Permitting Manager

Radiant Nuclear; Washington, Northern (District of Columbia, KY); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock plan

Health benefits

One Medical

Vision plan

Dental plan

Voluntary benefits

Parental leave

Lunch and snacks

Flexible PTO

Onsite HQ

Job summary

Radiant is seeking a Permitting Manager to own the final on‑the‑ground step for deploying Kaleidos by securing state and local permits. The role is hands‑on and execution‑focused, translating licensing groundwork into permits in hand and coordinating with regulatory affairs, engineering, legal, and operations teams.

You will work with Radiant’s community engagement team and customer permitting teams to ensure accurate information and timely approvals, while building scalable permitting playbooks

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience managing permitting for regulated facilities.
• Experience managing contractors/consultants through permitting processes.
• Strong knowledge of local/state permitting (zoning, environmental, construction).
• Ability to define State and Local permitting requirements independently, without heavy external support.
• Clear communicator with customers, contractors, consultants, and internal teams.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end state and local permitting for reactor deployment and transportation.
• Manage relationships with contractors and consultants supporting permit applications.
• Interface with regulatory affairs, engineering, legal, and operations to ensure accurate permit data.
• Coordinate with community engagement to build local understanding and support.
• Collaborate with customer permitting teams and internal policy groups as needed.
• Track permit status, flag risks, and guide leadership on timelines.
• Create repeatable permitting processes and playbooks to speed future approvals.
• Maintain knowledge of transportation, siting, zoning, environmental, and construction permits.

Skills

Permitting experience

Contractor mgmt

Regulatory knowledge

Communication

Ambiguity tolerance

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 Permitting Manager to own the final, on-the-ground step for operating an advanced microreactor: securing the state and local permits required to deploy Kaleidos at customer sites. This role is highly hands‑on and execution‑focused, translating policy and licensing groundwork into permits in hand. You will prepare and file permit applications, and coordinating tightly with the teams that make deployment possible.

Responsibilities & Duties

• Own the end-to-end state and local permitting process for reactor transportation and deployment, from application through approval, ensuring Radiant is consistently getting faster and more effective at securing permits.
• Manage relationships with contractors and consultants engaged to support permit applications, site work, and inspections.
• Interface with Radiant's regulatory affairs, engineering, legal, and operations teams to ensure permit applications reflect accurate technical and site‑specific information.
• Interface with Radiant’s community engagement team to ensure strong local understanding and support.
• Work directly with our customer’s permitting teams.
• Support state and federal policy teams with on-the-ground information, to scope policy suggestions and requests and provide input to advocacy.
• Track permit status and requirements across active and prospective deployment sites; flag risks or delays early to leadership.
• Build repeatable permitting processes and playbooks to reduce time‑to‑permit as Radiant scales to new states and sites.
• Maintain working knowledge of local and state permitting requirements (transportation, siting, zoning, environmental, construction) relevant to reactor deployment.
• Support site selection efforts with permitting feasibility input, in partnership with leadership.

Required Qualifications & Skills

• 5+ years of experience managing permitting processes for industrial, energy, infrastructure, or other highly regulated facility projects.
• Proven experience managing contractors and/or consultants through a permitting or entitlement process.
• Strong understanding of local and state permitting environments (zoning, siting, environmental review, construction permits).
• Comfortable operating in ambiguity, working state-by-state without established precedent. Able to define State and Local permitting requirements independently, without primary reliance on support from large consultancies.
• Clear communicator able to work equally well with customers, contractors, consultants, and internal technical teams.

Desired Qualifications & Skills

• Experience with permitting for energy generation assets (nuclear, or other power generation).
• Experience with permitting on military installations.
• Experience with oversize load transportation across state boundaries.
• Familiarity with the regulatory/licensing process that precedes permitting (NRC licensing, state PUC processes).
• Experience supporting first-of-a-kind or novel infrastructure deployments.

Additional Requirements

• Must be willing to work extended hours and weekends as necessary to accomplish our mission.
• Must work 100% onsite in either Washington, D.C. or El Segundo, CA.

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 are 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.