Position: Senior Process Controls Engineer New Santa Clara, CA or Remote
Thanks for your interest in Oklo! We are searching for a Senior Process Controls Engineer for our recycling engineering team.
Position
Description:
The person in this role will be responsible for designing, implementing, troubleshooting, scaling, and monitoring various process control systems for the Oklo fuel recycling facility. Some subsystems may include off‑gas separation, and waste immobilization. The role will include collaboration with cross‑functional teams including facility design, unit process equipment design, and licensing.
This position could alternatively be fulfilled by someone with experience and/or education in instrumentation and controls, electrical, chemical, or process engineering.
Specific responsibilities may include:
- Develop systems that meet facility and regulatory requirements
- Develop and document overall control philosophy – define key control variables, setpoints, and rationale to ensure safe, reliable, and efficient process operations
- Prepare and review control system documentation – including instrument loop drawings, logic drawings, cause‑and‑effect matrices, and interlock schemes
- Define and manage control and alarm strategies – establish alarm priorities, setpoints, and functional descriptions to support operator awareness and system safety
- Design and specify control system architecture – covering hardware, software, and network requirements for distributed control systems (DCS), programmable logic controllers (PLC), and human‑machine interface (HMI) applications
- Generate technical documentation to be included in regulatory filings
We are looking for a Senior Process Controls Engineer that is:
- Motivated by building, and getting technology deployed
- Energized by tackling and overcoming challenges
- Passionate about clean energy, and 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
- Able to communicate technical content and results verbally
- An excellent writer who can write in a modern active voice, so make your cover letter compelling and write it well!
Minimum Qualifications:
- Degree in Chemical or Electrical Engineering or similar
- 10+ years of experience in process controls engineering or similar field
Bonus
Qualifications:
- Experience with nuclear fuel cycle and/or high‑temperature/-corrosion facilities and operations
- Experience with control narratives/philosophies, piping and instrumentation diagrams, interlock lists, instrument specifications, and instrument set points
- Experience designing, managing, commissioning, and operating DCS, PLC, alarm, safety, and HMI systems
- Experience leading or serving as a subject matter expert in process hazard analysis studies
- Experience deploying or working on first‑of‑a‑kind or pilot plants
- Commercial or governmental nuclear industry experience
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.
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…