Process Engineer - Fuel Recycling

Thanks for your interest in Oklo! We are searching for a Process Engineer to join our Fuel Recycling engineering team.

Position Description

The person in this role is responsible for conducting design, development, prototyping, and validation work on key chemical separation subsystems and supporting systems for Oklo’s fuel recycling facility. These subsystems may include pyroprocessing, off-gas separation, and waste immobilization. It will include collaboration with cross-functional teams including those with a focus on facility design, unit process equipment design, and licensing.

Specific responsibilities may include:

• Developing systems that meet facility and regulatory requirements

• Defining system and unit process requirements and validation methodologies

• Establishing performance criteria, test protocols, and prototyping equipment

• Developing technical parameters and deploying and operating test systems to use in refining system design and operation

• Completing equipment sizing and specifications and developing instrument process data specifications

• Developing process flow sheets and heat and material balances using process simulation tools

• Developing and maintaining process and instrumentation diagrams

• Generating documentation to guide the fabrication, installation, commissioning, operation, and maintenance of subsystems

• Serving as a technical lead through multiple lifecycle stages

• Generating technical documentation to be included in regulatory filings

Minimum Qualifications:

• Degree in chemical engineering or related field

• 7+ years of experience in chemical engineering or related field

Bonus Qualifications:

• Experience using AspenTech, ChemCAD, Promax, automation, Excel, Python, etc., for process and equipment design, reliability studies, and economic analysis

• Experience deploying or working on pilot plants and scaling from demonstration to industrial scale at brown/green field sites

• Commercial or government nuclear industry experiences

Competencies

We are looking for a Process Engineer that is

• Passionate about clean energy

• An optimist at heart

• Passionate about making advanced fission a reality

• Willing and able to learn quickly

• Willing to think differently and do things in new ways

• Comfortable in a fast-paced, highly iterative startup environment

• Excited to think creatively, critically, and reflectively about the problems they are solving while not leaning only on what has been done before

• Willing to propose novel and creative solutions to technical problems

• An excellent writer who can write in a modern active voice, so make your cover letter compelling and write it well!

• Able to communicate technical content and results verbally

Who you are:

A startup person: You aren't driven by titles or hierarchy, and prefer efficiency to excess process. You don't need or expect to have a lot of guidance but you enjoy working in a fast-paced team. If you prefer the culture and feel of a large organization, that is great, but you likely won’t enjoy working with us! There is plenty of important work and plenty of good opportunities with organizations like that.

Motivated: You are self-motivated. You bring an enthusiasm to the team, and imbue a sense of passion that goes beyond clocking in and clocking out. This isn’t about a fake or arbitrary “pieces of flair” mentality or lack of work-life balance! It is about being a part of the vision and feeling a part of reaching team goals.

A team-player: Oklo genuinely is a team. We aren’t about taking credit for ourselves, and we aren’t about pushing blame to others. We do incredible things because we work as a team.

An excellent communicator: We need a person who is not only technically competent but also a clear and upbeat communicator.

Creative: Being creative means that when things fall outside clear scopes or processes or problems arise without clear solutions, you are able to identify it as well as invent ways to solve a problem or fill a need without micromanagement. The successful person in this job will not only be creative, but also enjoy being creative and solving open-ended problems which may change day-by-day.

Detail-oriented: This focus is a big part of excellence, consistency, and quality. Excellent grammar and spelling matter for both good communication as well as the image of the company that we put forward.

About Oklo travel requirements:

Oklo requires remote employees to travel to headquarters (Santa Clara, CA) twice a quarter annually, based on business or team needs, including attendance at team meetings, off-sites, and other company events or gatherings. For the first two weeks of onboarding, employees are required to be in person at headquarters in Santa Clara, CA.

About Oklo compensation:

Salary: $100,000-$160,000

Oklo offers flexible time off, equity, competitive pay, 401k, health insurance, FSA, flexible work hours, and other benefits.

This position may involve access to information subject to U.S. export control laws. Only applicants who meet the definition of a U.S. person under applicable laws may be eligible.

About Oklo Inc.: Oklo Inc. is developing fast fission power plants to deliver clean, reliable, and affordable energy at scale; establishing a domestic supply chain for critical radioisotopes; and advancing nuclear fuel recycling to convert nuclear waste into clean energy. Oklo was the first to receive a site use permit from the U.S. Department of Energy for a commercial advanced fission plant, was awarded fuel material from Idaho National Laboratory, and submitted the first custom combined license application for an advanced reactor to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Oklo is also developing advanced fuel recycling technologies in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy and U.S. National Laboratories.

#CHOP: Oklo’s Values
Collaboration: We go further, together. We bring diverse perspectives, listen actively, and build trust through transparency and respect. We work across disciplines, sharing ownership to turn complex challenges into shared successes.
Humility: We are team players who act for the good of the company and for the world. We are focused on our mission, not personal recognition.
Ownership: We take pride in what we do and how we do it. We are proactive in finding solutions and see tasks through to completion. We are committed to delivering on our promises to provide clean, reliable, and affordable energy.
Pathfinding: We chart new ground where no path exists by approaching challenges with curiosity, courage, and creativity while navigating ambiguity.