Senior Licensing Engineer, Civil Structural

Company Overview

Kairos Power is a new nuclear energy technology and engineering company whose mission is to enable the world’s transition to clean energy, with the ultimate goal to dramatically improve people’s quality of life while protecting the environment. This goal will be accomplished through the commercialization of the fluoride-salt-cooled, high-temperature reactor (FHR) that can be deployed with robust safety, affordable costs, and flexible operation to accommodate the expansion of variable renewables.

Job Summary

Kairos Power seeks a dedicated Senior Civil Structural Licensing Engineer with a strong background in civil and structural engineering, ideally with civil or structural engineering experience. This role will provide day-to-day support in the development of KP-FHR reactor facility licensing applications as well as supporting topical reports. While prior nuclear licensing experience is not required, candidates with civil or structural design experience and a willingness to learn will be given priority, as we are committed to providing comprehensive training in licensing and regulatory processes.

As a Senior Licensing Engineer, you will work closely with engineering design, safety analysis, construction, and technology development teams to ensure that regulatory requirements are identified and implemented in alignment with Kairos Power’s licensing strategies. You will contribute to the preparation of regulatory submittals, reports and materials for pre-application interactions with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).

Responsibilities

• Develops licensing document content, programs and supporting licensing-related products and activities specifically geared toward reactor facility civil and structural systems, with a focus on building structures, foundations, structural supports, concrete and steel structures, and other safety-related or safety-significant structures.
• Leads the planning, development and defense of Kairos Power license applications.
• Prepares for and supports pre-application meeting interactions with the NRC.
• Develops and prepares licensing strategies to support license application development and execution.
• Leads resolution of key strategic licensing issues, including development of regulatory strategies and submittals addressing topics such as structural design criteria, seismic design and qualification, structural material qualification, and applicable design-basis loads.
• Coordinates with engineering and safety analysis teams to support development of safety analysis documentation.
• Coordinates with engineering, construction and technology development teams to support development of analysis, testing, inspection, and qualification programs that meet regulatory requirements.
• Supports Project Management and Engineering teams in developing execution plans, including schedules, milestones, cost models, and decision criteria, that meet Kairos Power’s objectives.
• Identifies and translates top-level regulatory requirements into civil and structural design requirements.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or master’s degree in Civil, Structural, Nuclear, or a related engineering field.
• At least 6 years of experience in facility or system engineering design, analysis, construction, qualification, inspection, or implementation; civil or structural engineering experience is highly preferred. Nuclear licensing experience is not required—we are willing to provide training.
• Experience in structural or facility design, with a thorough understanding of the evaluation, design, construction, and implementation of new technologies.
• Familiarity with or experience developing Preliminary and Final Safety Analysis Reports that support licensing applications, particularly sections addressing the design of structures, systems and components, is preferred.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Advanced knowledge of civil and structural design, including the analysis, design, qualification, construction, and implementation of engineering solutions.
• Ability to interpret technical and regulatory requirements and translate them into clear, traceable design, analysis, testing, inspection, or program requirements.
• Ability to develop technically supportable licensing strategies, regulatory positions and issue-resolution approaches for complex reactor civil structures.
• Ability to prepare and review clear, accurate and technically defensible license application content, topical reports, technical reports, regulatory correspondence, and presentation materials.
• Ability to integrate engineering design, safety analysis, testing, and licensing information into complete and consistent regulatory deliverables.
• Ability to lead the resolution of complex technical and regulatory issues involving multiple engineering disciplines and organizational stakeholders.
• Ability to evaluate technical information, identify regulatory risks or gaps and develop practical recommendations consistent with project and licensing objectives.
• Eager to learn and develop skills in nuclear licensing, with a proactive and growth-oriented mindset.
• Demonstrated coordination skills, including advisory, relationship, and stakeholder-management skills appropriate for a small or start-up environment; demonstrated ability to earn the trust of team members and management.
• Entrepreneurial, flexible, open to new ideas, and collaborative in nature, with full commitment to the Kairos Power mission.
• Proven team player with excellent verbal, written, presentation, and interpersonal communication skills; able to interact and communicate effectively at all levels of the organization.
• Comfortable working independently, delivering on commitments and holding oneself and the team accountable while maintaining a consistent focus on results and project milestones.
• Ability to work effectively with highly collaborative teams.
• Ability to solve problems quickly and efficiently.
• Ability to proactively collect, manage and transfer knowledge.
• Ability to identify practical and innovative ways to improve efficiency when addressing problems, challenges and issues.
• Prioritizes and supports the safety of oneself and others.

Physical Conditions

• Ascending or descending ladders, stairs, scaffolding, ramps, scissor lifts, articulated boom lifts and the like.
• Setting up and transferring temporary structures (e.g. scaffolding, ladders).
• Moving self in different positions to accomplish tasks in various environments, including tight and confined spaces.
• Remaining in a stationary position, often standing or sitting for prolonged periods.
• Moving about to accomplish tasks or moving from one worksite to another.
• Adjusting, moving, transporting, installing, positioning, or removing objects up to 40 pounds, in all directions.
• Communicating with others to exchange information.

Environmental Conditions

• General office environment.
• Outdoor environment or elements such as precipitation and wind.
• Noisy Environments.
• Assessing the accuracy, neatness and thoroughness of the work assigned.
• High concentration, demanding and fast paced.

Safety and PPE

• Reading and interpreting hazardous warning signs.
• Reporting issues with equipment or unsafe conditions.
• Wearing proper PPE, to include face mask, face shield, gloves, and safety shoes, etc.

Travel

• Travel for business needs is required (25 - 35%).

Additional Requirements

• Requires occasional schedule flexibility.
• Requires occasional extended hours to support launch and critical project timelines.

To be completed by Recruiter:

The salary range for this position is $140,000 to $166,000 for employees working onsite at our Alameda, CA headquarters. The range provided in this job posting represents the typical range or starting rate of candidates hired in California. Factors that maybe used to determine your actual salary may include your education, experience, knowledge, skills, ability and the market data for your work location, and a comparison to other employees already in the role.

• Onsite: #LI-Onsite

About our Benefits

We know that we have some of the most talented and dedicated employees, and we believe in rewarding them accordingly. If you work here, full-time employees (excludes interns) expect to have access to the benefits below:

• Competitive compensation packages
• Medical, dental and vision benefits for employees and their dependents
• Paid Vacation
• 401(k) and pre-tax health insurance, dependent care, and commuter benefits (FSA)

Kairos Power is committed to building a diverse workforce that reflects the communities where we do business. Kairos Power is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status. We actively welcome people of different experiences, abilities, and perspectives.

Kairos Power participates in E-Verify.

Candidates only, no recruiters or agencies please.

Note: You are applying for a position that is located in a facility that handles information that is subject to export control restrictions by the Department of Energy under 10 CFR Part 810. To work in this facility, you need to be authorized by the Department of Energy to access Part 810-controlled information. Foreign nationals who are citizens of countries that are not on the Department of Energy’s general authorization list (link below) are not permitted to work in our facility unless the Department of Energy issues an export control license to the company to permit that individual to have access to Part 810-controlled information. The following questions are intended to determine the licensing requirements that may apply.