Director, Balance of Plant

Kairos Power•Dexter Township, MI

2d•Remote

About The Position

Kairos Power is seeking an experienced senior engineering leader to provide strategic and technical leadership for multidisciplinary engineering teams responsible for the Balance of Plant (BOP), Power Generation System, and Turbine Island. The role leads the technical direction, organizational capability, and execution of teams designing and deploying structures, systems, and components that convert thermal energy to electricity and provide auxiliary functions needed for reliable and efficient plant operation. The ideal candidate brings broad power plant and thermal-fluid systems expertise, experience building engineering teams and working with external partners, and a record of delivering complex hardware systems from concept through commissioning and operation. The Director leads BOP system development and integration, including heat transport systems interfacing with high-temperature steam Rankine cycles, the Power Generation System, and auxiliary systems such as service water, treated water, and compressed air. The role establishes technical direction and decision boundaries consistent with company strategy and designated technical authorities, and leads engineering delivery from conceptual sizing through detailed design, vendor package review, and commissioning support. The position oversees technical quality, requirements, safety and code compliance, supplier execution, design changes, and engineering deliverables. It also translates company strategy into organizational priorities; manages scope, schedule, risk, and resource tradeoffs; builds leadership capability and staffing pipelines; and promotes accountability, integrity, psychological safety, and mission stewardship. Some travel may be required, up to 25%.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree or higher in Mechanical Engineering, Nuclear Engineering, Chemical Engineering, or equivalent.
15+ years of progressively responsible engineering experience involving power generation, thermal-fluid systems, process systems, nuclear systems, or other complex industrial systems.
7+ years of progressive engineering leadership experience managing multidisciplinary engineering teams.
Experience managing engineering managers or technical leads with accountability for outcomes across multiple teams and work sites.
Experience working with suppliers, OEMs, engineering contractors, or other external technical organizations.
Experience leading technical development and qualification of major equipment through external suppliers or OEMs.
Experience supporting construction, commissioning, startup, or operation of complex power generation or industrial facilities.
Experience with integrated power plant systems, including modern high-temperature steam Rankine cycles and interactions between heat transport, power conversion, auxiliary systems, and plant infrastructure.
Strong systems thinking and ability to identify and resolve technical issues that cross engineering and organizational boundaries.
Proactive, organized, adaptable, and able to thrive in fast-paced, multi-tasked environments.
Knowledge of integrated power plant architecture, thermal-fluid systems, power generation systems, auxiliary systems, major plant equipment, and their interfaces, including familiarity with steam generator technologies such as Heat Recovery Steam Generators and molten salt steam generators.
Knowledge of equipment procurement, supplier engineering, manufacturing, testing, installation, commissioning, and lifecycle considerations for complex industrial systems.
Skill in leading and developing multidisciplinary engineering organizations and holding teams accountable for technical and execution outcomes.
Skill in translating program objectives into engineering strategies, priorities, resource plans, and measurable commitments.
Skill in technical decision-making, trade studies, risk assessment, problem solving, and resolution of complex cross-system issues.
Ability to establish clear accountability while empowering managers, technical leads, and responsible engineers to make decisions at the appropriate organizational level.
Ability to operate effectively in a first-of-a-kind environment characterized by technical uncertainty, evolving requirements, and competing priorities.
Ability to communicate complex technical issues, uncertainties, risks, and tradeoffs to technical and nontechnical stakeholders to support informed decisions.
Ability to work occasionally on weekends, with schedule flexibility and extended hours to support launch and critical project timelines.
Authorization by the Department of Energy to access Part 810-controlled information is required to work in the facility; some foreign nationals may require an export control license.

Responsibilities

Provide strategic and technical leadership for development and integration of BOP systems, including heat transport systems, the Power Generation System, and auxiliary systems.
Establish department technical direction and decision boundaries consistent with company strategy and designated technical authorities.
Lead engineering delivery from conceptual sizing through detailed design, vendor package review, and commissioning support; own design reviews and technical risk.
Ensure system and discipline leads satisfy applicable requirements, codes, standards, and safety functions, and align with the program.
Ensure engineering deliverables—including requirements, calculations, analyses, specifications, drawings, design reports, interface documents, and test plans—are technically sound and meet quality and schedule requirements.
Oversee supplier technical execution, including supplier selection, bid evaluations, equipment specifications, design reviews, technical evaluations, qualification programs, factory acceptance testing, and resolution of supplier technical issues.
Oversee evaluation of BOP design and supplier changes for impacts on system interfaces, plant performance, safety, and commissioning readiness, and ensure approved changes are incorporated into the controlled technical baseline.
Build productive relationships with external organizations while maintaining accountability for Kairos Power technical requirements and engineering decisions.
Translate company strategy into measurable organizational priorities and decision principles.
Determine and communicate scope, schedule, risk, and resource tradeoffs across the organization.
Maintain accountability for organizational outcomes and decisions within delegated authority, including decisions delegated to others.
Ensure strategic priorities are executed, take corrective action when results are off track, and remove systemic barriers teams cannot resolve.
Ensure material technical and safety risks, potential consequences, and proposed mitigations are documented and communicated to the appropriate authority, with risk acceptance decisions explicitly recorded.
Personally engage in mission-critical technical or organizational decisions, crises, external reviews, or critical deliverables when judgment can materially change the outcome.
Build the organization and leadership pipeline required for current and future strategy, including recruitment, staffing, and leadership development.
Hold senior leaders and technical leads accountable for team capability, succession, performance, engagement, and retention.
Ensure systemic operational or compliance weaknesses are corrected and improvements are sustained across the organization.
Communicate organizational direction and tradeoffs consistently to leadership, teams, and cross-functional partners.
Establish alignment across teams, resolve cross-functional conflicts, and escalate tradeoffs that require broader leadership decisions.
Set the organizational tone for accountability, integrity, psychological safety, and mission stewardship, reinforcing these values through decisions, resource choices, recognition, and corrective action.
Lead and support recruitment and staffing requirements of the group.
Perform other duties as assigned.