Plant Manager

Standard Nuclear•Oak Ridge, TN

45d•Onsite

About The Position

Standard Nuclear is fueling America’s nuclear renaissance at industrial scale. Our mission is to deliver the essential building blocks of nuclear power—enabling cost-effective, safe, and secure energy for the world. The Plant Manager is responsible for the overall leadership, performance, and safe operation of Standard Nuclear’s Oak Ridge nuclear fuel fabrication facility. This role provides strategic and day-to-day leadership across plant operations, ensuring the facility achieves its production, safety, quality, regulatory, financial, and operational objectives while fostering a strong nuclear safety culture. As the senior operations leader for the facility, the Plant Manager is accountable for manufacturing execution, workforce performance, operational discipline, equipment reliability, continuous improvement, and cross-functional coordination. This role oversees production operations while partnering closely with Engineering, Quality, Nuclear Safety, Criticality Safety, Radiological Controls, EH&S, Maintenance, Facilities, Supply Chain, Planning, Security, and other support organizations to ensure safe, compliant, and efficient plant operations. The Plant Manager is responsible for building and developing a high-performing operations organization as the facility accelerates manufacturing. This includes establishing operational excellence, driving continuous improvement, developing frontline leaders, and ensuring all work is performed safely, consistently, and in full compliance with applicable quality, radiological, regulatory, and nuclear safety requirements. This is a hands-on leadership role requiring a strong presence on the manufacturing floor and the ability to balance operational execution with long-term organizational growth.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Manufacturing, Operations Management, Industrial Technology, Business, or a related field; equivalent experience will be considered
10+ years of experience in manufacturing, plant operations, industrial operations, or production leadership
Experience leading supervisors, technicians, operators, and cross-functional plant teams in a manufacturing or industrial environment
Demonstrated experience owning plant or site-level performance across safety, quality, production, cost, staffing, and operational execution
Strong understanding of manufacturing systems, production metrics, operational discipline, maintenance coordination, and continuous improvement
Experience operating in regulated, safety-critical, high-reliability, or quality-controlled manufacturing environments
Proven ability to build teams, develop frontline leaders, establish accountability, and lead through growth or operational change
Strong problem-solving, communication, decision-making, and cross-functional leadership skills

Nice To Haves

Experience with DOE, NRC, NQA-1, nuclear, radiological, criticality safety, or other highly regulated environments strongly preferred
Experience in nuclear fuel fabrication, nuclear operations, chemical processing, aerospace, defense, energy, or advanced manufacturing is a plus

Responsibilities

Lead the safe, secure, and efficient operation of Standard Nuclear’s Oak Ridge nuclear fuel fabrication facility
Own plant performance across production, safety, quality, regulatory compliance, schedule, and cost
Foster a strong nuclear safety culture focused on compliance, accountability, operational discipline, and continuous improvement
Establish clear performance expectations and ensure operations are conducted in accordance with company policies, approved procedures, and regulatory requirements
Provide visible leadership on the manufacturing floor and reinforce expectations for safe, disciplined, and reliable operations
Execute the facility production plan, ensuring manufacturing commitments are achieved safely, on schedule, and within quality standards
Monitor and improve key operational metrics, including throughput, yield, labor productivity, equipment availability, schedule adherence, downtime, and manufacturing cost
Work with Engineering to identify production constraints and support corrective actions to improve reliability, efficiency, and production capacity
Optimize utilization of personnel, equipment, and facility resources while supporting the introduction of new manufacturing capabilities and processes
Drive production performance as the facility accelerates manufacturing and scales operations
Ensure compliance with applicable DOE, NRC, NQA-1, environmental, radiological, criticality safety, security, and company requirements
Promote safe work practices, contamination control, material accountability, and disciplined operational execution
Partner with Quality, Nuclear Safety, Radiological Controls, Criticality Safety, EH&S, and Security to support audits, inspections, readiness reviews, and regulatory assessments
Ensure timely and effective implementation of corrective actions and maintain operational readiness
Reinforce a culture where safety, quality, compliance, and production performance are integrated into daily operations
Lead and mentor production supervisors, technicians, operators, and other plant personnel while promoting accountability and professional development
Ensure personnel are properly trained, qualified, and prepared to support current and future operational needs
Develop frontline leaders who can execute production plans, reinforce standards, and support a disciplined manufacturing environment
Foster a culture of teamwork, ownership, continuous learning, and operational excellence
Build the organizational capability required to support long-term production growth
Establish effective daily management systems, production reviews, shift handoffs, and performance metrics
Lead root cause investigations and implementation of sustainable corrective actions for operational, safety, quality, and equipment issues
Develop scalable manufacturing systems and processes to support long-term production growth
Drive improvements in throughput, yield, equipment reliability, labor productivity, and cost performance
Ensure lessons learned from production, maintenance, quality, and safety events are translated into durable operational improvements
Partner with Engineering, Maintenance, Facilities, Supply Chain, Planning, Quality, Finance, EH&S, Nuclear Safety, Security, Licensing, and executive leadership to optimize plant performance
Balance production priorities with maintenance, capital projects, staffing, and long-term operational objectives
Communicate plant performance, operational risks, resource needs, and improvement initiatives to executive leadership
Support facility expansions, commissioning activities, operational readiness reviews, customer engagements, and regulatory interactions
Ensure cross-functional teams are aligned around plant priorities, constraints, and execution needs