Mechanical Design Engineer - Fuel Recycling

Location: Santa Clara, CA

Department: Fuel Recycling

Thanks for your interest in Oklo!  We are searching for a Mechanical Design Engineer to join our fuel recycling engineering team.

Position Description:

The person in this role is responsible for the design, prototyping, and iterative refinement of production-scale, remotely operated electrochemical molten salt process equipment used in nuclear fuel recycling. This work directly supports Oklo’s mission to close the fuel cycle and enable advanced fission technology deployment.

The systems developed will operate in high-temperature (>500 °C) and high-radiation environments, demanding robust, maintainable designs suitable for automation, remote operation, and long service lifetimes. Day-to-day activities will include mechanical design, testing, and validation of process and mechanical systems that perform reliably in these extreme conditions.

This role will include participation in cross-functional teams focused on facility design, nuclear and electrochemical engineering, instrumentation and controls, automation and robotics, process modeling, quality assurance, and licensing.

Specific responsibilities may include:

• Develop and own the mechanical design of process and system components within Oklo’s nuclear fuel recycling facilities.

• Design and validate high-temperature (>500 °C) and corrosion-resistant electrochemical process equipment, suitable for operation in high-radiation environments.

• Incorporate design-for-automation principles to enable remote handling, inspection, and maintenance of systems and components.

• Collaborate cross-functionally with other engineering teams to define design and functional requirements, ensuring compliance with safety regulations and industry standards

• Lead and participate in formal design reviews, providing and integrating multidisciplinary technical feedback.

• Generate and maintain 3D CAD models, 2D drawings, and bills of materials in controlled PDM/PLM environments.

• Prepare clear and traceable engineering documentation, including design rationales, functional requirements, and regulatory submissions.

• Collaborate directly with fabrication partners and vendors to refine designs for manufacturability, cost effectiveness, and scalability.

• Support equipment prototyping, testing, and commissioning at Oklo’s recycling development and deployment sites.

Competencies:

We are looking for a Mechanical Design Engineer that is:

• Passionate about clean energy and closing the nuclear fuel cycle.

• Proficient in 3D mechanical design (Siemens NX, Solidworks, Creo, etc) with a deep understanding of high-temperature, radiation-tolerant, and industrial process systems.

• Experienced or eager to learn about automated and remotely operated systems in nuclear or heavy industrial environments.

• Energized by tackling and overcoming complex design challenges in extreme operating conditions.

• Passionate about designing for manufacturability, maintainability, and automation.

• Comfortable collaborating in multidisciplinary teams with mechanical, controls, and materials engineers.

• An optimist at heart, comfortable in a fast-paced, highly iterative startup environment.

• Excited to think creatively, critically, and reflectively about the problems they are solving while not leaning only on what has been done before 

• Willing to propose novel and creative solutions to technical problems

• An excellent communicator, both verbally and in writing—able to produce clear, modern, and compelling technical documentation.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s or higher degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related field (e.g., Materials or Nuclear Engineering).

• 5-10 years of experience demonstrating success taking mechanical systems from concept through detailed design, analysis, fabrication, and deployment.

• Experience with custom mechanical design for equipment used in high-temperature or heavy industrial applications (e.g. nuclear, petrochemical, or mining industries).

• Expert-level proficiency with CAD software (e.g., Siemens NX, CATIA, SolidWorks), including 3D model generation and 2D fabrication drawings.

• Broad familiarity with engineering principles and strong systems engineering intuition.

• Working knowledge of material selection, particularly high-temperature alloys and corrosion-resistant metals, along with related manufacturing and joining techniques.

Bonus Qualifications:

• Experience with electrochemical manufacturing processes such as electroplating, electrowinning, or pyroprocessing.

• Experience designing equipment for high (>500 °C) temperature operation or corrosive molten salt environments.

• Experience designing for radiation tolerance or remote maintenance in nuclear or space systems.

• Familiarity with design for automation, including integration with robotics and control systems for “lights-out” operations.

• Experience designing heavy industrial equipment or pilot-scale systems with high reliability and extended maintenance intervals.

• Experience with ANSYS or similar FEA/CFD simulation software for structural and thermal analysis.

• Knowledge of GD&T and design for manufacturability best practices.

• Experience with balance of plant facility design and integration with automated process systems.

• Experience in commercial or governmental nuclear projects.

Who you are:

A startup person: You aren't driven by titles or hierarchy, and prefer efficiency to excess process.  You don't need or expect to have a lot of guidance but you enjoy working in a fast-paced team.  If you prefer the culture and feel of a large organization, that is great, but you likely won’t enjoy working with us!  There is plenty of important work and plenty of good opportunities with organizations like that.

Motivated: You are self-motivated.  You bring an enthusiasm to the team, and imbue a sense of passion that goes beyond clocking in and clocking out. This isn’t about a fake or arbitrary “pieces of flair” mentality or lack of work-life balance!  It is about being a part of the vision and feeling a part of reaching team goals.

A team-player: Oklo genuinely is a team. We aren’t about taking credit for ourselves, and we aren’t about pushing blame to others.  We do incredible things because we work as a team.

An excellent communicator: We need a person who is not only technically competent but also a clear and upbeat communicator.

Creative: Being creative means that when things fall outside clear scopes or processes or problems arise without clear solutions, you are able to identify it as well as invent ways to solve a problem or fill a need without micromanagement. The successful person in this job will not only be creative, but also enjoy being creative and solving open-ended problems which may change day-by-day.

Detail-oriented: This focus is a big part of excellence, consistency, and quality. Even excellent grammar and spelling matter for both good communication as well as the image of the company that we put forward.

About Oklo compensation:

Salary: $80,000-$155,000

Oklo offers flexible time off, equity, competitive pay, 401k, health insurance, FSA, flexible work hours, and other benefits.

We are looking to fill this position immediately!

About Oklo Inc.: Oklo Inc. is developing fast fission power plants to deliver clean, reliable, and affordable energy at scale; establishing a domestic supply chain for critical radioisotopes; and advancing nuclear fuel recycling to convert nuclear waste into clean energy. Oklo was the first to receive a site use permit from the U.S. Department of Energy for a commercial advanced fission plant, was awarded fuel material from Idaho National Laboratory, and submitted the first custom combined license application for an advanced reactor to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Oklo is also developing advanced fuel recycling technologies in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy and U.S. National Laboratories.

#CHOP: Oklo’s Values

Collaboration: We go further, together. We bring diverse perspectives, listen actively, and build trust through transparency and respect. We work across disciplines, sharing ownership to turn complex challenges into shared successes.

Humility: We are team players who act for the good of the company and for the world. We are focused on our mission, not personal recognition.

Ownership: We take pride in what we do and how we do it. We are proactive in finding solutions and see tasks through to completion. We are committed to delivering on our promises to provide clean, reliable, and affordable energy.

Pathfinding: We chart new ground where no path exists by approaching challenges with curiosity, courage, and creativity while navigating ambiguity.