Lead Reactor Operations Engineer
- Location
- El Segundo, CA · On-site
- Job type
- Full-time
- Level
- Lead / Staff
- Experience
- 6+ years
- Listed
- 30 days ago
Skills & highlights for this role
- Senior Reactor Operator license
- reactor systems integration
- nuclear I&C systems
- operating procedure development
- first principles problem solving
Also useful
- human factors engineering
- operational interface design
- nuclear safety protocols
Stated benefits & perks
- Medical
- Dental
- Vision
- Parental leave
Responsibilities & Duties
- Lead, mentor, and grow a team of Reactor Operations Engineers, setting technical priorities aligned with test, commissioning, and operational milestones.
- Qualify as an operator to gain firsthand experience and ensure the team's work aligns with real-world execution.
- Establish the conduct of operations and fleet monitoring processes for Kaleidos reactors.
- Support development of control algorithms for semi-autonomous and/or manual operations.
- Support the evaluation of integrated plant response to various events, accidents, and malfunctions.
- Participate in design reviews and provide feedback from an operations and maintenance perspective.
- Ensure all team deliverables meet DOE and NRC standards, maintaining strict formatting, clarity, and usability in procedural documentation.
- Recruit, hire, and develop engineering talent to scale the team with Radiant's growth.
Required Qualifications & Skills
- 6+ years of full-time professional engineering experience, including system design, analysis, or testing, with 2+ years in a formal or informal technical leadership role.
- Familiarity with the interrelationships and dependencies of reactor systems, encompassing nuclear, mechanical, I&C and electrical systems - and their response as an integrated power plant system.
- Licensed as Senior Reactor Operator or Naval equivalent.
- Ability to apply first principles thinking to solve problems and make decisions in uncertain or ambiguous situations.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
- Background in highly regulated industries (e.g., nuclear, aerospace, aviation, maritime).
- Demonstrated ability to lead and develop technical teams, managing and making decisions on risk, while remaining hands-on.
Desired Qualifications & Skills
- Prior experience working as an operator in nuclear environments (e.g., nuclear energy, naval reactors, or radiation-controlled facilities), with familiarity in safety protocols, regulatory compliance, and high-reliability operations.
- 3+ years of full-time nuclear operations experience.
- Hands-on experience in developing technical procedures, human factors engineering, or operational interface design.
- Prior operations background such as mission control room operator.
Additional Requirements
- Must be willing to work extended hours and weekends as necessary to accomplish our mission.
- Must work 100% onsite at El Segundo HQ.
- Willingness to travel 50% - 60% of the time, as needed for projects.
Benefits and Perks
- Stock: Substantial incentive stock plan for all full-time employees.
- Medical: 100% up to base silver level plan for employee + 50% dependents, offers up to Platinum plans.
- One Medical: Sponsored memberships for employees and their dependents.
- Vision: 100% top tier plan coverage + 50% for dependents.
- Dental: 100% top tier plan coverage, orthodontia extra, 50% for dependents.
- Voluntary life, accident, hospital, critical illness, commuter and FSA/HSA are offered as employee contributed benefits.
- 8-weeks of paid parental leave for all parents. Additional paid pregnancy leave for CA employees.
- Daily catered lunch. Free snacks and drinks.
- Flexible PTO policy. Remote workday allocation.
- Company and team-bonding events, happy hours and in-person camaraderie.
- Beautiful El Segundo headquarters close to the Pacific Ocean.
Total Compensation and Benefits
Radiant compensates people for impact and invests in those who continue to raise the bar. Radiant’s new hire compensation package includes base salary, substantial equity grants, and comprehensive health benefits. Total compensation and level are determined through a rigorous evaluation of interview performance, experience, education, and qualifications, and are designed to support continued growth as scope, responsibility, and impact expand at Radiant.
- The best of today’s advanced reactor builders don’t wait for job postings.
- They join the winning team.
- If that’s you, contact us directly for immediate opportunities:.
This position involves access to technology that is subject to U.S. export controls. Any job offer made will be contingent upon the applicant’s capacity to serve in compliance with U.S. export controls.
About Radiant
Radiant is an El Segundo, CA-based startup building the world’s first mass-produced, portable nuclear microreactors. The company’s first reactor, Kaleidos, is a 1-megawatt, fail-safe microreactor that can be transported anywhere power is needed and run for up to 5 years without refueling.
Portable nuclear power with rapid-deploy capability can replace similar-sized diesel generators and provide critical asset support for hospitals, data centers, remote sites, and military bases. Radiant’s unique, practical approach to nuclear development leverages modern software engineering to rapidly deliver safe, factory-built microreactors that use existing, well-qualified materials.
Founded in 2020, Radiant is on track to test its first reactor at the Idaho National Laboratory this summer, with initial customer deliveries beginning in 2028.
As the Lead Reactor Operations Engineer, you will direct the team providing operational insights to ensure the development of Kaleidos and its functionality meet the requirements for safe, efficient, and reliable reactor operations and commissioning. This position will oversee and approve the development of reactor operating interfaces, conduct of operations, and procedures. You will also go one step further and qualify as a Kaleidos Reactor Operator yourself - always remaining technically hands on.
Equal opportunity and legal notices
We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, age, national origin, disability status, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.
From Radiant's careers page, first listed on Rolev.ai on October 10, 2026. Rolev.ai is not the employer.
How Rolev.ai helps with this application
Rolev.ai is a job search and application tool for US job seekers. For this Lead Reactor Operations Engineer role at Radiant, it shows how your resume fits, tailors your resume to the posting, and prepares the application for you to review.
See how you fit
Openings from employer career sites are ranked against your whole resume—and searchable inside Claude, ChatGPT, and Cursor via Rolev.ai MCP.
Tailor without inventing
Every change to your resume is checked against your original. New experience goes in only with your yes—zero fabricated claims.
Draft the full kit
Tailored and Full Match resumes, role-specific cover letters, and answers to employer screening questions are prepared in seconds.
1-Click Extension Autofill
The Chrome extension fills the employer's Greenhouse, Workday, Lever, or Ashby form in 1 click. You review it and press Submit.
Common questions
Where is the Lead Reactor Operations Engineer job at Radiant located?
This Lead Reactor Operations Engineer position at Radiant is located in El Segundo, CA (On-site). Always check Radiant's application page for specific state eligibility or relocation policies.
What qualifications are required for Lead Reactor Operations Engineer at Radiant?
For the Lead Reactor Operations Engineer role, Radiant highlights 6+ years of relevant experience; experience with reactor systems integration, nuclear I&C systems, operating procedure development, first principles problem solving. Rolev.ai can score your existing resume against these requirements and show any skill gaps before you apply.
How do I apply for the Lead Reactor Operations Engineer position at Radiant?
This listing links directly to Radiant's Ashby application page. You can apply directly on Radiant's site, or use Rolev.ai to check your resume fit, generate a zero-hallucination tailored resume and cover letter for this posting, and autofill the Ashby application form in 1 click with the Rolev.ai Chrome extension. You always review the form and press Submit yourself.