Fuel Operations Manager

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 a highly motivated Fuel Operations Manager for the development and optimization of the KP-FHR TRISO annular pebble fuel. In this role, you will lead operations for the company’s Pebble Development Laboratory and TRISO Development Laboratory. You will coordinate operations activities among staff members on the team as well as ensure coordination with other technical and business functions at our Albuquerque, NM site.

Responsibilities

• Lead the operations for development, testing, and manufacturing of the natural uranium TRISO fuel particle and annular fuel pebble.
• Oversee commissioning and operations activities for all fuels process equipment.
• Monitor project progress, identify potential risks or obstacles, and implement mitigation strategies to ensure timely completion and delivery.
• Manage oversight of equipment performance and maintenance schedules for the lab facilities, including for both process and facility equipment.
• Maintain ownership and oversight of operating procedures, work instructions, product routing, and maintenance instructions.
• Organize and lead product development and production campaigns.
• Support oversight of the company’s Radiation Protection Program and its implementation in the company’s radiological facilities for fuel development.
• Ensure effectiveness of the team’s investigation and solution implementation to technical problems, root cause analysis, corrective action reports, and engineering changes on products, manufacturing processes, and verification processes.
• Collaborate with internal stakeholders to address operational challenges and support fuel performance goals.
• Interact with vendors on procurement of equipment and services as required to support operations of the PDL and TDL.
• Oversee job hazards analysis for new work or test activities, new equipment, and ensure safe operations of the team’s activities.
• Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, or equivalent.
• 15+ years of experience in nuclear fuel manufacturing, or manufacturing of products for nuclear applications.
• Broad knowledge of engineering topics including process engineering, EC&I engineering, and industrial construction.
• Experience with working in a radiation environment, working with radioactive materials, or working in similar high hazard environments is strongly preferred.
• Experience with equipment commissioning, testing, manufacturing, and/or process optimization is preferred.
• Strong project management skills with a track record of successfully leading multidisciplinary teams and delivering complex projects on time.
• Proven team player with excellent verbal, written communication/presentation, and interpersonal skills.
• Excellent critical thinking skills.
• Creative problem-solving and troubleshooting skills.
• Assessing the accuracy and thoroughness of the work assigned.
• Strong teamwork skills, with an ability to motivate others and to lead or manage teams and projects.
• Ability to work with highly collaborative team.
• Ability to solve problems quickly and efficiently.
• Prioritizes and ensures safety of one self 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.

Physical Conditions

• Moving about to accomplish tasks or moving from one worksite to another
• Adjusting, moving, transporting, installing, positioning, or removing objects up to 20 pounds in all directions
• Communicating with others to exchange information

Environmental Conditions

• General office environment
• High temperatures
• Noisy environments
• High-concentration, demanding and fast-paced

Safety and PPE

• Reading and interpreting hazardous warning signs
• Reporting issues with equipment or unsafe conditions
• Color identification: detecting, distinguishing, recognizing and identifying colors

Travel

• Some travel may be required, up to 10%

Additional Requirements

• Occasionally requires working weekends
• Occasionally requires schedule flexibility
• Occasionally requires non-standard work-week hours
• Occasionally requires extended hours to support launch and critical project timelines

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