Lead Nuclear Engineer

Socket.dev; El Segundo (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 280,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock options

Medical benefits

Lunch provided

Flexible PTO

Job summary

Radiant is seeking a Lead Nuclear Engineer to provide technical and people leadership within the nuclear design and analysis organization for Kaleidos. You will guide multi-disciplinary teams across physics, shielding, dose, I&C, and operations, delivering design decisions, validation, and regulatory documentation.

You will own team priorities, schedules, resource planning, hiring, and execution to meet program milestones in a fast-moving environment. Onsite in El Segundo, CA.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in nuclear engineering or a related technical discipline.
• 5+ years of relevant nuclear engineering experience across reactor design, analysis, testing, licensing, safety, or operations.
• 1+ year of experience managing direct reports.

Responsibilities

• Lead interdisciplinary team across reactor physics, core performance, shielding, dose, thermal-hydraulics, safety analysis, I&C, and reactor operations.
• Hire, manage, and develop a high-performing team of nuclear engineers.
• Establish team priorities, project plans, schedules, budgets, and clear ownership for deliverables.
• Own nuclear engineering projects from requirements capture to verification, validation, and documentation.
• Guide analyses of criticality, reactivity control, shutdown margin, power distribution, depletion, and radiation transport.

Skills

Nuclear engineering

Leadership

Communication

Project management

Education

Bachelor's degree in nuclear engineering

Master's or PhD preferred

Tools

MCNP

OpenMC

Python

Job description

About Radiant

Radiant is an El Segundo, CA-based startup building the world’s first mass-produced, portable nuclear microreactors. The company’s first reactor, Kaleidos, is a 1-megawatt, fail-safe microreactor that can be transported anywhere power is needed and run for up to 5 years without refueling. Portable nuclear power with rapid-deploy capability can replace similar-sized diesel generators and provide critical asset support for hospitals, data centers, remote sites, and military bases. Radiant’s unique, practical approach to nuclear development leverages modern software engineering to rapidly deliver safe, factory-built microreactors that use existing, well-qualified materials. Founded in 2020, Radiant is on track to test its first reactor at the Idaho National Laboratory this summer, with initial customer deliveries beginning in 2028.

About the Role

Radiant is seeking a Lead Nuclear Engineer to provide technical and people leadership within the nuclear design and analysis organization supporting Kaleidos. You will lead an interdisciplinary team working across core physics, neutron and radiation transport, shielding, activation and dose, thermal-hydraulics, safety analysis, instrumentation and controls, reactor operations, and regulatory evaluations. This role combines hands‑on technical leadership with team and project ownership. You will guide nuclear engineering work from requirements definition and early design trades through analysis, verification and validation, testing, and regulatory documentation. You will also own team priorities, schedules, resource planning, hiring, and execution against key program milestones. The ideal candidate brings deep technical judgment, strong engineering fundamentals, and the ability to translate complex nuclear analysis into practical design decisions. You should be comfortable leading in a fast-moving, interdisciplinary environment while developing engineers and driving difficult technical problems through closure.

Responsibilities & Duties

• Lead an interdisciplinary team working across reactor physics, core performance, shielding, dose and activation, thermal-hydraulics, safety analysis, I&C, and reactor operations.
• Hire, manage, and develop a high-performing team of nuclear engineers through clear expectations, technical guidance, actionable feedback, and regular coaching.
• Establish team priorities, project plans, schedules, resource needs, budgets, and clear ownership for nuclear engineering deliverables.
• Own nuclear engineering projects from requirements capture and design iteration through model development, analysis, technical review, and final documentation.
• Guide analyses of criticality, reactivity control, shutdown margin, power distribution, depletion, temperature feedback, radiation transport, dose, activation, and shielding performance.
• Translate analytical results into actionable requirements and design decisions affecting the core, shielding, control systems, instrumentation, fluid systems, structures, and surrounding hardware.
• Establish rigorous practices for model verification and validation, peer review, configuration control, uncertainty evaluation, and technical documentation.
• Ensure analytical assumptions, limitations, uncertainties, margins, and conclusions are clearly documented and technically defensible.
• Collaborate with reactor systems, thermal, mechanical, electrical, test, operations, safety, and regulatory teams to resolve multidisciplinary design challenges.
• Work with the regulatory organization to translate applicable nuclear standards and requirements into analysis plans, design criteria, calculation packages, and verification activities.
• Support reactor testing and startup by defining analysis needs, instrumentation requirements, acceptance criteria, and methods for comparing predicted and measured performance.
• Identify technical and programmatic risks, develop practical mitigation plans, and drive complex nuclear engineering problems through closure.
• Communicate technical status, risks, decisions, and recommendations clearly to engineering teams and company leadership.

Required Qualifications & Skills

• Bachelor’s degree in nuclear engineering or a related technical discipline from an accredited institution.
• 5+ years of relevant nuclear engineering experience across reactor design, analysis, testing, licensing, safety, or operations.
• 1+ year of experience managing direct reports.
• Demonstrated experience leading complex nuclear engineering projects involving multiple technical disciplines and stakeholders.
• Deep knowledge of neutron transport theory, Monte Carlo simulation methods, nuclear data, and statistical convergence.
• Professional experience developing and applying MCNP, OpenMC, or comparable neutron and radiation transport models.
• Strong understanding of reactor physics concepts, including criticality, reactivity coefficients, depletion, power distribution, shutdown margin, neutron and gamma transport, and uncertainty analysis.
• Experience translating analytical results into reactor design decisions, technical requirements, safety conclusions, or regulatory documentation.
• Familiarity with model verification and validation, configuration control, peer review, and nuclear software quality practices.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain complex analyses, assumptions, uncertainties, and technical conclusions to multidisciplinary teams.

Preferred Qualifications & Skills

• Master’s degree or Ph.D. in nuclear engineering or a related technical discipline. Subject‑matter expertise in safety analysis, shielding, radiation dose and activation, instrumentation and controls, reactor operations, thermal‑hydraulics, or radioactive‑material transportation.
• Experience with high-temperature gas‑cooled reactors, microreactors, advanced reactors, or first-of-a-kind nuclear systems.
• Experience with SCALE, Serpent, Shift, Griffin, MOOSE‑based applications, or similar nuclear analysis tools.
• Proficiency with Python or another language used for simulation automation, model generation, and analysis post‑processing.
• Experience with coupled neutronics and thermal‑hydraulics or other multiphysics analyses.
• Familiarity with DOE authorization processes, NRC licensing, nuclear industry codes and standards, or regulatory safety analysis.
• Experience supporting reactor testing, commissioning, startup, or operational readiness.
• Experience building or expanding a nuclear engineering team or analytical capability.

Additional Requirements

• Willing to support extended hours when needed to meet critical program milestones.
• Must work 100% onsite at Radiant’s El Segundo headquarters.

Benefits and Perks

• Stock: Substantial incentive stock plan for all full‑time employees.
• Medical: 100% up to base silver level plan for employee + 50% dependents, offers up to Platinum plans.
• One Medical: Sponsored memberships for employees and their dependents.
• Vision: 100% top tier plan coverage + 50% for dependents.
• Dental: 100% top tier plan coverage, orthodontia extra, 50% for dependents.
• Voluntary life, accident, hospital, critical illness, commuter and FSA/HSA are offered as employee contributed benefits.
• 8‑weeks of paid parental leave for all parents. Additional paid pregnancy leave for CA employees.
• Daily catered lunch. Free snacks and drinks.
• Flexible PTO policy. Remote workday allocation.
• Company and team‑bonding events, happy hours and in‑person camaraderie.
• Beautiful El Segundo headquarters close to the Pacific Ocean.

Total Compensation and Benefits Radiant compensates people for impact and invests in those who continue to raise the bar. Radiant’s new hire compensation package includes base salary, substantial equity grants, and comprehensive health benefits. Total compensation and level are determined through a rigorous evaluation of interview performance, experience, education, and qualifications, and is designed to support continued growth as scope, responsibility, and impact expand at Radiant. The best of today’s advanced reactor builders don’t wait for job postings. They join the winning team. We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, age, national origin, disability status, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

This position involves access to technology that is subject to U.S. export controls. Any job offer made will be contingent upon the applicant’s capacity to serve in compliance with U.S. export controls.