Director of Policy and Government Affairs at Radiant in Washington, DC

Job description

About Radiant Radiant is an El Segundo, CA-based startup building the world’s first mass-produced, portable nuclear microreactors. Rising energy demand is straining the U.S. grid and driving up utility costs, emissions, and interconnection backlogs. Radiant decentralizes energy, producing power close to where it’s used. Its first reactor, Kaleidos, is a factory-built, 1-megawatt, fail-safe microreactor that can be transported by land, sea, or air and runs up to 5 years without refueling. Deployed locally without a decade-long build or permitting fight, Kaleidos provides independent power for critical infrastructure like military bases, data centers, hospitals, and remote sites. Founded in 2020, Radiant is under contract to deliver power to the U.S. Army, Air Force, Navy, and has pre-order agreements with Equinix, with deployments beginning in 2028. About the Role Radiant is seeking a Director of Policy and Government Affairs, to lead the company’s engagement with Congress and help shape the policy, authorization, and appropriations environment required to deploy microreactors across U.S. government customers. This role sits at the center of Radiant’s federal growth strategy. Because many of Radiant’s deployments will support national security, energy resilience, and mission assurance objectives across the government (e.g., military, FEMA, and more), this individual will help drive legislative strategies that enable customers to fund, procure, authorize, and scale the deployment of advanced nuclear systems. This is not a traditional policy role. The right candidate will understand how Congress actually works, navigate the authorization and appropriations processes, and translate technical and operational priorities into legislative outcomes. You will work directly with company leadership and cross-functional teams to drive funding and policy support for real deployments. Responsibilities & Duties: Congressional Strategy & Appropriations: • Develop and execute Radiant’s congressional affairs strategy in support of key U.S. government programs, customer priorities, and deployment timelines. • Build and maintain strong relationships with Members of Congress, committee staff, leadership offices, and personal offices, particularly across defense, energy, appropriations, and homeland security portfolios. • Identify opportunities to advance authorizing and appropriations language that supports the deployment of advanced nuclear systems for mission-critical government applications. • Track, analyze, and influence annual authorization and appropriations cycles, hearings, markups, and legislative proposals relevant to Radiant’s customers and priority programs. • Prepare briefing materials, hearing memos, legislative analyses, and strategic recommendations for company leadership. • Help shape the external narrative around Radiant’s role in supporting national security, resilient infrastructure, and operational energy objectives. Cross-Functional Execution: • Partner closely with business development, policy, regulatory, and technical teams to align congressional strategy with customer needs, capture priorities, and deployment opportunities. • Translate Radiant’s technical capabilities into clear policy, budgetary, and legislative objectives. • Support the development of congressional engagement plans tied to specific programs, accounts, and federal customers. • Provide leadership with clear, actionable insight on legislative dynamics, stakeholder positioning, and emerging opportunities or risks External Affairs & Stakeholder Management: • Coordinate with outside consultants, trade associations, think tanks, and aligned partners in support of Radiant’s policy and legislative priorities. • Support senior executives in congressional meetings, strategic external engagements, and high-priority policy events. • Build relationships across the broader defense, energy, and industrial base ecosystem to strengthen support for advanced nuclear deploy