Commercial Quality Program Manager

Oklo; Santa Clara (CA); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible time off

Equity

Bonuses

401(k)

Health insurance (employer contrib.)

HSA

FSA

Flexible work hours

Wellness credits

Job summary

Oklo is seeking a Commercial Quality Program Manager to build and lead a practical, high‑performing quality program. You will own the QMS, align with ISO 9001, and partner with Engineering, Procurement, Manufacturing, and Operations to ensure quality across commercial products.

You will drive audits, improvements, and governance, while embedding quality into design, supplier management, and delivery. Remote work capability and ~25% travel are expected.

Qualifications

• Strong knowledge of ISO 9001 and QMS implementations, maintenance or audits.
• Ability to lead cross-functional initiatives and manage competing priorities.
• Proven ability to translate requirements into practical business processes.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development, implementation, and improvement of the commercial QMS.
• Translate requirements into policies, procedures, workflows, and controls.
• Establish risk-based, proportionate quality controls.
• Coordinate with Nuclear Quality Assurance to apply nuclear requirements when needed.
• Lead internal audits, management reviews, and corrective actions.
• Embed quality planning into design, procurement, and manufacturing activities.
• Oversee supplier quality controls and nonconformance handling.
• Define meaningful quality metrics and reporting.
• Provide practical training and guidance on quality requirements.

Skills

ISO 9001

Cross-functional leadership

Quality systems

Quality assurance

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering or related field

Job description

Thanks for your interest in Oklo! We are searching for a Commercial Quality Program Manager to build and lead a practical, high-performing quality program that helps our teams move quickly while delivering consistently excellent results.

Position Description

The Commercial Quality Program Manager will own the development, implementation, and continuous improvement of Oklo's commercial Quality Management System (QMS) using ISO 9001 as the governing standard. This role will translate quality requirements into scalable, business-focused processes; partner closely with Engineering, Procurement, Manufacturing, Project Management, Operations, Records and Document Control; and coordinate with Nuclear Quality Assurance to ensure applicable commercial and nuclear quality requirements are clearly defined, integrated, and met. The successful candidate will be a hands‑on builder who can move seamlessly between strategy, systems, coaching, and execution.

Specific responsibilities may include:

• Lead the development, implementation, maintenance, and continuous improvement of Oklo's commercial QMS in alignment with ISO 9001 requirements and business objectives.
• Translate customer, contractual, technical, regulatory, and internal requirements into clear policies, procedures, workflows, tools, and measurable controls.
• Establish a risk-based and graded approach to commercial quality so that controls are rigorous, efficient, and proportionate to the risk, complexity, and intended use of products and services.
• Coordinate closely with Nuclear Quality Assurance to determine when nuclear quality requirements apply and to maintain clear interfaces, handoffs, escalation paths, and ownership across quality programs.
• Lead internal audits, management reviews, quality objectives, corrective action activities, and other QMS governance processes, ensuring issues are identified early and driven to effective closure.
• Partner with cross‑functional teams to embed quality planning and controls into design, procurement, supplier management, manufacturing, inspection, testing, delivery, and operational activities.
• Develop and oversee commercial supplier quality controls, including qualification, performance monitoring, issue resolution, and improvement, while coordinating with Nuclear Quality Assurance for suppliers or items that cross quality program boundaries.
• Manage nonconformances, corrective and preventive actions, root cause evaluations, deviations, concessions, and effectiveness reviews with an emphasis on timely, durable, and data‑driven solutions.
• Define and maintain meaningful quality metrics, dashboards, and reporting that provide leadership with clear insight into performance, risk, trends, and opportunities for improvement.
• Create and deliver practical training, coaching, and guidance that help employees understand quality requirements and confidently apply them in their day‑to‑day work.
• Support customer, partner, and third‑party assessments or audits, and ensure resulting actions are coordinated, documented, and completed on schedule.
• Champion a culture of quality, ownership, learning, and continuous improvement that strengthens execution, reduces rework, and enables Oklo to scale with speed and discipline.

Minimum Qualifications

• 7+ years of quality assurance, quality engineering, operations, manufacturing, or related experience, including at least 3 years leading a quality program or management system in a complex or regulated environment.
• Strong working knowledge of ISO 9001 and demonstrated experience implementing, maintaining, improving, or auditing an ISO 9001‑based QMS.
• Bachelor's degree in engineering, quality, operations, physical science, business, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education, training, and relevant experience.
• Demonstrated ability to lead cross‑functional initiatives, influence without direct authority, manage competing priorities, and convert requirements into practical business processes.
• Remote work capability and ability to use video conferencing and cloud‑based applications; willing and able to travel approximately 25% of workdays.

Bonus Qualifications

• ISO 9001 Lead Auditor certification or an ASQ certification such as Certified Quality Auditor, Certified Quality Engineer, or Certified Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence.
• Experience in nuclear energy, advanced manufacturing, aerospace, defense, EPC, or another highly regulated, technically complex industry.
• Familiarity with nuclear quality assurance requirements, such as ASME NQA‑1, ANSI/ANS-15.8, 10 CFR 50 Appendix B, or Department of Energy quality requirements, and experience integrating commercial and nuclear quality controls.

We are looking for a high-energy quality leader who has a thorough understanding of:

• ISO 9001 principles, including the process approach, risk-based thinking, Plan-Do-Check-Act, customer focus, leadership, performance evaluation, and continual improvement.
• Quality program design, governance, document control, configuration management, audit practices, management review, nonconformance control, corrective action, and root cause analysis.
• The distinction between commercial and nuclear quality requirements and how to build effective interfaces between programs without creating unnecessary complexity or duplicated effort.
• Supplier quality, procurement controls, incoming acceptance, performance monitoring, and the use of risk to tailor supplier oversight.
• Quality metrics, trend analysis, dashboards, and the use of data to prioritize actions, communicate risk, and improve business performance.
• Change leadership, stakeholder engagement, training, coaching, and clear communication with technical and non-technical audiences at all levels of the organization.
• Using software and collaboration tools such as Microsoft Word and Excel, Google Workspace, Jira, Confluence, electronic QMS platforms, document management systems, and data visualization tools.

Who you are

A startup person : You aren't driven by titles or hierarchy, and prefer efficiency over excess process. You don't need or expect to have a lot of guidance but you enjoy working in a fast-paced team. If you prefer the culture and feel of a large organization, that is great, but you likely won't enjoy working with us! There is plenty of important work and plenty of good opportunities with organizations like that.

Motivated: You are self-motivated. You bring an enthusiasm to the team, and imbue a sense of passion that goes beyond clocking in and clocking out. This isn’t about a fake or arbitrary “pieces of flair” mentality or lack of work-life balance! It is about being a part of the vision and feeling a part of reaching team goals.

A team-player: Oklo genuinely is a team. We aren't about taking credit for ourselves, and we aren't about pushing blame to others. We do incredible things because we work as a team.

An excellent communicator: We need a person who is not only technically competent but also a clear and upbeat communicator.

Creative: Being creative means that when things fall outside clear scopes or processes or problems arise without clear solutions, you are able to identify it as well as invent ways to solve a problem or fill a need without micromanagement. The successful person in this job will not only be creative, but also enjoy being creative and solving open-ended problems which may change day-by-day.

Detail-oriented: This focus is a big part of excellence, consistency, and quality. Excellent grammar and spelling matter for both good communication as well as the image of the company that we put forward.

Oklo requires remote employees to travel to headquarters (Santa Clara, CA) twice a quarter annually, based on business or team needs, including attendance at team meetings, off-sites, and other company events or gatherings. For the first two weeks of onboarding, employees are required to be in person at headquarters in Santa Clara, CA.

Oklo offers flexible time off, equity, bonuses, competitive pay, 401(k), health insurance (with employer contribution), HSA, FSA, flexible work hours, wellness credits, and other benefits.

This position may involve access to information subject to U.S. export control laws. Only applicants who meet the definition of a U.S. person under applicable laws may be eligible.

About Oklo Inc.

Oklo Inc. is developing fast fission power plants to deliver clean, reliable, and affordable energy at scale; establishing a domestic supply chain for critical radioisotopes; and advancing nuclear fuel recycling to convert nuclear waste into clean energy. Oklo was the first to receive a site use permit from the U.S. Department of Energy for a commercial advanced fission plant, was awarded fuel material from Idaho National Laboratory, and submitted the first custom combined license application for an advanced reactor to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Oklo is also developing advanced fuel recycling technologies in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy and U.S. National Laboratories.

#CHOP: Oklo’s Values

• Collaboration: We go further, together. We bring diverse perspectives, listen actively, and build trust through transparency and respect. We work across disciplines, sharing ownership to turn complex challenges into shared successes.
• Humility: We are team players who act for the good of the company and for the world. We are focused on our mission, not personal recognition.
• Ownership: We take pride in what we do and how we do it. We are proactive in finding solutions and see tasks through to completion. We are committed to delivering on our promises to provide clean, reliable, and affordable energy.
• Pathfinding: We chart new ground where no path exists by approaching challenges with curiosity, courage, and creativity while navigating ambiguity.

Candidates should be aware that employment may be contingent upon successful completion of a drug screening, and employees may be subject to drug testing at any time in accordance with company policy and applicable laws.

Recruitment Fraud Disclaimer

Oklo is aware of recent recruitment fraud attempts targeting job seekers. Please be cautious of anyone claiming to represent Oklo who does not contact you from an official Oklo email address.

All legitimate communications from our recruiting team — including application updates, interview requests, and job offers — will come exclusively from an @oklo.com email. Oklo will never ask for sensitive personal information, payments, or account credentials during the hiring process.

If you receive suspicious outreach or have concerns about the authenticity of any communication claiming to be from Oklo, please contact us through the official channels listed on our website.