Plant Manager

Thank you for your interest in Oklo! We are searching for a Plant Manager to join our team.

This position will be on-site at the Aurora facility at Idaho National Laboratory in Idaho.

Position Description

Oklo is developing its Aurora powerhouse at Idaho National Laboratory. The Plant Manager will coordinate the people, infrastructure, work processes, and site interfaces needed to support safe and effective facility readiness and operations.

The Plant Manager is responsible for day-to-day facility operations and the safe, reliable, and efficient execution of maintenance, work control, logistics, and administrative activities. The manager coordinates with accountable program owners for industrial and nuclear safety, radiation protection, security, environmental requirements, and emergency preparedness. This role provides leadership across multidisciplinary teams working in a highly regulated environment.

The Plant Manager will oversee facility readiness, site infrastructure, maintenance coordination, contractor activities, logistics, and facility support functions. The role will establish practical processes, resolve site issues, support readiness, and improve facility performance as the Aurora program advances.

The Plant Manager will work closely with Operations, Engineering, Maintenance, Radiation Protection, Safety, Security, Emergency Preparedness, Quality, site services, contractors, program leadership, and Idaho National Laboratory organizations.

Specific responsibilities may include:

• Lead and coordinate day-to-day on-site facility operations in accordance with approved procedures, site requirements, and applicable regulatory expectations.
• Oversee facility support activities, including maintenance coordination, work control, planning and scheduling, facility readiness, logistics, material handling, and site access needs.
• Coordinate preventive and corrective maintenance, equipment issue resolution, work prioritization, and restoration of facility systems and infrastructure.
• Implement and improve facility operations programs, work-control practices, operational procedures, and performance standards.
• Coordinate facility modifications, equipment installations, infrastructure improvements, utility and support-system work, facility turnover, and related contractor activities.
• Oversee contractors, vendors, and cross-functional work teams to support safe, timely, and effective execution of on-site work.
• Support industrial and nuclear safety, radiation protection, security and access control, environmental requirements, emergency preparedness, and response to abnormal or emergent facility conditions.
• Support facility and organizational readiness activities, including assessments, action tracking, procedure implementation, staffing coordination, and transition to routine operations.
• Coordinate material receipt, storage, inventory accountability, equipment staging, deliveries, and other site logistics activities.
• Maintain facility records, logs, procedures, work-tracking systems, schedules, performance measures, and programmatic reporting.
• Support inspections, assessments, audits, corrective actions, and follow-up activities related to facility operations and site commitments.
• Coordinate with Idaho National Laboratory site services and applicable oversight interfaces to communicate facility needs, resolve issues, and track required actions.
• Promote operational discipline, procedural compliance, safety culture, accountability, and continuous improvement across facility activities.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Operations Management, Industrial Technology, Nuclear Engineering, or a related technical discipline; equivalent operational experience may be considered.
• Minimum of 10 years of experience supporting nuclear facility operations.
• Experience leading or coordinating multidisciplinary operational and facility-support activities.
• Demonstrated understanding of operational safety, facility maintenance coordination, work control, planning and scheduling, and procedural compliance.
• Experience coordinating contractors, site logistics, infrastructure work, or facility support services.
• Strong understanding of plant and site operations and the interfaces among Operations, Maintenance, Engineering, Safety, Security, Quality, and support organizations.
• Experience working with operational procedures, work-control systems, facility records, and action-tracking processes.
• Strong organizational, leadership, communication, and problem-solving skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities in an on-site operational environment.

Bonus Qualifications:

• Previous experience supporting nuclear energy facilities, U.S. Department of Energy sites, power-generation facilities, advanced reactor projects, or other high-hazard regulated environments.
• Experience with facility turnover, startup preparation, readiness assessments, or transition to routine operations.
• Experience overseeing facility upgrades, contractor execution, infrastructure improvements, or site-services coordination.
• Experience with industrial or nuclear safety programs, radiation protection, security, emergency preparedness, environmental compliance, or quality assurance.
• Experience with computerized maintenance management, work-control, scheduling, or facility performance systems.
• Project management or facility-operations leadership experience.
• Former NRC licensed SRO.
• Former Shift Manager.
• Multi-department leadership experience.

We are looking for a Plant Manager who is:

• Passionate about clean energy and making advanced fission a reality.
• Committed to operational excellence, industrial safety, nuclear safety, and a strong safety culture.
• Willing and able to learn quickly.
• Eager to work on a dynamic team, receive constructive feedback, and grow with us.
• Comfortable in a fast-paced, highly iterative startup environment.
• Able to lead cross-functional facility activities and coordinate competing priorities.
• Detail-oriented and committed to procedural compliance, effective work control, and operational discipline.
• Able to think creatively, critically, and reflectively about facility and operational challenges.
• Willing to propose practical solutions to technical and operational problems.
• An excellent communicator who can clearly communicate technical content, operational priorities, and facility needs.
• Capable of exercising sound judgment and making timely decisions in an on-site operational environment.

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 will likely 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.

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.

Benefits

• Flexible time off
• Equity
• Bonuses
• Competitive pay
• 401(k)
• Health insurance (with employer contribution)
• HSA
• FSA
• Flexible work hours
• Wellness credits
• Other benefits

The 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.

Candidates should be aware that employment may be contingent upon successful completion of a drug screening, and employees may be subject to drug testing at any time in accordance with company policy and applicable laws.

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