Fuel Handling Project Engineer

Oklo Inc; United States; On-site; USD 110,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible time off

Equity

Competitive pay

401k

Health insurance

FSA

Flexible work hours

Other benefits

Job summary

Oklo Inc. is seeking a Fuel Handling Project Engineer to own the design and fabrication oversight of our advanced reactor fuel handling system. You will build strong supplier partnerships and ensure high-quality hardware meets cost and schedule requirements.

You will work with engineering, manufacturing, and operations to bring the Aurora plant from design to reality, including definitions for external supplier packages and status updates on technical scope and progress.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Nuclear Engineering, Civil Engineering, or related field.
• 3–5 years of relevant technical and/or project management experience in design and manufacturing of complex structures.
• Ability to collaborate across cross-functional teams and document engineering work clearly.
• Experience working with external manufacturers and engineering consultants for fabrication and analysis support.
• Experience managing design-build and build-to-print contracts.
• Familiarity with design and fabrication drawings.

Responsibilities

• Develop technical specifications, statements of work and drawing packages detailing requirements for Refueling Equipment to establish external packages for suppliers and vendors.
• Support vendor deliverables that align with project budget and schedule.
• Manage vendor design development to meet plant requirements while in compliance with codes, standards and regulations per the contract.
• Perform technical review of design documents and drawings including P&IDs, Technical Specifications, analysis, and calculations.
• Coordinate with vendors during manufacturing to execute deviation requests and report non-conformance with impacts and resolutions.
• Prepare and present status updates of technical scope and progress.
• Travel to fabricators and subcontractors' facilities is required (<50%).

Skills

Cross-functional collaboration

Project management

Technical writing

Strong communication

Supplier relationship management

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering

Bachelor's degree in Aerospace/Nuclear/Civil Engineering or related field

Job description

Thanks for your interest in Oklo! We are searching for a Fuel Handling Project Engineer to join our team.

Position Description

As a Fuel Handling Project Engineer on Oklo's Refueling Team, you'll own the design and fabrication oversight of our advanced reactor fuel handling system. Your focus will be on building strong supplier partnerships and ensuring vendors deliver high-quality hardware that meets technical, cost, and schedule requirements. You'll work closely with cross-functional teams across engineering, manufacturing, and operations, playing a key role in bringing the Aurora plant from design to reality.

Specific responsibilities may include:

• Partner with Team Lead, Engineers, and Procurement to develop technical specifications, statements of work and drawing packages detailing the requirements for Refueling Equipment to establish external packages for suppliers and vendors.
• Function in a rapidly growing team to support vendor deliverables that align with overall project budget and schedule.
• Manage vendor design development to meet plant requirements while in compliance with codes, standards and regulations per the contract.
• Perform technical review of design documents and drawings including Process & Instrumentation Diagrams, Technical Specifications, analysis, and calculations.
• Work with vendors during manufacturing to execute deviation requests and report non-conformance reports to a high-level of detail with impacts assessed and potential resolutions identified.
• Prepare and give presentations and status updates of technical scope and progress.
• Foreign and domestic travel to fabricators and support subcontractor's facilities is required (<50%)

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Nuclear Engineering, Civil Engineering, or a related engineering discipline.
• 3-5 years of relevant technical and/or project management experience with the design and manufacturing of complex structures and integrated systems.
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate on cross-functional teams, integrating feedback from analysis, manufacturing, and systems engineering
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to clearly document and present engineering work
• Comfortable working with external manufacturers and engineering consultants for fabrication and analysis support
• Experience setting and achieving project goals, utilizing project management tools to support execution of project scope
• Experience managing design-build and build to print contracts.
• Familiarity with design and fabrication drawings.

Bonus Qualifications

• Experience designing large structural weldments and mechanical joints
• Background in designing and engineering components for high-integrity or safety-critical systems (e.g., nuclear, aerospace, defense, or heavy industry)
• Proven ability to lead hardware projects through the full development cycle-from concept and design to testing and production
• Knowledge of large scale fabrication techniques and transportation/handling of large components
• Understanding of thermal-mechanical analysis principles, with experience designing for high-temperature environments
• Basic knowledge of nuclear fission and radiation effects on materials and components
• Experienced with high tolerance machining techniques.
• Working knowledge of manufacturing processes including precision machining.
• Experience with metrology and tolerance studies
• Familiarity with U.S. design codes, standards, and regulatory requirements.

We are looking for a Refueling Supplier Engineer that is:

• An experienced team player who can work effectively across both internal resources and external suppliers
• Passionate about clean energy
• An optimist at heart
• Passionate about making advanced fission a reality
• Willing and able to learn quickly
• Willing to think differently and do things in new ways
• Comfortable in a fast-paced, highly iterative startup environment
• Excited to think creatively, critically, and reflectively about the problems they are solving while not leaning only on what has been done before
• Willing to propose novel and creative solutions to technical problems
• Able to communicate technical content and results verbally

Who you are:

A startup person: You aren't driven by titles or hierarchy, and prefer efficiency to 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!

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.

The salary range provided will be dependent on applicant experience.

Oklo offers flexible time off, equity, competitive pay, 401k, health insurance, FSA, flexible work hours, 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.