Distinguished Nuclear Engineer

Kairos Power•Alameda, CA

About The Position

Kairos Power is a nuclear energy technology and engineering company working to commercialize a fluoride-salt-cooled, high-temperature reactor designed for robust safety, affordability, and flexible operation. The Nuclear Design and Methods department is seeking a Distinguished Engineer to bring extensive nuclear plant experience and senior engineering judgment to its design organization. Reporting to the Head of Nuclear Design and Methods, this role serves as a senior technical advisor and representative in high-impact decisions. It connects nuclear analysis with plant implementation, ensuring analyses, models, assumptions, limits, and requirements remain consistent with reactor design, licensing, instrumentation, testing, commissioning, maintenance, and operation. The role works across Nuclear Island and Civil Structures Design, Systems Engineering, Operations, Licensing, I&C, and Nuclear Design functions such as Source Term, Radiation Measurements, and Shielding. The Distinguished Engineer identifies and resolves technical and plant-interface issues across organizational boundaries, provides independent technical review, and represents Nuclear Design within delegated areas of technical authority. The role also mentors engineers, transfers plant and field experience into the design organization, and helps develop technical leaders capable of making sound cross-functional decisions.

Requirements

Bachelor’s or advanced degree in Nuclear Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
15+ years of progressively responsible nuclear engineering experience, including significant senior-level technical leadership responsibility in nuclear power, reactor engineering, nuclear facilities, reactor programs, or a closely related field.
Direct technical responsibility within an operating nuclear facility or reactor program, startup or commissioning organization, or comparable nuclear environment, with accountability for decisions affecting reactor or facility operation, plant engineering, startup or commissioning, testing, procedures, surveillance, maintenance, or operational readiness.
Experience leading complex technical issues across multiple engineering disciplines and organizational stakeholders.
Substantial experience working within a nuclear licensing and design basis, including Technical Specifications or equivalent operating limits, regulatory requirements and guidance, surveillance and testing requirements, design-basis requirements, and configuration/design control.
Experience working across nuclear design, plant or systems engineering, licensing, and facility operations, with an understanding of how analytical assumptions and engineering decisions affect plant implementation.
Ability to understand and challenge complex nuclear engineering analyses, including assumptions, margins, uncertainties, interfaces, and plant consequences, without serving as the calculation authority in every discipline.
Ability to make and communicate sound engineering judgments on high-consequence technical issues, including situations involving incomplete information, competing requirements, and multiple stakeholders.
Ability to assess the adequacy of technical evidence supporting high-consequence engineering decisions.
Ability to evaluate downstream plant impacts of changes in assumptions, requirements, methods, or operating conditions.
Ability to recognize when technical issues require escalation, independent review, or additional technical authority.
Knowledge of nuclear design control, configuration management, and change-control principles.
Ability to synthesize complex cross-disciplinary information into clear technical conclusions and recommendations.
Broad knowledge of nuclear reactor and facility engineering, reactor safety, plant systems, and the relationship between nuclear analysis, plant design, and reactor operation.
Ability to apply systems thinking and plant-oriented engineering judgment to recognize dependencies and consequences across nuclear design, instrumentation, plant systems, licensing, maintenance, testing, and operation.
Ability to evaluate technical maturity, design readiness, test adequacy, operating impacts, assumptions, margins, uncertainties, and technical risk.
Ability to make sound engineering recommendations with incomplete information while clearly identifying the technical basis, assumptions, risks, and required follow-up actions.
Strong technical leadership and communication skills, including the ability to influence decisions without relying on organizational authority and represent Nuclear Design with senior engineering, licensing, operational, regulatory, and executive stakeholders.
Ability to mentor and influence engineers at multiple levels, including senior technical staff, and transfer plant knowledge, field experience, and engineering judgment into the organization.
Dedication to nuclear safety, technical rigor, accountability, constructive technical challenge, and effective execution in a first-of-a-kind engineering environment.

Nice To Haves

Experience in an operating commercial nuclear power plant, particularly in reactor engineering, operations, plant engineering, startup/commissioning, or senior technical leadership.
Experience across multiple phases of the nuclear facility lifecycle, including design, licensing, construction, commissioning, operation, maintenance, or major plant modifications.
Experience with reactor startup, initial fuel loading, startup physics testing, operating procedures, surveillance programs, maintenance programs, or operational-readiness activities.
Experience with nuclear instrumentation and monitoring systems, such as neutron or flux monitoring, radiation detection, continuous air monitoring, area radiation monitoring, effluent monitoring, or environmental monitoring.
Experience in one or more nuclear technical disciplines such as reactor physics, fuel management, criticality safety, source term, radiation shielding, radiation protection, or nuclear material monitoring.
Experience with a first-of-a-kind or advanced-reactor program where design, licensing, testing, commissioning, and operating approaches are being developed concurrently.

Responsibilities

Provide senior technical leadership and independent engineering judgment across Nuclear Design and Methods and its interfaces with plant design, licensing, testing, commissioning, maintenance, and reactor operation.
Represent Nuclear Design in high-impact technical decisions and forums, including design reviews, readiness reviews, audits, licensing engagements, and senior technical or executive discussions; exercise delegated technical authority and escalate significant design-basis decisions as appropriate.
Lead resolution of complex cross-disciplinary technical issues involving reactor physics, thermal hydraulics, nuclear instrumentation, radiation monitoring, source term, radiation shielding, criticality safety, fuel management, I&C, systems engineering, licensing, testing, commissioning, maintenance, and plant operation.
Connect nuclear analyses and methods to plant implementation by ensuring assumptions, limits, margins, uncertainties, and analytical requirements are reflected in plant requirements, instrumentation, operating constraints, surveillance and testing, acceptance criteria, procedures, and maintainable designs.
Identify and drive early resolution of technical risks and inconsistencies that could affect licensing, operability, instrumentation, testing, maintenance, commissioning, or plant design.
Prepare, review, and challenge Nuclear Design technical products and plant-facing engineering documentation, including analyses, calculations, design requirements, specifications, design decision records, test plans, procedures, licensing-basis inputs, and readiness documentation.
Provide senior technical guidance for startup, commissioning, testing, and operational readiness, including initial fuel loading, startup physics testing, reactor monitoring, reactivity control, plant procedures, and acceptance criteria.
Mentor and develop engineers and technical leaders by transferring plant experience and strengthening engineering judgment, regulatory awareness, cross-functional decision-making, constructive technical challenge, and nuclear safety practices.
Provide independent technical review of significant design decisions, engineering changes, and deviations from established assumptions or methods.
Identify and resolve cross-functional technical interface issues that could affect licensing, operability, testing, commissioning, or plant readiness.
Evaluate plant impacts of changes to analytical methods, assumptions, limits, or design requirements.
Support incorporation of operating experience, test results, and field feedback into Nuclear Design requirements and practices.
Ensure significant technical decisions, assumptions, risks, and follow-up actions are clearly documented and traceable.
Perform other duties as assigned.