Senior Software Engineer Washington, DC

The Nuclear Company; Northern (KY); Hybrid; USD 121,000 - 143,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive compensation packages

401k with company match

Job summary

The Nuclear Company in the United States is seeking a Senior Software Engineer to design, develop, and maintain safety-critical software for nuclear energy applications. You will lead architecture, work with cross-functional teams, and ensure regulatory compliance in a fast-paced environment.

You will mentor engineers, optimize performance, and contribute to documentation and testing protocols as part of delivering reliable, high-quality systems.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Electrical Engineering or closely related technical field.
• 4+ years of progressive experience in software development with a strong portfolio.
• Experience in highly regulated, safety-critical, or mission-critical industries (nuclear, aerospace, defense, medical devices, automotive safety). Nuclear industry experience preferred.
• SDLCs including Agile and Waterfall; strong understanding of design patterns, data structures, and algorithms.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design and development of robust, scalable software solutions for critical nuclear energy applications.
• Provide technical leadership and mentoring to junior engineers.
• Collaborate with hardware, control systems, and other software teams for system integration.
• Advocate for rigorous software quality assurance practices and regulatory compliance.
• Identify and resolve complex performance issues to ensure reliable operation.

Skills

SDLCs

Agile

Waterfall

Git

Debugging

Software design patterns

Education

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

Tools

Git

Job description

About the Nuclear Company

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.
• 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.
• Competitive compensation packages
• 401k with company match

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.

Recruiting Fraud Alert

Your safety is our priority. We want to ensure your job search stays secure. Please note that the team at The Nuclear Company only communicates through official @thenuclearcompany.com email addresses. We will never ask for payments or sensitive financial information at any stage of our recruitment process. For your peace of mind, please verify all openings and submit your applications directly through our official careers page.

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