Full-Time

Senior Engineer

Power Plant Operational Design

Kairos Power

Kairos Power

501-1,000 employees

Designs, licenses, and demonstrates advanced reactors

Compensation Overview

$140.6k - $165.4k/yr

Albuquerque, NM, USA + 1 more

More locations: Alameda, CA, USA

In Person

Category
Mechanical Engineering (2)
,

Get referred to Kairos Power

Find people who can refer or advise you

Requirements
  • BS or MS Mechanical, Nuclear, Chemical, or other related engineering discipline with 6+ years of relevant experience
  • 4+ years of experience in either plant design and/or plant performance analysis
  • Fundamental understanding of power or industrial process plant operation and equipment and the interrelationships between them
  • Plant Performance - Proficient knowledge in power plant steady state performance
  • Plant Dynamics – Proficient knowledge in power plant maneuvering, control of closed-loop heat transport systems, transient thermodynamics and T-H
  • Demonstrated experience applying understanding of plant operations in the development of plant design configuration
  • Demonstrated ability of applying engineering knowledge to deliver results while being able to thrive in an environment with evolving requirements
  • Strong technical writing skills, with the ability to clearly document operational philosophies, assumptions and technical decisions
  • Demonstrated ability to work as part of a team on problems as well as lead/coordinate the timely resolution of issues in cross functional teams
  • Strong interpersonal skills and able to be independent, resourceful, and proactive in the face of the lack of information or unknowns
  • Desire and ability to function in a fast-paced small company environment while wearing multiple hats
  • 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
Responsibilities
  • Develop and refine the plant’s detailed operational strategy, including operating modes, envelopes and key state points, leveraging deep knowledge of plant performance requirements.
  • Translate operational goals into actionable system- and component-level requirements for Structures, Systems and Components (SSCs), balancing performance expectations and design constraints.
  • Define anticipated and planned plant transients and collaborate with simulation teams to model and assess system responses and design adequacy.
  • Collaborate closely with cross-functional design teams to inform and guide plant-level decisions, ensuring operational requirements and control strategies are incorporated.
  • Support design optimization efforts aimed at enhancing plant performance, reliability and availability while mitigating technical risks.
  • Support development of design for operations workflows to support delivery of the plant from concept to detailed design included plant commissioning.
  • Perform other duties as assigned
Desired Qualifications
  • Working experience with plant simulation tools (e.g., APROS or other simulation platform) is desired

Kairos Power designs, licenses, and demonstrates advanced nuclear reactors, headed by the KP-FHR which uses fluoride salt coolant and high operating temperatures to generate electricity. The system focuses on low water use and near-zero carbon emissions, pursuing an integrated path from design to regulatory licensing and demonstration to prove safety and economics. The company distinguishes itself by aiming to beat natural gas on cost and by a clear licensing/demo program coupled with environmental and grid-resilience performance. Its goal is to scale safe, affordable nuclear technology through government support, investments, licensing deals, and long-term service agreements to help decarbonize electricity.

Company Size

501-1,000

Company Stage

Grant

Total Funding

$20K

Headquarters

Alameda, California

Founded

2016

Get referred to Kairos Power

Find people who can refer or advise you

Simplify Jobs

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • Google and TVA provide pre-arranged offtake for Hermes 2’s first electricity.
  • The Albuquerque-to-Oak-Ridge module strategy can shorten construction and improve repeatability.
  • BWXT fuel production and NRG PALLAS testing strengthen the commercialization and licensing path.

What critics are saying

  • Hermes 2 must hit 2030 first power or lose its core credibility.
  • TRISO fuel and FLiBe supply chains remain immature, driving schedule and cost risk.
  • California’s reactor ban and narrow host-site politics restrict future deployment options.

What makes Kairos Power unique

  • Kairos uses fluoride-salt-cooled, high-temperature TRISO pebble fuel.
  • Hermes 1 earned the first NRC permit for a power-producing Gen IV reactor.
  • Its modular 150 MWe KP-FHR pairs online refueling with near-atmospheric pressure operation.

Help us improve and share your feedback! Did you find this helpful?

Benefits

Health Insurance

Dental Insurance

Vision Insurance

Paid Vacation

401(k) Company Match

401(k) Retirement Plan

Growth & Insights and Company News

Headcount

6 month growth

0%

1 year growth

1%

2 year growth

1%
NucNet
Sep 3rd, 2025
Kairos And BWXT To Collaborate On Commercial Production Of Triso Nuclear Fuel

Kairos is developing Generation IV fluoride salt-cooled high-temperature reactor (KP-FHR) technology.

Chattanooga Times Free Press
Aug 18th, 2025
TVA, Google team up on advanced nuclear reactor project

Kairos Power will sell electricity to the Tennessee Valley Authority through an agreement announced Monday, and TVA will pass clean energy credits to its customer Google, which operates two data centers in the region.

Teknovation.biz
Jun 3rd, 2025
Ornl And Elementl Power Collaborate On A Data-Driven Approach For New Nuclear

Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and Elementl Power have teamed up to advance a data-driven siting approach for advanced nuclear projects. The work started through a U.S. Department of Energy... The post ORNL and Elementl Power collaborate on a data-driven approach for new nuclear appeared first on Teknovation.biz.

Teknovation.biz
May 8th, 2025
Kairos Power Completes First Installation Of Nuclear Safety-Related Concrete For The Hermes Low-Power Demonstration Reactor

Kairos Power announced on Thursday that the company has completed the first installation of nuclear safety-related concrete for the Hermes Low-Power Demonstration Reactor, marking the start of “nuclear construction” on... The post Kairos Power completes first installation of nuclear safety-related concrete for the Hermes Low-Power Demonstration Reactor appeared first on Teknovation.biz.

NEI Magazine
Mar 28th, 2025
NRG PALLAS to test fuel for Kairos SMR

Netherlands research institute NRG PALLAS has signed a contract with US-based Kairos Power to assess materials and fuels that will be used in the small modular reactors (SMRs) Kairos is developing to power Google data centres.