Lead Nuclear Materials Engineer at Radiant in El Segundo, CA

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. Lead Nuclear Materials Engineer Radiant is seeking a highly motivated Lead Nuclear Materials Engineer to lead Radiant’s nuclear materials team in the development, testing, and qualification of materials and related manufacturing processes used in the Kaleidos 1MWe nuclear microreactor. The ideal candidate is excited to grow an in-house nuclear materials team, is proficient in materials selection, testing, and analysis, takes great ownership of their work end-to-end, and thrives in a highly cross-functional, fast-paced environment. Your team’s ownership spans fuel, moderators, shielding, neutron poisons, and irradiation testing. You will be a key contributor to building the world's first mass-produced, rapidly-deployable nuclear reactor. Responsibilities & Duties • Set the technical direction for the nuclear materials team, including the definition of project scopes, the guidance of day-to-day engineering and support activities, and the development of a nuclear materials roadmap to support future reactor designs and builds • Deliver materials solutions for fuel, moderator, shielding, and neutron poison designs for Kaleidos • Accountable for nuclear materials engineering team’s technical output • Lead and mentor team members technically and professionally • Communicate project status, issues, and schedules to teammates and executives • Present to external stakeholders and regulatory bodies (DOE, NRC) • Review test plans, purchase orders, and analysis • Provide surge materials engineering support as-needed • Manage irradiation testing from design of experiment through irradiation to post irradiation examination (PIE) Required Qualifications & Skills • Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution in Materials Science and Engineering, or in Mechanical, Aeronautical, Nuclear, or Chemical Engineering with a materials science and engineering focus. • 5+ years of experience working in the development, testing, and/or analysis of nuclear materials for demanding load cases and environments • Hands-on experimental or testing experience in laboratory or production environments Desired Qualifications & Skills • Master’s or PhD degree from an accredited institution in Materials Science and Engineering, or in Mechanical, Aeronautical, Nuclear, or Chemical Engineering with a materials science and engineering focus. • 2+ years of engineering leadership and management experience at a company building and/or testing hardware for nuclear, aerospace, or other extreme environments • Expert-level competency in at least one area of nuclear materials such as fuel, neutron poisons, shielding, or moderators • Experience with development and qualification of material systems for use in high temperature and irradiation environments. • Knowledge of standard test methods for materials and experience with development of design allowables. • Self-motivated with strong organizational, written, and oral communication skills. • Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively with design and operations teams to deliver high-value results. • Experience with using text-based software development tools (Python or similar)