Lead OT Engineer - Power Conversion

Valar Atomics•Torrance, CA

About The Position

Valar Atomics is hiring a Lead OT Engineer to own the power-conversion program’s daily OT work plan, team workload, and delivery commitments. The role coordinates equipment, vendor, integration, and testing dependencies, maintaining effective execution when schedules change. People-management and decision authority develop through explicit delegation; technical expertise is preferred but not required, and qualified nontechnical managers are eligible. OT Engineering delivers power and rack infrastructure, compute, networks, identity, security, operational data, and industrial software platforms. The FactoryTalk scope includes backend deployment, configuration, integration, and recovery. The position coordinates infrastructure implementation, commissioning support, maintenance, and turnover with equipment and program stakeholders, while tracking engineering and acceptance decisions, implementation, testing, and records through completion. Valar Atomics describes itself as a startup focused on scalable clean, high-temperature nuclear power. It has designed, built, commissioned, and operated a DOE-authorized research reactor outside the national laboratory system. Safe operation, disciplined testing, and regulatory rigor are emphasized. Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States as a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident.

Requirements

Direct people-management or supervisory experience, including assigning work, setting expectations, coaching, providing feedback, and holding people accountable for completion.
Experience coordinating concurrent technical or operational work involving specialists, vendors, resources, schedules, and dependencies.
Ability to maintain clear priorities, realistic work plans, accurate status and issue records, and dependable follow-through under pressure.
Experience removing delivery obstacles, escalating consequential issues, and coordinating handoffs against engineers’ requirements and acceptance decisions within delegated authority.
Ability to sequence equipment, vendor, integration, and testing dependencies with clear readiness and escalation decisions.
Legal authorization to work in the United States as a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident.

Nice To Haves

Experience leading delivery, commissioning, services, or maintenance work for power-generation or heavy-equipment programs.
Experience coordinating vendors, equipment interfaces, and site test schedules.
Familiarity with industrial OT infrastructure or power-conversion equipment.
Technical specialization; hands-on engineering execution is not required.

Responsibilities

Sequence OT work around equipment availability, vendor deliverables, integration needs, test windows, and site readiness.
Assign work, set expectations, coach team members, provide candid feedback, and address missed commitments within delegated authority.
Maintain realistic staffing and work plans; resolve competing commitments and resource gaps early.
Coordinate infrastructure implementation, commissioning support, maintenance, and turnover with equipment and program stakeholders.
Maintain as-built structured cabling drawings for site and power-conversion network systems.
Resolve execution obstacles, hold owners to agreed actions, and escalate constraints before they block dependent work.
Obtain engineering and acceptance decisions and track implementation, testing, and records through completion.

Benefits

Competitive base salary
Equity ownership
Comprehensive medical benefits
Unlimited PTO
Free daily lunch and dinner provided onsite
Generous PPE stipend
High-impact startup environment with significant ownership and autonomy
Opportunities for rapid career growth and internal advancement
Direct collaboration with experienced operators, engineers, and industry leaders
Opportunity to help build and scale transformative energy technology from the ground up