Head of Logistics

Oklo Isotopes is hiring a Head of Logistics to own one of the hardest problems in our business: moving radioactive products that lose value by the hour through a thin, unforgiving carrier network, and doing it so reliably that customers build their operations around us. Many of our products are perishable; a day lost in transit is product lost forever. This is not a freight-desk role. It is a design-and-own role for a capability we consider a moat.

This person will own radioactive packaging, carrier and route qualification, shipment execution, and contingency planning across the division. They will build the Class 7 shipping capability: packaging selection and licensing, trained hazmat personnel, classification and documentation, qualified carriers and routes, and the redundancy that turns a fragile chain into a dependable one. They will also carry logistics requirements into our biggest decisions, including facility siting and design. Success means produced activity becomes delivered revenue, customers experience us as the most dependable shipper in the industry, and logistics constraints are designed into our plans rather than discovered after them.

Location: Santa Clara, CA or site-based, with regular travel to our facilities, carriers, and customers.

Specific responsibilities may include:

• Own end-to-end logistics for radioactive products: packaging, classification, documentation, tendering, carrier management, delivery confirmation, and returns.
• Build and qualify the Class 7 network: Type A and Type B packaging programs, carrier and route qualification, specialized couriers and air-cargo partners, and station-level acceptance.
• Design redundancy: backup routes, backup carriers, and recovery playbooks for missed pickups, refused tenders, and in-transit failures on time-critical shipments.
• Own trained hazmat shipping personnel, procedures, and compliance across our sites.
• Carry logistics requirements into facility siting, production scheduling, and customer commitments, so that transit time and route risk are priced into every decision.
• Build relationships with the small set of carriers, brokers, and handlers that accept radioactive material, and make Oklo their favorite customer.
• Measure and publish delivery performance, and drive it toward industry-leading on-time, in-full delivery.

Minimum Qualifications:

• 8+ years in logistics or transportation of dangerous goods, with direct experience shipping Class 7 radioactive material by road and air.
• Working knowledge of DOT, IATA, and NRC transport requirements, package types, and shipper responsibilities.
• Demonstrated experience building or running a time-critical shipping operation, ideally for perishable or short-shelf-life products.
• Experience qualifying and managing carriers, couriers, and freight partners in a thin-capacity network.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including customer-facing communication under pressure.

Bonus Qualifications:

• Experience shipping radiopharmaceuticals, medical isotopes, or sealed sources.
• Hazmat or dangerous goods certifications (for example, DOT hazmat, IATA DG).
• Experience informing facility siting or network design decisions with logistics analysis.
• Experience standing up logistics operations in a startup or fast-growth environment.

Competencies

We are looking for a Head of Logistics that is:

• An owner of outcomes: judged by delivered shipments, not by tendered ones.
• Deeply practical about regulated transport: someone who knows what actually happens at a cargo station at 5 a.m., not only what the regulation says.
• A designer of systems and playbooks, not a heroic firefighter, though capable of firefighting when it counts.
• Calm and decisive on time-critical failures, with customers kept informed rather than surprised.
• Comfortable with direct communication, candid feedback, regulatory complexity, shifting priorities, and regular travel.
• Passionate about clean energy
• Passionate about making advanced fission a reality
• Willing and able to learn quickly
• Eager to work on a dynamic team, receive constructive feedback, and grow with us
• 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 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. This role will also have frequent travel to our facilities, carriers, and customers.