Director, Deployment Strategy and Integration

Oklo•Santa Clara, CA

About The Position

Oklo is hiring a Director of Deployment Strategy and Integration to serve as a high-judgment deputy to the Senior Director, Deployments. This senior, independent operator owns high-priority cross-functional deployment workstreams from problem framing and recommendation development through decisions and implementation. The role brings technical, regulatory, commercial, financial, construction, schedule, operational, customer, and government considerations together, helping senior leaders make consequential choices and driving aligned teams through execution. The Director works across business units and functions, earning trust without relying on direct authority over every contributor. The position calls for exceptional judgment and writing, comfort with ambiguity, a low-ego operating style, and persistence through implementation. It requires someone able to operate with limited direction, represent a senior leader credibly within a defined mandate, and turn lessons from live projects into repeatable deployment practices. The role is expected to travel approximately 50%, potentially more during critical deployment periods, including to project sites and external stakeholder meetings. Remote employees travel to Oklo’s Santa Clara headquarters twice a quarter based on business or team needs; the first two weeks of onboarding are in person at headquarters. The position may involve access to information subject to U.S. export control laws, and only applicants who meet the applicable definition of a U.S. person may be eligible.

Requirements

Typically 10 or more years of relevant experience; demonstrated scope, judgment, and outcomes matter more than a specific number of years.
A record of independently leading complex, cross-functional work from an ambiguous starting point to a concrete outcome.
Strong executive presence and the ability to influence senior leaders and subject-matter experts without relying on reporting authority.
Excellent written and verbal communication in clear, modern, active language.
Ability to learn technical and operational subject matter quickly and ask precise questions without overstepping domain expertise.
Ability to operate with limited direction and represent a senior leader credibly within a defined mandate.
Sound judgment when making and defending decisions with incomplete or conflicting information, while clearly communicating uncertainty.
Ability to connect engineering, regulatory, commercial, finance, construction, schedule, operations, customer, and government realities.
Ability to convert recommendations into owners, sequence, resources, risks, and review points, and remain engaged through implementation.
Willingness and ability to learn quickly, work on a dynamic team, receive constructive feedback, and grow.
Comfort working in a fast-paced, highly iterative startup environment and thinking differently or proposing novel solutions.
Ability to communicate technical content and results verbally.
Self-motivated, collaborative, creative, and detail-oriented, with strong grammar and spelling.

Nice To Haves

Experience leading complex programs, deployments, infrastructure development, strategy and operations, technical special projects, government programs, or high-stakes field operations.
Experience in advanced energy, nuclear, aerospace, defense technology, construction, industrial systems, autonomy, or another regulated hardware environment.
Familiarity with first-of-a-kind delivery, government customers or partners, complex contracts, project finance, capital decisions, stage gates, project controls, EPC partners, commissioning, or operational readiness.
Direct field, site, construction, manufacturing, or customer-deployment experience.

Responsibilities

Own top-priority cross-functional deployment workstreams from problem definition through decision and implementation.
Enter ambiguous situations, identify the underlying question, and build a practical path to an answer.
Develop integrated recommendations that connect technical, commercial, regulatory, financial, construction, schedule, operational, customer, and government inputs.
Separate facts, assumptions, constraints, and preferences, and test whether available evidence supports the current plan.
Develop options with clear tradeoffs, second-order effects, owners, timing, and a recommended path.
Convene cross-functional teams, clarify interfaces, surface conflicts, and drive issues to closure or timely escalation.
Write concise decision memos, executive updates, meeting narratives, and implementation plans that stand on their own.
Represent the Senior Director, Deployments in defined meetings and workstreams and follow through on commitments within that mandate.
Convert lessons from live projects into practical, repeatable deployment practices for the broader portfolio.
Carry decisions into implementation and adapt as facts or conditions change.