific research facilities, particle accelerators, semiconductor manufacturing, or other high-availability technical environments.
- Experience with EPICS or industrial control systems integration.
- Familiarity with vibration-sensitive equipment and thermally stable cooling systems.
- Experience commissioning and starting up large-scale mechanical utility systems.
- Knowledge of reliability-centered maintenance and predictive maintenance methodologies.
- Previous experience supporting Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratories or comparable research facilities.
Work Environment & Schedule- Position is based onsite in Berkeley, California.
- Work may be performed in office, laboratory, mechanical equipment, and construction environments.
- Occasional after-hours or weekend support may be required during shutdowns, commissioning activities, or operational events.
- Duties may involve accessing mechanical spaces and working around industrial equipment.
- Assignment is anticipated to last approximately 12 months, with any extension dependent on project requirements and customer authorization.
BenefitsCompensation & BenefitsPay Rate: $85.83 per hourEssnova offers a competitive benefits package for eligible employees, which may include:
- Medical and dental insurance
- Paid time off
- Paid holidays
- Retirement benefits
Specific benefits and eligibility will be discussed during the recruitment process.
