Commercial Quality Program Manager

Oklo•Santa Clara, CA

7h•$155,000 - $185,000•Remote

About The Position

Oklo is seeking a Commercial Quality Program Manager to build and lead a practical, high-performing quality program. This role will own the development, implementation, and continuous improvement of Oklo's commercial Quality Management System (QMS) using ISO 9001 as the governing standard. The position involves translating quality requirements into scalable, business-focused processes, partnering closely with various departments, and coordinating with Nuclear Quality Assurance. The successful candidate will be a hands-on builder capable of strategic thinking, systems development, coaching, and execution.

Requirements

7+ years of quality assurance, quality engineering, operations, manufacturing, or related experience, including at least 3 years leading a quality program or management system in a complex or regulated environment.
Strong working knowledge of ISO 9001 and demonstrated experience implementing, maintaining, improving, or auditing an ISO 9001-based QMS.
Bachelor's degree in engineering, quality, operations, physical science, business, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education, training, and relevant experience.
Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional initiatives, influence without direct authority, manage competing priorities, and convert requirements into practical business processes.
Remote work capability and ability to use video conferencing and cloud-based applications; willing and able to travel approximately 25% of workdays.
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.
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.
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.
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.

Nice To Haves

ISO 9001 Lead Auditor certification or an ASQ certification such as Certified Quality Auditor, Certified Quality Engineer, or Certified Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence.
Experience in nuclear energy, advanced manufacturing, aerospace, defense, EPC, or another highly regulated, technically complex industry.
Familiarity with nuclear quality assurance requirements, such as ASME NQA-1, ANSI/ANS-15.8, 10 CFR 50 Appendix B, or Department of Energy quality requirements, and experience integrating commercial and nuclear quality controls.

Responsibilities

Lead the development, implementation, maintenance, and continuous improvement of Oklo's commercial QMS in alignment with ISO 9001 requirements and business objectives.
Translate customer, contractual, technical, regulatory, and internal requirements into clear policies, procedures, workflows, tools, and measurable controls.
Establish a risk-based and graded approach to commercial quality so that controls are rigorous, efficient, and proportionate to the risk, complexity, and intended use of products and services.
Coordinate closely with Nuclear Quality Assurance to determine when nuclear quality requirements apply and to maintain clear interfaces, handoffs, escalation paths, and ownership across quality programs.
Lead internal audits, management reviews, quality objectives, corrective action activities, and other QMS governance processes, ensuring issues are identified early and driven to effective closure.
Partner with cross-functional teams to embed quality planning and controls into design, procurement, supplier management, manufacturing, inspection, testing, delivery, and operational activities.
Develop and oversee commercial supplier quality controls, including qualification, performance monitoring, issue resolution, and improvement, while coordinating with Nuclear Quality Assurance for suppliers or items that cross quality program boundaries.
Manage nonconformances, corrective and preventive actions, root cause evaluations, deviations, concessions, and effectiveness reviews with an emphasis on timely, durable, and data-driven solutions.
Define and maintain meaningful quality metrics, dashboards, and reporting that provide leadership with clear insight into performance, risk, trends, and opportunities for improvement.
Create and deliver practical training, coaching, and guidance that help employees understand quality requirements and confidently apply them in their day-to-day work.
Support customer, partner, and third-party assessments or audits, and ensure resulting actions are coordinated, documented, and completed on schedule.
Champion a culture of quality, ownership, learning, and continuous improvement that strengthens execution, reduces rework, and enables Oklo to scale with speed and discipline.