Nuclear Operations Lead/Manager

Industrious Ventures; Idaho Falls, Northern (ID, KY); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Antares is seeking a Nuclear Operations Lead to ensure our nuclear programs are translated into executable, deployable reactor operations. This role sits at the tip of nuclear operations, leading the Nuclear Operations organization and developing reactor operating personnel, procedures, and programs for safe, reliable deployment.

The successful candidate will coordinate across technical and organizational boundaries, work with external stakeholders, and drive clarity and execution in complex

Qualifications

• 4+ years of experience in nuclear, aerospace, defense, or other highly regulated technical environments.
• Experience across disciplines to deliver complex systems or projects.
• Ability to connect technical, regulatory, and operational requirements into executable plans.
• Ability to operate effectively in ambiguous, fast-paced environments.
• Strong technical communication skills, with the ability to engage both internal teams and external stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Oversee the safe and efficient operation of reactor experiments and plant facilities in order to maximize plant availability and customer expectations.
• Responsible for nuclear training programs for operators and maintenance personnel.
• Responsible for identification of required staffing and development of procedures, personnel and programs necessary for successful operation.
• Set and maintain high standards for performance and operational excellence.
• Ensure the effective operation of nuclear activities for Antares test and deployed reactors.
• Participate in and drive technical discussions, reviews, and working groups with internal and external stakeholders
• Provide feedback to engineering and program teams to improve the scalability and repeatability of reactor deployments

Skills

Nuclear operations

Regulatory compliance

Cross-disciplinary collaboration

Technical communication

Education

BS/MS/PhD in engineering

Job description

About Us

At Antares, our long-term mission is to make clean energy abundant from Earth to the Asteroid Belt. We’re fueled by the belief that advanced nuclear energy can strengthen our military, solve the climate crisis, elevate global living standards, and expand humanity's presence in outer space. To achieve our mission, we’re building mass-producible, inherently safe, deployable microreactors that can be used terrestrially, underwater, and in space.

The Antares team hails from SpaceX, the White House, the Pentagon, the Department of Energy, MIT, Rigetti Computing, General Atomics, Relativity Space, Ursa Major, and National Laboratories like Idaho, Oak Ridge, Los Alamos, and Savannah River. Antares has raised over $600M in venture capital from top-tier investors and has hundreds of million-dollars on contract with the military services, NASA, and the Department of Energy.

About The Role

We are seeking a Nuclear Operations Lead to ensure Antares’ nuclear programs and systems are translated into executable, deployable approaches. This role sits at tip of nuclear operations, and is responsible for ensuring that reactors can be successfully deployed, started, and operated as complete systems in a manner tightly coupled to the design basis, safety basis and plant programs. This role will serve as the leader of the Nuclear Operations organization with responsibility for identifying and developing reactor operating personnel as well as the development and deployment of the operational programs necessary for ensuring that operational requirements are aligned and achievable in real-world environments.
This position is ideal for someone who is comfortable operating across boundaries both technical, organizational, as well as coordinating with external stakeholders, and who can drive clarity and execution in complex, ambiguous environments with a high degree or precision and rigor.

Roles and Responsibilities:

• Oversee the safe and efficient operation of reactor experiments and plant facilities in order to maximize plant availability and customer expectations.
• Responsible for nuclear training programs for operators and maintenance personnel.
• Responsible for identification of required staffing and development of procedures, personnel and programs necessary for successful operation.
• Set and maintain high standards for performance and operational excellence.
• Ensure the effective operation of nuclear activities for Antares test and deployed reactors.
• Participate in and drive technical discussions, reviews, and working groups with internal and external stakeholders
• Provide feedback to engineering and program teams to improve the scalability and repeatability of reactor deployments

Basic Qualifications

• 4+ years of experience in nuclear, aerospace, defense, or other highly regulated technical environments
• Experience working across multiple disciplines to deliver complex systems or projects
• Demonstrated ability to connect technical, regulatory, and operational requirements into executable plans
• Demonstrated ability to operate effectively in ambiguous, fast-paced environments
• Demonstrated technical communication skills, with the ability to engage both internal teams and external stakeholders

Preferred Skills & Experience:

• BS, MS, or PHD engineering (nuclear, mechanical, chemical, aerospace, or related field)
• Experience supporting reactor operations, startup, commissioning, or deployment
• Familiarity with nuclear safety and compliance programs
• Experience working with customers, regulators, or external partners in technical settings
• Prior experience in the U.S. Navy nuclear program, national laboratories, or commercial nuclear industry

Culture

At Antares, we like to specifically tie each role to our founding document’s set of values–here are the top five cultural values we think you should believe at your core to be successful:

• Think in Systems - Energy and Defense are complex ecosystems with numerous stakeholders with competing priorities, conflicting policies, perverse incentives, and emergent and path-dependent properties. First principles thinking alone is insufficient. Think probabilistically and then take action. “If you want to be certain, then you are apt to be obsolete.” Over-optimizing the components often degrades the system
• Obsess over the End User - The customer and end user are often not the same. We will never build globally competitive commercial products if we lose sight of our end users and their entire interaction with the product life cycle
• Be Unconstrained by Convention - Our only limits are the laws of physics. Many, even experts, will say what we are working on is impossible. They said the same about SpaceX reusing rockets. Generationally impactful companies, by definition, must accomplish the seemingly impossible. If it were easy, it would have already been done. Never shy away from a solution because it has never been tried before, and never choose to do something because that's “how it's always been done”
• Go Where the Work Is - Never miss a chance to meet a customer, user, or stakeholder face to face, even if that means hopping on a plane. If you can’t make it, find a teammate who can channel your intentions and go in your place. Deep work can be done from anywhere, but we believe teams are built in person, and aim to maximize our time together
• Operate in the Grey - Embrace nuance in pursuit of truth. Question every fundamental assumption

Equal Opportunity

Antares is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Employment decisions are based solely on merit, competence, and qualifications, without regard to race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability, or any other legally protected status.

ITAR Requirements

To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (aka green card holder), (iii) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) Asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about the ITAR here.