Land Specialist

The Nuclear Company•Washington, DC

10d•$151,000 - $178,000

About The Position

The Nuclear Company is the fastest growing AI tech-enabled startup in the nuclear and energy space, pioneering a fleet-scale approach to building the next generation of nuclear reactors. Through our design-once, build-many model, we're accelerating the deployment of safe, reliable, and affordable nuclear energy. We operate with an AI-first mindset. Every employee is expected to leverage AI, technology, and the Nuclear Operating System (NOS) as integral components of their role to improve the quality, speed, and impact of their work. We expect every team member to continuously identify opportunities to automate workflows, enhance decision-making, improve processes, and contribute to the ongoing evolution of NOS as a strategic operating capability that enables The Nuclear Company to scale with excellence. We hire people who are driven by purpose, thrive in ambiguity, and are energized by building what has never been built before. Our team combines intellectual curiosity with high agency, embraces candid feedback and continuous learning, and holds themselves and others to exceptional standards. Our values—Transparency, Responsibility, Unity, Scrappiness, and Tenacity—guide how we hire, collaborate, and make decisions every day. They are not words on a wall; they are the standard by which we operate. TRUST is the foundation of our safety culture, fostering intellectual honesty, accountability, and open communication, while our values challenge every team member to execute with urgency, humility, resilience, and an unwavering commitment to our mission. About the role The Land Specialist secures the land and land rights TNC's nuclear development projects depend on, from FEL 0 through FEL 3. The role owns the land workstream on assigned projects: defining what land is needed, engaging owners, securing access and control, resolving title, mineral, and third-party interests, and closing the acquisition ahead of FID. The role is responsible for achieving and maintaining site control – as defined (differently) by the interconnection provider, the NRC, and project financing. The role is also responsible for activities that are critical to maintaining the project schedule, including invasive site access in time for the meteorological tower to begin its data gathering and resolution of any road, railway, or pipeline crossing the site.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Real Estate, Land Management, Business, Engineering, Geography, Urban Planning, or a related discipline, or equivalent professional experience.
10+ years in land acquisition, right-of-way, or real estate for large energy, utility, or infrastructure projects.
Demonstrated ownership of a multi-parcel assemblage from identification through closing, including direct landowner negotiation.
Working knowledge of title examination and curative practice, mineral severance, easements, rights-of-way, and ALTA/NSPS survey standards.
Experience negotiating with public agencies and infrastructure owners, including road authorities, railroads, and utility operators, and discipline in managing dated obligations without lapse.

Nice To Haves

Nuclear or other NRC-licensed facility experience and working knowledge of 10 CFR Part 100 exclusion area and owner-controlled area concepts.
Familiarity with interconnection provider site control requirements, such as PJM Manuals 14G and 14H.
Experience with severed mineral estates, state-specific surface rights practice, or water rights in prior appropriation states.

Responsibilities

Translate technology land parameters and the hazard standoff envelope into a stated land requirement, giving both the minimum viable and target footprint.
Maintain the parcel register: ownership, tenancy, encumbrances, and classification of each parcel as core or contingent.
Lead landowner engagement and negotiate options, leases, easements, and purchase agreements. Maintain the control register, recording per parcel which of the three control standards each instrument satisfies, and manage option expiries, extensions, and payments.
Secure both access instruments: non-invasive right of entry, and invasive access for geotechnical, environmental, and meteorological tower work.
Manage title examination, curative work, insurance, and the ALTA/NSPS survey. Determine mineral severance early and resolve it by acquisition, waiver, or non-disturbance agreement.
Inventory every road, railway, pipeline, and utility on or adjacent to the site, establish what each legally is, classify it as removable, relocatable, or permanent, and secure for those that remain the emergency traffic control arrangements the license relies on (10 CFR 100.3).
Acquire corridor rights for interconnection, water intake and discharge, heavy haul, barge landing, and rail spur, including USACE, submerged land, highway, and railroad crossing consents.
Secure offsite construction land for laydown, module assembly, batch plant, spoil, and parking, and supply the property evidence for rezoning, subdivision, plat, and right-of-way vacation.
Deliver the land deliverables at each gate and state control sufficiency as a percentage of the minimum viable footprint under recorded exclusive instrument.
Own land entries in the red flag and fatal flaw register through to retirement with evidence, and escalate immediately any condition capable of ending a site.
Maintain land records, parcel geometry, and executed instruments in the Nuclear Operating System, provide cost and schedule inputs to Project Controls, and use GIS, title, and AI-enabled tools to accelerate property research and automate date-driven obligations.
Leverage AI-enabled tools, GIS platforms, and digital land management systems to accelerate site evaluation, property research, document review, title analysis, and due diligence activities.
Support the development of and utilize the Nuclear Operating System (NOS) and other enterprise technology platforms to manage land records, monitor project milestones, improve reporting accuracy, and support data-driven development decisions.
Identify opportunities to automate repetitive land administration processes, improve document management, and enhance workflow efficiency through AI and digital technologies.
Partner with cross-functional teams to improve the quality, accessibility, and governance of land, title, and property data used throughout the project development lifecycle.