Senior Engineer, Scientific Software and Developer Platform, Modeling and Simulation

Kairos Power•Alameda, CA

About The Position

Kairos Power is seeking a Senior Scientific Software and Developer Platform Engineer to join a small software and infrastructure team supporting its design, research, and development organizations. This hands-on individual contributor role involves architecting and building scientific software, developer tooling, and delivery systems used by nuclear engineers and computational scientists to design and analyze nuclear power systems. The work spans Python and C++ development, computational modeling, build and packaging systems, reproducible artifact delivery, CI/CD, containerization, software quality assurance, and high-performance computing workflows. The engineer will set software architecture direction, establish design and maintainability standards, and raise engineering practices through design reviews, code reviews, and mentoring. Kairos Power favors simple, proportionate designs made from standard, well-supported technologies. Success means delivering software that engineers beyond its original author can operate, extend, and maintain. The company’s mission is to enable the transition to clean energy by commercializing a fluoride-salt-cooled, high-temperature reactor that can be deployed with robust safety, affordable costs, and flexible operation. The position is based at the company’s Alameda, California headquarters for the stated onsite salary range; the posting also identifies remote work as an environmental condition and includes both onsite and remote listing tags. Some travel may be required for workshops and project assistance. Work at the facility is subject to Department of Energy export-control access requirements for Part 810-controlled information.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in computer science, engineering, physics, mathematics, computational science, or a related technical field, or an equivalent combination of education and practical experience.
At least 5 years of relevant software engineering experience, including development of scientific, engineering, computational, or other technically complex software.
Strong, demonstrable scientific or engineering software development experience, with depth in both Python and C++.
Experience implementing computational modeling methods, numerical methods, or comparable quantitative algorithms.
Demonstrated software architecture experience, including problem decomposition, interface definition, and reasoning about maintainability, performance, and long-term cost.
Experience with automated unit and integration testing using frameworks such as PyTest or GoogleTest.
Proficiency with Git, Linux, Bash, and SSH.
Experience mentoring engineers and conducting design and code reviews, and ability to accept and apply design feedback.
A track record of building software other engineers can operate, extend, and maintain, supported by clear documentation and deliberate knowledge transfer.
Strong command of software design fundamentals, including object-oriented programming, data structures, and algorithms.
Ability to systematically diagnose complex software, build, dependency, environment, and runtime issues and identify root causes.
Ability to design and maintain reproducible software build, test, packaging, and delivery processes.
Ability to apply software quality assurance principles, including traceability, testing, documentation, and controlled delivery appropriate to the software.
Ability to communicate effectively with nuclear engineers, computational scientists, and other non-software specialists, and translate their requirements into working software.
Ability to work collaboratively and solve problems quickly and efficiently.
Ability to proactively collect, manage, and transfer knowledge.
Ability to tie efficiency improvements to measurable engineering needs such as safety, reliability, performance, usability, or maintainability.
Ability to exercise architectural judgment and favor the simplest design that satisfies requirements.
Ability to give and receive direct technical feedback and change course when reviews identify a better approach.
Ability to explain technical tradeoffs to engineers and scientists who are not software specialists.
Ability to take operational ownership of software throughout its lifecycle.
Ability to read and interpret hazardous warning signs and manipulate, clean, and dispose of hazardous materials.
Authorization by the Department of Energy to access Part 810-controlled information is required to work in the facility; applicable export-control licensing restrictions may apply.

Nice To Haves

Master’s or Ph.D. in computational science, physics, engineering, or a related discipline, particularly with research experience implementing numerical methods.
Experience with Docker, Apptainer, or comparable containerization tools.
Experience with Python packaging and environment management, including Conda, and versioned artifact publication.
Experience with CMake or other build systems and with compiler and dependency management for compiled software.
Experience designing CI/CD systems such as GitHub Actions, including release automation.
Experience with performance profiling and measurement-driven optimization.
Experience with software quality assurance practices and controlled software delivery.
Experience with high-performance computing environments, including Slurm, Open OnDemand, MPI, and GPU computing.
Experience with software quality assurance in a regulated or safety-conscious engineering environment.
Experience with documentation tools such as Doxygen or Sphinx.
Experience with relational databases, backend APIs, or cloud platforms such as AWS or Google Cloud.
Familiarity with infrastructure as code and the operational side of software delivery.

Responsibilities

Design, implement, test, and maintain scientific and engineering software in Python and C++, including computational modeling methods and numerical algorithms.
Own software architecture for internally developed engineering tools, selecting suitable data structures, interfaces, and algorithms.
Profile and optimize performance when justified by measurable requirements, and document performance characteristics.
Collaborate with nuclear and other non-software engineers to define software projects that support the company’s mission.
Own CI/CD for internally developed software, including automated testing, quality gates, and controlled releases.
Build reproducible packaging pipelines for Python packages, Conda environments, and C++ binaries and libraries, including compiler and dependency management.
Own artifact publication and versioning so consumers can identify and reproduce the software they use.
Diagnose and resolve compilation, dependency, environment, and runtime problems across the scientific software stack.
Establish and maintain Docker and Apptainer container build and runtime patterns for development and high-performance computing; maintain base image currency and upgrade paths.
Uphold software quality assurance requirements and automate compliance within delivery pipelines.
Define the artifacts, records, and gates required for controlled software delivery and make them reproducible from the build system.
Support software quality audits with evidence generated by tooling.
Develop and support high-performance computing workflows, including Slurm scheduling, Open OnDemand interactive access, MPI, and GPU computing.
Improve the experience of engineers and scientists using computing platforms and reduce friction in modeling and simulation workflows.
Build self-service engineering workflows and documented paths for common user problems.
Establish and apply design, documentation, and maintainability standards through technical design and code reviews.
Review software produced across the group, including internal applications, to reduce dependence on single authors.
Mentor engineers, transfer knowledge, and promote shared ownership through documentation.
Evaluate build-versus-buy decisions and select standard, well-supported libraries and tools unless requirements warrant alternatives.
Favor the simplest design that meets actual requirements, and identify and retire technical debt, premature abstraction, and unnecessary complexity.
Participate in the engineering help queue for issues requiring deep software expertise and communicate resolutions clearly.
Take operational ownership of software through testing, documentation, support, and retirement.
Prioritize and ensure personal and others’ safety.