Hot Cell Design Engineer

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

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible time off

Equity

Health insurance

Flexible time off

FSA

Flexible work hours

Job summary

A clean energy startup is seeking a Hot Cell Design Engineer to design advanced radiological hot cell systems for nuclear fuel recycling. The ideal candidate will work with a multidisciplinary team to ensure safe and efficient processing of used nuclear fuel. Key qualifications include a Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field, strong experience in radiological design, and excellent communication skills. This position offers flexible work hours and competitive benefits.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in radiological facility design or related fields.
• Strong working knowledge of robotics or manipulator technologies.
• Understanding of radiation shielding principles.
• Understanding of radiation shielding principles, criticality safety, and radiological protection standards.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate on cross-functional teams and integrate feedback from engineering, licensing, and safety.
• Strong systems engineering intuition and problem-solving capabilities.
• U.S. citizenship or permanent residency status (due to export control requirements).

Responsibilities

• Lead the mechanical and systems design of hot cells.
• Work with radiation modeling and safety analysis specialists.
• Integrate robotic and remote handling technologies into cell design.
• Integrate robotic and remote handling technologies into cell design.
• Contribute to the structural evaluation of confinement systems, ensuring compliance with fire protection, external hazard, and natural phenomena hazard requirements.
• Collaborate with structural, HVAC, instrumentation, and process engineers to ensure seamless integration across all hot cell systems.
• Participate in FMEA, hazard analyses, and radiological safety assessments.
• Contribute to design reviews, procurement specifications, and installation and commissioning plans.
• Support prototyping, testing, and commissioning of hot cell subsystems.
• Demonstrate creativity, excellent writing, and strong communication to convey technical results clearly.

Skills

Remote handling systems

Communication skills

Problem-solving capabilities

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Nuclear Engineering

Tools

CAD software (e.g., NX, SolidWorks)

SolidWorks

Inventor

Job description

Thanks for your interest in Oklo! We are searching for a radiological Hot Cell Design Engineer to join our dynamic fuel recycling engineering group, which is designing and deploying a modern nuclear fuel recycling facility. This is a rare opportunity to contribute to the design and development of one of the most advanced radiological hot cell systems ever.

Position Description:

As a Hot Cell Design Engineer at Oklo, you will help shape a highly specialized, remotely-operable hot cell environment that enables the safe, efficient processing of used nuclear fuel (UNF).

You’ll work collaboratively with a multidisciplinary team of mechanical, nuclear, chemical, and controls engineers to integrate critical systems such as shielding, containment, and remote operations into an industrial-scale recycling facility.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead or support the mechanical and systems design of radiological hot cells used in UNF recycling, including shielding, ventilation, confinement, and remote handling systems
• Define equipment and material layouts, including material transfer pathways and maintenance access strategies
• Work with radiation modeling and safety analysis specialists to develop shielding requirements and establish design constraints
• Integrate robotic and remote handling technologies (e.g., manipulators, cameras, cranes, etc.) into cell design
• Contribute to the structural evaluation of confinement systems, ensuring compliance with fire protection, external hazard, and natural phenomena hazard requirements
• Collaborate with structural, HVAC, instrumentation, and process engineers to ensure seamless integration across all hot cell systems
• Participate in Failure Modes and Effects Analyses (FMEA), hazard analyses, and radiological safety assessments
• Contribute to design reviews, procurement specifications, and installation and commissioning plans
• Support prototyping, testing, and commissioning of hot cell subsystems
• We are looking for a Hot Cell Design Engineer that is:
• Passionate about clean energy, fuel recycling, and efficient stewardship of natural resources
• 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
• An excellent writer who can write in a modern active voice
• Able to communicate technical content and results verbally

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in Mechanical Engineering, Nuclear Engineering, or a related discipline
• 5+ years of experience in radiological facility design, glovebox or hot cell engineering, or radiological material handling
• Strong working knowledge of remote handling systems, robotics, or manipulator technologies
• Understanding of radiation shielding principles, criticality safety, and radiological protection standards
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate on cross-functional teams and integrate feedback from engineering, licensing, and safety
• Strong systems engineering intuition and problem-solving capabilities
• U.S. citizenship or permanent residency status (due to export control requirements)

Bonus Qualifications:

• Experience with hot cells used in nuclear fuel cycle facilities, isotope production, or defense applications
• Proficiency with CAD software (e.g., NX, SolidWorks, Inventor) and engineering drawing standards
• Knowledge of NRC and/or DOE regulatory requirements and nuclear standards for nuclear facilities
• Prior hands-on experience with mockups, prototyping, or commissioning of radiological systems
• Experience with vendor coordination, A&E firms, and project management

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! 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. Even excellent grammar and spelling matter for both good communication as well as the image of the company that we put forward.

Salary may fall outside of the range provided and will be dependent on applicant experience.

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

We are looking to fill this position immediately!

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.

Interested in building your career at Oklo? Get future opportunities sent straight to your email.

Apply for this job

To apply, please visit Oklo's careers page.