Director of Development Engineering – Civil & Nuclear

Oklo Inc; Santa Clara (CA); On-site; USD 225,000 - 275,000; Full time

Job summary

Oklo Inc. in Santa Clara, CA seeks a Director of Development Engineering to lead civil, site, and nuclear engineering across Aurora powerhouse development, enabling construction readiness and permitting.

You will own the technical baseline, manage third‑party consultants, coordinate with permitting, finance, and product teams, and build a high‑performing engineering organization in a fast‑paced startup environment.

Qualifications

• 12+ years in energy or infrastructure project development with leadership experience.
• Strong civil/site engineering background; nuclear project experience valued.
• Experience producing engineering deliverables for project financing and EPC handoff.
• PE license preferred; DOE/NRC-regulated facilities experience a plus.

Responsibilities

• Lead development engineering across active sites: site layout, civil/grading, geotechnical, hydrology, infrastructure planning.
• Produce basis-of-design documentation for project finance due diligence and EPC handoff.
• Manage third-party engineering consultants and coordinate with internal nuclear design team.
• Provide engineering inputs to NRC licensing and NEPA processes coordinated by permitting team.
• Develop and maintain engineering standards, templates, and quality protocols.
• Partner with NPI to translate reactor design to site constraints and development scope.
• Own site constraints packages governing site selection, design, and permitting decisions.
• Integrate deliverables from various engineers and maintain schedule with cross-functional teams.
• Lead technical risk reviews and escalate fatal flaws with options analysis.
• Build and manage a multi-discipline engineering team across civil/site/electrical and nuclear.

Skills

Leadership

Civil/site engineering

Nuclear project experience

Project financing deliverables

Engineering management

Education

PE license

Job description

Oklo Inc. in Santa Clara, CA seeks a Director of Development Engineering to lead civil, site, and nuclear engineering across Aurora powerhouse development, enabling construction readiness and permitting.

You will own the technical baseline, manage third‑party consultants, coordinate with permitting, finance, and product teams, and build a high‑performing engineering organization in a fast‑paced startup environment.