Production Quality Supervisor

Valar Atomics•Torrance, CA

4d•$80,000 - $115,000•Onsite

About The Position

Valar Atomics is redefining energy by making clean, high-temperature nuclear power scalable. Our mission is to unlock abundant energy for industry, hydrogen, and next-generation manufacturing through fast-deploying, factory-made nuclear systems. Our pilot plant in Orangeville, Utah will demonstrate advanced nuclear systems and fuel fabrication. Joining Valar Atomics offers autonomy, ownership, and impact at every level. The Quality Assurance team, within Regulations & Safety, establishes systems and standards for quality and compliance, promoting continuous improvement and operational excellence. As Production Quality Supervisor, you will lead day-to-day quality execution in a manufacturing and fuel fabrication environment, supporting HTGR reactor component and fuel-related manufacturing. This role is hands-on, directly involved in production operations, ensuring disciplined, traceable, and technically defensible manufacturing execution across build, assembly, test, and inspection. You will lead Production Quality Technicians and Inspectors, collaborating with Production Quality Engineers, manufacturing leadership, operators, and Operations Quality leadership to ensure quality requirements are understood, executable, and consistently implemented. Success requires strong floor leadership, manufacturing quality experience, technical judgment, operational awareness, and the ability to maintain execution discipline without unnecessary bureaucracy.

Requirements

High school diploma or equivalent required; technical degree or engineering-related education preferred.
7+ years of experience supporting quality execution within manufacturing, production, nuclear, aerospace, semiconductor, defense, or similarly demanding technical environments.
3+ years of experience leading production quality personnel, inspection teams, or manufacturing quality execution activities.
Ability to interpret engineering drawings, specifications, work instructions, travelers, and controlled documentation.
Familiarity with production verification activities, inspection methods, material traceability systems, and regulated quality systems.
Comfortable working within active manufacturing environments including exposure to industrial noise, fabrication-related fumes, and changing operational conditions while following all safety protocols.
Flexible and willing to support demanding production schedules including extended hours, weekends, and rapid-response floor problem solving when necessary.

Nice To Haves

Prior experience supporting nuclear manufacturing, NQA-1 environments, DOE projects, ASME-related fabrication activities, or similarly regulated technical programs.
Manufacturing quality experience spanning machining, welding, assembly, fabrication, and industrial production activities.
Experience coordinating quality execution across multiple work centers, shifts, or production cells.
Familiarity with nonconformance systems, CAPA tracking, traceability systems, controlled work execution, and field verification methodologies.
Experience supporting root cause investigations, corrective actions, and operational quality problem solving within complex manufacturing environments.
Working familiarity with dimensional inspection methods, gauges, and technical verification workflows.
Experience supporting or implementing Operator Verification Certification (OVC) or similar delegated-verification programs.
Strong operational judgment and ability to make technically defensible decisions under ambiguity and schedule pressure.

Responsibilities

Lead day-to-day floor execution activities for the production quality organization supporting reactor component fabrication, assembly, testing, and controlled production execution.
Supervise Production Quality Technicians and Inspectors while reinforcing disciplined execution, procedural compliance, technical rigor, and traceability integrity across all production quality activities.
Coordinate inspection activities, hold points, in-process verification, and controlled workflows across manufacturing cells, work centers, and production disciplines.
Provide quality oversight of production activities including material handling, fabrication, assembly, testing, and final inspection.
Ensure build records, material traceability, inspection documentation, and controlled execution documentation remain accurate, complete, retrievable, and audit-ready.
Support investigation and resolution of nonconformances, production discrepancies, workmanship concerns, procedural deviations, and technical documentation gaps.
Work directly with manufacturing leadership, Production Quality Engineers, Operations, and Engineering to ensure technically defensible and operationally executable quality solutions.
Help identify emerging execution risks, traceability gaps, process performance concerns, and operational weaknesses before they become major production impacts.
Mentor and develop floor quality personnel while helping establish scalable production quality execution standards and verification discipline across the organization.
Support Operator Verification Certification (OVC) implementation on the floor, coordinating with the Quality Department on certification, currency, and delegation of verification activities.
Participate in internal audits of production quality processes and support external audit readiness.

Benefits

Competitive base salary
Equity ownership in a rapidly growing advanced energy company
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
The opportunity to help build and scale transformative energy technology from the ground up