Distinguished Engineer - Materials Engineering

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.

Kairos Power is seeking an experienced Distinguished Materials Engineer to provide technical leadership and strategic direction in the field of materials science and engineering. In this role, you will guide the development, qualification, and deployment of materials critical to the performance and safety of high-temperature reactor systems. You will serve as a subject matter expert, mentor materials and engineering teams, and represent Kairos Power in technical forums and regulatory engagements.

Responsibilities

• Provide visionary technical leadership for the development, testing, and qualification of advanced structural steels used in high-temperature, molten salt nuclear systems.
• Shape and execute strategy for materials selection and performance demonstration, with emphasis on stainless steels and welded joints.
• Lead efforts to capture, test, and account for degradation phenomena such as creep, fatigue, corrosion, oxidation, and irradiation effects.
• Oversee the design and execution of experimental campaigns to validate material performance, including accelerated testing and irradiation programs.
• Establish and refine technical standards, qualification pathways, and best practices for materials integration into safety-critical systems.
• Serve as a recognized subject matter expert and interface with regulatory authorities, ensuring materials programs meet nuclear licensing requirements.
• Mentor, guide, and inspire multidisciplinary engineering teams, building technical depth and fostering a collaborative culture of excellence.
• Drive innovation by exploring novel materials and joining techniques, contributing to the advancement of next-generation reactor technologies.
• Represent Kairos Power at technical conferences, professional societies, and industry consortia, advancing thought leadership in nuclear materials engineering.
• Partner with external laboratories, universities, and vendors to leverage specialized capabilities and accelerate technology readiness.
• Define and maintain long-term materials technology roadmaps aligned with Kairos Power's reactor development strategy.
• Provide leadership in integrating materials performance considerations with design, manufacturing, and operational requirements.
• Contribute to the development of industry codes, standards, and regulatory frameworks, ensuring Kairos Power's leadership in shaping best practices.
• Anticipate and address materials-related risks to reactor design, licensing, and deployment, recommending mitigation strategies.Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Ph.D. in Materials Science, Metallurgy, Mechanical Engineering, or related discipline (exceptional candidates with an M.S. and extensive experience will be considered).
• Minimum 20 years of progressive experience in materials engineering, with a strong focus on high-temperature alloys and welding/joining technologies.
• Recognized authority with a record of peer-reviewed publications, patents, technical standards contributions, or invited conference presentations.
• Demonstrated expertise in materials performance under extreme conditions including creep, fatigue, corrosion, oxidation, irradiation, and multi-physics interactions.
• Proven track record of leading cross-disciplinary teams in complex design, testing, and qualification programs for safety-critical systems.
• Demonstrated success in building strategic partnerships with universities, labs, and industry consortia.
• Experience engaging with nuclear regulators, technical review boards, or standards committees, with a proven ability to develop defensible technical positions.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Strong ability to interface with regulatory agencies, deliver defensible technical justifications, and contribute to licensing strategies.
• Ability to work with highly collaborative team
• Ability to solve problems quickly and efficiently
• Prioritizes and ensures safety of oneself and others
• Ability to proactively collect, manage and transfer knowledge
• Ability to seek different and novel ways to create efficiencies when working on problems, challenges and issues
• Deep familiarity with advanced experimental methods (e.g., in-situ testing, irradiation techniques, high-resolution microscopy) and/or computational modeling approaches to validate materials performance.

Physical Demands

• Moving about to accomplish tasks or moving from one worksite to another.
• Adjusting, moving, transporting, installing, positioning, or removing objects up to 30 pounds in all directions.
• Communicating with others to exchange information.
• Ascending or descending ladders, stairs, scaffolding, ramps, and lifts.
• Moving self in different positions to accomplish tasks in various environments including tight and confined spaces.
• Remaining in a stationary position prolonged periods.
• Use of hand tools and repetitive assembly operations in collaboration with engineering and manufacturing teams.

Environmental Conditions

• General office environment.
• High-concentration, demanding, and fast-paced work.

Safety and PPE

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

Travel

• Some travel may be required, up to 30%.

Certification

Additional Requirements

• Occasionally requires working weekends
• Occasionally requires non-standard work-week hours

The salary range for this position is $235,500 to $294,400 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 may be used to determine your actual salary may include your education, experience, knowledge, skills, abilities, the market data for your work location, and a comparison to other employees already in the role.

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. https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/10/appendix-A_to_part_810