Senior Process Equipment Engineer

The person in this role will lead the engineering development of process equipment and integrated process systems supporting Oklo's advanced fuel recycling facility. This role bridges process engineering, mechanical design, equipment vendors, pilot testing, and facility integration as the project advances from conceptual design through preliminary engineering and into detailed design.

The engineer will work closely with subsystem technical leads responsible for off-gas treatment, pyroprocessing, waste management, process safety, and facility engineering to mature first-of-a-kind process equipment into construction-ready designs.

This individual will become the responsible engineer for equipment realization rather than process invention.

Specific responsibilities may include:

• Lead development of process equipment from conceptual design through IFC packages

  • Develop equipment specifications, data sheets, and procurement documentation

  • Own equipment sizing and mechanical/process interfaces for vessels, heat exchangers, filters, adsorption systems, blowers, compressors, pumps, piping systems, and specialty process equipment

  • Perform process calculations supporting equipment selection

  • Develop utility requirements and equipment operating envelopes

  • Work with equipment vendors to develop custom first-of-a-kind equipment

  • Evaluate vendor proposals and participate in technical bid evaluations

  • Support PFD, P&ID, process narrative, equipment list, line list, and instrument list development

  • Develop process design criteria and engineering calculations

  • Support HAZOPs, design reviews, and safety analyses

  • Support process startup planning and commissioning activities

  • Develop acceptance testing procedures (FAT/SAT)

  • Coordinate closely with facility engineering, mechanical engineering, I&C, nuclear safety, and licensing teams

  • Participate in pilot plant planning and interpretation of pilot data

  • Travel periodically to vendors, national laboratories, pilot facilities, and project partners

Minimum Qualifications:

• Degree in chemical engineering, mechanical engineering or related field

• 8+ years of process engineering experience

• Experience developing process equipment

• Experience producing engineering calculations

• Experience with Aspen Plus, HYSYS, ChemCAD, or similar

• Experience with industrial gas processing, chemical processing, or separations

Bonus Qualifications:

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

• Commercial or nuclear industry experiences

• Experience in adsorption systems, heat exchanger design, pressure vessel specification, compressor and blower selection

• EPC experience, process equipment procurement and vendor management

• FOAK technology commercialization

Competencies

We are looking for a Senior Process Equipment Engineer who is:

• Works effectively across multiple engineering disciplines and enjoys partnering with vendors, national laboratories, EPC contractors, and internal engineering teams

• Comfortable developing engineering solutions where industry standards may not yet exist and enjoys applying first-principles engineering to novel problems

• 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: $120,000-$180,000

Oklo offers flexible time off, equity, bonuses, competitive pay, 401(k), health insurance (with employer contribution), HSA, FSA, flexible work hours, wellness credits, 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.