Vice President of Engineering

Job Description

Job Description

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Competitive salary
• Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Paid time off
• Savings bank
• Stock options plan
• Vision insurance
• Wellness resources

Position Summary
AMPERA is seeking a Vice President of Engineering to build and lead the company’s engineering organization during a period of rapid growth and technology development.

The Vice President of Engineering will be responsible for developing the engineering organization, processes, tools, governance systems, and technical capabilities required to deliver both AMPERA’s near-term commercial energy products and its long-term advanced nuclear reactor program.

In the near term, the engineering organization is focused on development and commercialization of a compact supercritical CO₂ (sCO₂) power generation system, including advanced TPMS heat exchanger technology, integration of a natural gas-fired heat source, product testing, qualification, and manufacturing readiness.

Over the longer term, the engineering organization will design and develop AMPERA’s advanced subcritical nuclear reactor system, including reactor core design, thermal hydraulics, safety analysis, materials engineering, structural engineering, instrumentation and controls, fuel development, and plant integration.

The Vice President of Engineering will be responsible for building a world-class multidisciplinary engineering organization capable of supporting both objectives while establishing the systems, processes, and technical culture necessary for long-term success.

The position reports to the Chief Operating Officer.

Key Responsibilities

Engineering Leadership

·       Build, lead, and develop AMPERA’s engineering organization.
·       Establish organizational structure, roles, responsibilities, and career development pathways.
·       Recruit and retain exceptional engineering talent.
·       Develop engineering leadership capability throughout the organization.
·       Foster a culture of technical excellence, innovation, accountability, and collaboration.
·       Establish engineering resource plans aligned with company objectives.

Product Development Leadership

·       Lead engineering execution for the Power Now Nuclear Later initiative.
·       Direct engineering activities associated with the supercritical CO₂ power conversion system.
·       Oversee development of advanced TPMS-based heat exchanger technology.
·       Lead integration of heat source, power conversion, controls, and balance-of-plant systems.
·       Support testing, qualification, certification, and manufacturing transition activities.

Advanced Reactor Development

·       Establish and lead the engineering organization responsible for development of AMPERA’s advanced nuclear reactor technology.
·       Develop long-term technical roadmaps and capability plans.
·       Build engineering teams in reactor physics, thermal hydraulics, safety analysis, materials engineering, structural engineering, instrumentation and controls, fuel systems, and systems engineering.
·       Ensure alignment between near-term product development efforts and long-term reactor development objectives.

Systems Engineering and Technical Governance

·       Establish formal systems engineering processes and practices.
·       Implement requirements management and traceability systems.
·       Develop engineering review and approval processes.
·       Establish design verification and validation methodologies.
·       Create engineering standards and technical governance structures.
·       Lead development of technical risk management processes.

Configuration Management and Engineering Controls

·       Establish and maintain the company’s engineering configuration management program.
·       Implement engineering change control processes.
·       Establish engineering document control procedures.
·       Ensure traceability of requirements, designs, analyses, test results, and technical decisions.
·       Develop and maintain product lifecycle management practices and tools.
·       Create engineering baseline management processes supporting future licensing and regulatory activities.

Engineering Infrastructure

·       Establish engineering tools, software platforms, and digital engineering environments.
·       Implement engineering data management systems.
·       Support development of testing, laboratory, and prototyping capabilities.
·       Lead selection and implementation of engineering design and analysis tools.

Cross-Functional Leadership

·       Partner with Program Management to ensure successful program execution.
·       Support Supply Chain in supplier selection, qualification, and technical oversight.
·       Support Manufacturing in design-for-manufacturing and production readiness activities.
·       Collaborate with Quality to establish engineering quality processes.
·       Support Commercial activities through customer engagement and technical presentations.

Initial Organizational Priorities
During the first 24 months, the Vice President of Engineering will be expected to:

·       Scale the engineering organization from approximately 10 engineers to a multidisciplinary engineering team capable of supporting commercial product development and reactor technology development.
·       Establish engineering organizational structure and leadership roles.
·       Implement configuration management and engineering change control systems.
·       Implement requirements management and systems engineering processes.
·       Establish engineering review boards and governance processes.
·       Build core capabilities in reactor engineering disciplines.
·       Support successful development and commercialization of the Power Now Nuclear Later product line.
·       Develop the foundational engineering organization required for future reactor licensing and deployment.

Required Qualifications

·       Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or related technical field.
·       15+ years of engineering leadership experience in complex technology development organizations.
·       Experience leading multidisciplinary engineering teams.
·       Demonstrated success building and scaling engineering organizations.
·       Experience delivering complex hardware products from concept through testing and commercialization.
·       Strong understanding of engineering management systems, product development processes, and technical governance.
·       Experience managing engineering organizations through periods of rapid growth.
·       Exceptional leadership, communication, and organizational skills.

Preferred Qualifications

·       Advanced degree in Engineering, Physics, or related field.
·       Experience in nuclear energy, aerospace, advanced manufacturing, turbomachinery, power generation, defense systems, or similarly complex industries.
·       Experience establishing systems engineering organizations.
·       Experience implementing configuration management programs.
·       Experience with regulated industries and technical compliance environments.
·       Familiarity with reactor development, thermal systems, advanced energy systems, or power generation technologies.
·       Experience supporting qualification, certification, or licensing activities.

Characteristics of the Successful Candidate
The successful candidate is an organizational builder first and a technical leader second.

They understand that AMPERA’s most important engineering challenge is not simply solving technical problems but creating an engineering organization capable of solving increasingly complex technical problems over the next decade.

They possess sufficient technical depth to lead discussions across multiple engineering disciplines while focusing primarily on organizational effectiveness, technical governance, engineering execution, talent development, and long-term capability building.

They are equally comfortable recruiting senior engineering leaders, establishing engineering processes, leading design reviews, supporting program execution, and developing the technical organization required to bring transformative energy technologies to market.

Success Metrics

·       Successful growth and development of the engineering organization.
·       Establishment of engineering governance, systems engineering, and configuration management processes.
·       Delivery of engineering milestones supporting the Power Now Nuclear Later program.
·       Successful recruitment of key engineering leadership positions.
·       Development of core reactor engineering capabilities.
·       Improvement of engineering execution predictability and effectiveness.
·       Establishment of the engineering foundation required to support future reactor licensing, manufacturing, and deployment.

** Compensation for this position will be commensurate with experience and qualifications. In addition to a competitive salary, Ampera offers a comprehensive benefits package, participation in the Company's equity program through Incentive Stock Options (ISOs), and relocation assistance for qualified candidates, where applicable.