Strike Engineer

OKLO; Santa Clara (CA); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Bonuses

Health insurance

401(k)

HSA

FSA

Flexible work hours

Wellness credits

Job summary

Oklo is seeking a Strike Engineer to join the engineering team in Santa Clara, CA. The role is a senior, adaptable engineer who may contribute hands-on, lead technically, or interim manage. You will own high-priority problems, move between programs, and establish durable execution paths with clear ownership.

Responsibilities span design, analysis, prototyping, testing, manufacturing, software and data, with emphasis on delivering verified, scalable solutions. Travel to HQ is expected as needed.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in engineering, physics, or related field, or equivalent practical experience.
• 2+ years solving complex engineering problems from definition through design, execution, validation, and handoff.
• Breadth across multiple engineering domains with deep expertise in at least one area.
• Ability to reason from first principles and validate conclusions with data.
• Hands-on use of modeling, CAD, calculations, test equipment, scripting, data analysis, or prototyping.
• Experience leading cross-functional technical work without formal authority.
• Strong written and verbal communication, including concise technical updates.

Responsibilities

• Embed in high-priority programs and rapidly understand system, constraints, stakeholders, and failure modes.
• Define problems from first principles, separate facts from assumptions, identify interfaces, and reduce uncertainty.
• Work hands-on across design, prototyping, testing, manufacturing, software and data as needed.
• Establish an execution plan with owners, decision points, schedule, risks, and completion criteria; drive to closure.
• Diagnose technical and operational failures using data, experiments, observation, and root-cause analysis.
• Make sound tradeoffs under uncertainty considering safety, regulatory, quality, cost, and manufacturability.
• Temporarily lead a project or team, clarify priorities, coordinate cross-functional work, and communicate decisions and risks.
• Recruit and onboard permanent owners, then transfer stable scope with documentation and next steps.
• Create reusable tools, processes, or design standards to prevent recurring issues.

Skills

First principles

Cross-functional collaboration

Communication

Hands-on engineering

Problem solving

Education

Bachelor's in engineering/physics/related field

Tools

CAD

Calculations

Test equipment

Scripting

Data analysis

Prototyping

Job description

Thanks for your interest in Oklo! We are searching for a Strike Engineer to join our engineering team.

Position Description

The Strike Engineer is a senior, highly adaptable engineer who reports to the Engineering Strike Team Lead and takes ownership of Oklo's highest-priority, most ambiguous technical problems. This person moves between programs, builds context quickly, reduces problems to first principles, and stays accountable through verified resolution. Depending on the need, the Strike Engineer may serve as a hands-on individual contributor, technical lead, or interim manager. They establish a durable path, help staff the work, transfer ownership to the right long-term team, and then take on the next priority.

Specific responsibilities may include:

• Embed in high-priority engineering programs and rapidly develop a working understanding of the system, constraints, stakeholders, and current failure modes.
• Define problems from first principles by separating facts from assumptions, identifying the governing physics and interfaces, and reducing uncertainty to testable questions.
• Work hands-on across design, analysis, prototyping, testing, manufacturing, software and data, systems integration, and field execution as the problem requires.
• Establish a practical execution plan with owners, decision points, schedule, risks, and objective completion criteria, then drive the work through verified closure.
• Diagnose technical and operational failures using data, experiments, direct observation, and disciplined root-cause analysis.
• Make sound engineering tradeoffs under uncertainty while accounting for safety, regulatory requirements, quality, cost, schedule, operability, and manufacturability.
• Temporarily lead a project or team when needed by clarifying priorities, coordinating cross-functional work, removing blockers, and communicating decisions and risks.
• Help recruit and onboard permanent owners, then transfer stable scope with clear documentation, open risks, decisions, and next steps.
• Create reusable tools, processes, design standards, or technical documentation when they will prevent recurring problems or accelerate future work.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in engineering, physics, or a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience.
• 2 or more years of experience solving complex engineering problems from definition through design, execution, validation, and handoff.
• Technical breadth across multiple engineering domains and deep expertise in at least one area such as mechanical, electrical, controls, software, systems, manufacturing, test, thermal-fluid, structural, or nuclear engineering.
• Demonstrated ability to reason from first principles, challenge unsupported assumptions, and validate conclusions with analysis, tests, or operating data.
• Hands-on ability to use the tools needed to move work forward, which may include modeling, CAD, calculations, test equipment, scripting, data analysis, or prototyping.
• Experience leading cross-functional technical work without relying on formal authority, including stepping into temporary management responsibilities when needed.
• Strong written and verbal communication, including concise decision records, technical plans, risk summaries, and executive-level updates.

Bonus Qualifications:

• Experience in the nuclear industry, advanced reactor development, commercial power generation, national laboratories, or another safety-critical energy environment.
• Experience delivering hardware or integrated systems in a regulated, high-consequence, or quality-controlled environment.
• Experience starting a new program, recovering a stalled project, or resolving a persistent technical or operational problem.
• Experience with hardware-software integration, automation, controls, data systems, or test infrastructure.
• Experience hiring, developing, or onboarding engineers and transferring work to a durable long-term owner.

We are looking for a Strike Engineer who is:

• Able to move across systems, mechanical, electrical, controls, software and data, manufacturing, and test work, while recognizing when specialist depth is required.
• Able to change altitude quickly, from detailed technical work to project leadership and temporary people management, without losing clarity or accountability.
• Passionate about clean energy
• An optimist at heart
• Passionate about making advanced fission a reality
• Willing and able to learn quickly
• Willing to think differently and do things in new ways
• Comfortable in a fast-paced, highly iterative startup environment
• Excited to think creatively, critically, and reflectively about the problems they are solving while not leaning only on what has been done before
• Willing to propose novel and creative solutions to technical problems
• An excellent writer who can write in a modern active voice, so make your cover letter compelling and write it well!
• Able to communicate technical content and results verbally

Who you are:

A startup person : You aren't driven by titles or hierarchy, and prefer efficiency to excess process. You don't need or expect to have a lot of guidance but you enjoy working in a fast-paced team. If you prefer the culture and feel of a large organization, that is great, but you likely won’t enjoy working with us! There is plenty of important work and plenty of good opportunities with organizations like that.

Motivated: You are self-motivated. You bring an enthusiasm to the team, and imbue a sense of passion that goes beyond clocking in and clocking out. This isn't about a fake or arbitrary "pieces of flair" mentality or lack of work-life balance! It is about being a part of the vision and feeling a part of reaching team goals.

A team-player: Oklo genuinely is a team. We aren't about taking credit for ourselves, and we aren't about pushing blame to others. We do incredible things because we work as a team.

An excellent communicator: We need a person who is not only technically competent but also a clear and upbeat communicator.

Creative: Being creative means that when things fall outside clear scopes or processes or problems arise without clear solutions, you are able to identify it as well as invent ways to solve a problem or fill a need without micromanagement. The successful person in this job will not only be creative, but also enjoy being creative and solving open-ended problems which may change day-by-day.

Detail-oriented: This focus is a big part of excellence, consistency, and quality. Excellent grammar and spelling matter for both good communication as well as the image of the company that we put forward.

Oklo requires remote employees to travel to headquarters (Santa Clara, CA) twice a quarter annually, based on business or team needs, including attendance at team meetings, off-sites, and other company events or gatherings. For the first two weeks of onboarding, employees are required to be in person at headquarters in Santa Clara, CA.

Oklo offers flexible time off, equity, bonuses, competitive pay, 401(k), health insurance (with employer contribution), HSA, FSA, flexible work hours, wellness credits, and other benefits.

This position may involve access to information subject to U.S. export control laws. Only applicants who meet the definition of a U.S. person under applicable laws may be eligible.

About Oklo Inc.: Oklo Inc. is developing fast fission power plants to deliver clean, reliable, and affordable energy at scale; establishing a domestic supply chain for critical radioisotopes; and advancing nuclear fuel recycling to convert nuclear waste into clean energy. Oklo was the first to receive a site use permit from the U.S. Department of Energy for a commercial advanced fission plant, was awarded fuel material from Idaho National Laboratory, and submitted the first custom combined license application for an advanced reactor to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Oklo is also developing advanced fuel recycling technologies in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy and U.S. National Laboratories.

#CHOP: Oklo’s Values
Collaboration: We go further, together. We bring diverse perspectives, listen actively, and build trust through transparency and respect. We work across disciplines, sharing ownership to turn complex challenges into shared successes.
Humility: We are team players who act for the good of the company and for the world. We are focused on our mission, not personal recognition.
Ownership: We take pride in what we do and how we do it. We are proactive in finding solutions and see tasks through to completion. We are committed to delivering on our promises to provide clean, reliable, and affordable energy.
Pathfinding: We chart new ground where no path exists by approaching challenges with curiosity, courage, and creativity while navigating ambiguity.

Candidates should be aware that employment may be contingent upon successful completion of a drug screening, and employees may be subject to drug testing at any time in accordance with company policy and applicable laws.

As set forth in Oklo’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy,we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.