Senior Software Engineer

The Nuclear Company; Washington; On-site; USD 121,000 - 143,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive compensation packages

401k match

Medical plans

Vacation & holidays

Job summary

The Nuclear Company is hiring a software engineer to design, develop, and maintain safety-critical applications for nuclear energy. You will contribute to high-assurance systems, architect scalable software, and work across teams to ensure reliable operation and regulatory compliance.

You will mentor junior engineers, drive best practices in testing and documentation, and optimize performance for demanding environments while communicating complex concepts clearly to diverse audiences.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a technical field.
• 4+ years of progressive software development experience.
• Experience in highly regulated, safety-critical industries (nuclear preferred).
• Proficiency in JavaScript, TypeScript, or Python.
• Experience with SDLCs (Agile & Waterfall).
• Strong knowledge of design patterns, data structures, and algorithms.
• Experience with Git and collaborative workflows.
• Architecting complex software systems with QA emphasis.

Responsibilities

• Lead design and development of robust, scalable software for nuclear energy applications.
• Provide technical leadership and mentor engineers.
• Collaborate with hardware/controls teams to ensure integration with physical systems.
• Champion software quality assurance, testing, and documentation.
• Identify and resolve performance issues for reliable operation under demanding conditions.
• Tackle challenging technical problems from concept to deployment.
• Create comprehensive technical documentation and design artifacts.

Skills

JavaScript

TypeScript

Python

Agile methodologies

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science / Software Engineering / Electrical Engineering

Tools

Git

Job description

The Nuclear Company is the fastest growing AI tech-enabled startup in the nuclear and energy space, pioneering a fleet-scale approach to building the next generation of nuclear reactors. Through our design-once, build-many model, we're accelerating the deployment of safe, reliable, and affordable nuclear energy.

We operate with an AI-first mindset. Every employee is expected to leverage AI, technology, and the Nuclear Operating System (NOS) as integral components of their role to improve the quality, speed, and impact of their work. We expect every team member to continuously identify opportunities to automate workflows, enhance decision-making, improve processes, and contribute to the ongoing evolution of NOS as a strategic operating capability that enables The Nuclear Company to scale with excellence.

We hire people who are driven by purpose, thrive in ambiguity, and are energized by building what has never been built before. Our team combines intellectual curiosity with high agency, embraces candid feedback and continuous learning, and holds themselves and others to exceptional standards. Our values—Transparency, Responsibility, Unity, Scrappy, and Tenacity—guide how we hire, collaborate, and make decisions every day. They are not words on a wall; they are the standard by which we operate. TRUST is the foundation of our safety culture, fostering intellectual honesty, accountability, and open communication, while our values challenge every team member to execute with urgency, humility, resilience, and an unwavering commitment to our mission.

About the role

In this role, you'll be instrumental in designing, developing, and maintaining complex, safety-critical software applications. You'll work on challenging problems that directly contribute to the future of clean energy, ensuring the highest standards of performance, reliability, and regulatory compliance.

Responsibilities

• Software Design & Development: Lead the design and development of robust, scalable, and high-quality software solutions for critical nuclear energy applications. This includes architecting new features, writing clean and efficient code, and participating in code reviews.
• Technical Leadership: Provide technical leadership and guidance to junior and mid-level engineers, mentoring them in best practices for software development, quality, and adherence to industry standards.
• System Integration: Work closely with hardware engineers, control systems engineers, and other software teams to ensure seamless integration of software components with physical systems and external interfaces.
• Quality & Compliance: Implement and advocate for rigorous software quality assurance practices, including comprehensive testing, debugging, and documentation, ensuring compliance with nuclear industry regulations and internal quality standards.
• Performance Optimization: Identify and resolve complex performance issues, ensuring our software operates efficiently and reliably under demanding conditions.
• Problem Solving: Tackle challenging technical problems, proposing innovative solutions and driving their implementation from concept to deployment.
• Documentation: Create and maintain thorough technical documentation, including design specifications, architecture diagrams, and testing protocols.

Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a closely related technical field.
• 4+ years of progressive experience in software development, with a strong portfolio of successfully delivered projects.
• Experience developing software for highly regulated, safety-critical, or mission-critical industries (e.g., nuclear, aerospace, defense, medical devices, automotive safety). Direct nuclear industry experience is highly preferred.
• Proficiency in one or more relevant programming languages such as JavaScript, TypeScript, or Python.
• Demonstrated experience with full software development life cycles (SDLCs), including Agile and Waterfall methodologies.
• Strong understanding of software design patterns, data structures, and algorithms.
• Experience with version control systems (e.g., Git) and collaborative development workflows.
• Expertise in designing and implementing complex software architectures.
• Deep understanding of software quality assurance principles and testing methodologies.
• Ability to debug and troubleshoot intricate software systems.
• Exceptional problem-solving and analytical skills.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to articulate technical concepts to diverse audiences.
• Ability to work effectively in a collaborative, fast-paced environment.

Preferred Experience

• Experience building offline-capable, air-gapped, or otherwise disconnected applications, and packaging them for constrained or containerized deployment environments.
• Hands-on experience integrating third-party physical security systems.
• Experience applying AI features & ML models into production workflows.
• Exposure to nuclear, critical infrastructure, defense, or physical security domains.

Benefits

• Competitive compensation packages
• 401k with company match
• Medical, dental, vision plans
• Generous vacation policy, plus holidays

Estimated Starting Salary Range

The estimated starting salary range for this role is $121,000 - $143,000 annually less applicable withholdings and deductions, paid on a bi-weekly basis. The actual salary offered may vary based on relevant factors as determined in the Company’s discretion, which may include experience, qualifications, tenure, skill set, availability of qualified candidates, geographic location, certifications held, and other criteria deemed pertinent to the particular role.

EEO Statement

The Nuclear Company is an equal opportunity employer committed to fostering an environment of inclusion in the workplace. We provide equal employment opportunities to all qualified applicants and employees without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic. We prohibit discrimination in all aspects of employment, including hiring, promotion, demotion, transfer, compensation, and termination.

Export Control

Certain positions at The Nuclear Company may involve access to information and technology subject to export controls under U.S. law. Compliance with these export controls may result in The Nuclear Company limiting its consideration of certain applicants.