Vice President, Engineering

Roles And Responsibilities

• Oversee the core technology maturation program, including conceptual design, detailed hardware engineering, system integration, and iterative design reviews.
• Define and maintain the technology maturation roadmap and technical risk register from TRL 6 through TRL 9, including MRL alignment, gating criteria, and success metrics.
• Prioritize technical workstreams to maximize FOAK technical risk reduction, balancing initial performance and reliability vs. speed to market.
• Develop and execute strategies for manufacturability, process scale-up, supply-chain readiness, and industrialization of critical components and assemblies.
• Collaborate closely with the projects team to align manufacturing requirements with overall project execution and cost baselines.
• Establish and maintain a robust configuration management system and technical baseline that serves as the single source of truth for production facility designs.
• Provide design authority and leadership for the overall production facility architecture, balance-of-plant systems, process flow diagrams, piping and instrumentation diagrams (P&IDs), and equipment specifications.
• Ensure facility and system designs meet performance, reliability, and availability targets while maturing in parallel with technology development.
• Champion “safety by design” principles by leading integrated safety analyses, hazard identification, probabilistic risk assessments, and development of the safety basis documentation.
• Oversee operation of all test facilities, prototype assembly, commissioning, data acquisition, diagnostics, and performance validation campaigns.
• Ensure rigorous test plans, failure mode analysis, and lessons-learned processes are institutionalized to de-risk technology prior to full-scale deployment.
• Serve as the final technical decision authority on design trade-offs, ensuring that business and product requirements drive all technology maturation efforts.
• Establish and chair key technical governance forums (e.g., Design Review Board, Change Control Board) and maintain strong interfaces with cross-functional teams to ensure seamless handoffs and alignment.
• Build, mentor, and retain a high-performing engineering organization; foster a culture of technical excellence, innovation, and accountability.
• Represent the company’s technical baseline with regulators, investors, and external stakeholders as required.

Qualifications And Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Nuclear Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, or a closely related field; Master’s or PhD strongly preferred.
• 15+ years of progressive experience in engineering and technology development, with at least 8–10 years in a senior leadership role (e.g., Director of Engineering or equivalent) in the nuclear, advanced energy, aerospace, or complex hardware/systems industry.
• Demonstrated track record of leading technology maturation from concept through prototype testing to industrialization, including hands-on experience with hardware design, system integration, and test facility operations.
• Strong background in safety-by-design principles, integrated safety analysis, and embedding regulatory requirements into technical baselines.
• Experience establishing and maintaining design authority, configuration management, and technical governance processes in a regulated environment.
• Proven ability to build, mentor, and scale high-performing multidisciplinary engineering teams while fostering a culture of technical excellence, innovation, and accountability.
• Familiarity with nuclear regulatory frameworks (e.g., NRC guidelines) and experience representing technical positions to regulators, investors, or external stakeholders is highly desirable.
• Excellent strategic thinking, cross-functional collaboration, and communication skills, with the ability to balance technical trade-offs against business, schedule, and cost drivers.
• Comfortable with ambiguity and iteration inherent in FOAK development.
• High accountability mindset with bias toward execution.
• Active DOE/NRC Q-clearance or equivalent (DOD TS).