Technical Program Manager

Oklo•Santa Clara, CA

1d•$120,000 - $180,000•Remote

About The Position

Oklo is seeking a Technical Program Manager to join its Recycling Division. This role is critical for leading the development and execution of technical projects with U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratories and other government partners. The Technical Program Manager will be responsible for transforming strategic opportunities into well-defined agreements, work packages, and delivered results. This individual will serve as the primary point of contact and, where appropriate, principal investigator for national laboratory collaborations. The role requires close collaboration with Recycling engineering teams, Legal, Procurement, Finance, and Recycling leadership to negotiate, establish, and execute contracts, cooperative agreements, and related project mechanisms. The ideal candidate is a technically fluent program leader capable of developing new opportunities, shaping ambiguous ideas into executable projects, and managing complex external partnerships from concept through closeout. Success in this role demands strong technical judgment, disciplined delivery management, and the ability to navigate technical, contractual, financial, and legal considerations in a fast-moving, highly regulated environment.

Requirements

3+ years of experience in technical project or program management, national laboratory engagement, government contracting, research administration, engineering management, or a related role.
Experience managing complex, cross-functional technical projects involving external partners, contractual deliverables, budgets, schedules, and milestones.
Experience developing scopes of work, work packages, project plans, reports, or other formal technical deliverables.
Bachelor's degree in engineering, physical science, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
Demonstrated ability to coordinate Legal, Procurement, Finance, technical teams, and leadership to establish and execute agreements.
Strong project controls and organizational skills, including the ability to manage multiple agreements, deadlines, funding constraints, and stakeholder commitments concurrently.
Experience identifying funding opportunities, developing project concepts or proposals, and building collaborative relationships with government and laboratory stakeholders.
Comfort operating in a matrixed environment, influencing without direct authority, and working through ambiguity.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to communicate technical, contractual, financial, and legal considerations clearly to different audiences.

Nice To Haves

Experience collaborating with DOE national laboratories or DOE offices and programs, including DOE-NE, DOE-ID, DOE-OSO, ARPA-E, DOE-SC, DOE-OTT, or DOE-NNSA.
Experience developing or administering Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs), Strategic Partnership Projects, interagency agreements, grants, cooperative agreements, subcontracts, or similar mechanisms.
Familiarity with government contracting, intellectual property, export control, data rights, compliance, and other legal considerations associated with research and development partnerships.
Technical experience in nuclear energy, fuel cycle, chemical processing, advanced manufacturing, or another highly regulated engineering environment.

Responsibilities

Serve as Oklo's primary point of contact and, as assigned, principal investigator for national laboratory projects and other government-funded collaborations related to spent nuclear fuel recycling and pyroprocessing technology.
Develop and manage project scope, statements of work, work packages, budgets, schedules, roles, success criteria, and acceptance criteria with national laboratory partners.
Lead negotiations and coordinate internal approvals for contracts, subcontracts, cooperative agreements, Strategic Partnership Projects, CRADAs, DOE funding agreements, and other collaboration mechanisms.
Collaborate with laboratory partners and internal technical teams to develop collaborative project content, including technical objectives, work plans, deliverables, intellectual property considerations, contracting avenues, and resource commitments.
Interface with Legal, Procurement, Finance, and Recycling leadership to establish agreements and resolve contractual, financial, intellectual property, compliance, and execution issues.
Manage contract deliverables, technical reports, milestones, invoices, funding profiles, action items, and overall work delivery through project completion and closeout.
Maintain clear project governance, decision rights, meeting cadence, risk and issue tracking, change control, and communication across Oklo and laboratory teams.
Monitor partner performance and project health; identify scope, schedule, cost, legal, or technical issues early and drive timely resolution or escalation.
Develop new collaboration opportunities by translating Recycling Division needs and strategic priorities into project concepts suitable for national laboratory or DOE engagement.
Solicit, evaluate, and mature project proposals from internal Recycling teams, coordinating leadership prioritization and partner engagement.