Principal Engineer – Materials Engineering

Company Overview

Kairos Power is a new nuclear energy technology and engineering company whose mission is to enable the worlds transition to clean energy with the ultimate goal to dramatically improve peoples quality of life while protecting the environment. This goal will be accomplished through the commercialization of the fluoride-salt-cooled high-temperature reactor (FHR) that can be deployed with robust safety affordable costs and flexible operation to accommodate the expansion of variable renewables.

Job Summary

Kairos Power is seeking an experienced Principal Materials Engineer to provide technical leadership and strategic direction in the field of materials science and this role you will guide the development qualification and deployment of materials critical to the performance and safety of high-temperature reactor systems. You will serve as a subject matter expert technically mentor junior materials and engineering teams and represent Kairos Power in technical forums and regulatory engagements.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical leadership for the development testing and qualification of advanced structural steels used in high-temperature molten salt nuclear systems.
• Shape and execute strategy for materials selection and performance demonstration with emphasis on stainless steels and welded joints.
• Lead efforts to capture test and account for degradation phenomena such as creep fatigue corrosion oxidation and irradiation effects.
• Oversee the design and execution of experimental campaigns to validate material performance including accelerated testing and irradiation programs.
• Establish and refine technical standards qualification pathways and best practices for materials integration into safety-critical systems.
• Serve as a recognized subject matter expert and interface with regulatory authorities ensuring materials programs meet nuclear licensing requirements.
• Mentor guide and inspire multidisciplinary engineering teams building technical depth and fostering a collaborative culture of excellence.
• Drive innovation by exploring novel materials and joining techniques contributing to the advancement of next-generation reactor technologies.
• Represent Kairos Power at technical conferences professional societies and industry consortia advancing thought leadership in nuclear materials engineering.
• Partner with external laboratories universities and vendors to leverage specialized capabilities and accelerate technology readiness.
• Define and maintain long-term materials technology roadmaps aligned with Kairos Powers reactor development strategy.
• Provide leadership in integrating materials performance considerations with design manufacturing and operational requirements.
• Contribute to the development of industry codes standards and regulatory frameworks ensuring Kairos Powers leadership in shaping best practices.
• Anticipate and address materials-related risks to reactor design licensing and deployment recommending mitigation other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Ph.D. in Materials Science Metallurgy Mechanical Engineering or related discipline (exceptional candidates with an M.S. and extensive experience will be considered).
• Minimum 10 years of progressive experience in materials engineering with a strong focus on high-temperature alloys and welding/joining technologies.
• Recognized authority with a record of peer-reviewed publications patents technical standards contributions or invited conference presentations.
• Demonstrated expertise in materials performance under extreme conditions including creep fatigue corrosion oxidation irradiation and multi-physics interactions.
• Proven track record of leading cross-disciplinary teams in complex design testing and qualification programs for safety-critical systems.
• Demonstrated success in building strategic partnerships with universities labs and industry consortia.
• Experience engaging with nuclear regulators technical review boards or standards committees with a proven ability to develop defensible technical positions.

Knowledge Skills & Abilities

• Strong ability to interface with regulatory agencies deliver defensible technical justifications and contribute to licensing strategies.
• Ability to work with highly collaborative team
• Ability to solve problems quickly and efficiently
• Prioritizes and ensures safety of oneself 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
• Deep familiarity with advanced experimental methods (e.g. in-situ testing irradiation techniques high-resolution microscopy) and/or computational modeling approaches to validate materials performance.

Physical Demands

• Moving about to accomplish tasks or moving from one worksite to another.
• Adjusting moving transporting installing positioning or removing objects up to 30 pounds in all directions.
• Communicating with others to exchange information.
• Ascending or descending ladders stairs scaffolding ramps and lifts.
• Moving self in different positions to accomplish tasks in various environments including tight and confined spaces.
• Remaining in a stationary position prolonged periods.
• Use of hand tools and repetitive assembly operations in collaboration with engineering and manufacturing teams.

Environmental Conditions

• General office environment.
• High-concentration demanding and fast-paced work.

Safety and PPE

• Reading and interpreting hazardous warning signs.
• Reporting issues with equipment or unsafe conditions.
• Wearing proper PPE including face mask face shields gloves safety shoes etc.

Travel

• Some travel may be required up to 30%.

Certification

Additional Requirements

• Occasionally requires working weekends
• Occasionally requires non-standard work-week hours

The salary range for this position is $175000 to $218800 for employees working onsite at our Alameda CA headquarters. The range provided in this job posting represents the typical range or starting rate of candidates hired in California. Factors that may be used to determine your actual salary may include your education experience knowledge skills abilities the market data for your work location and a comparison to other employees already in the role.

#LI-Onsite

About our Benefits

We know that we have some of the most talented and dedicated employees and we believe in rewarding them accordingly. If you work here full-time employees (excludes interns) expect to have access to the benefits below:

• Competitive compensation packages
• Medical dental and vision benefits for employees and their dependents
• Paid Vacation
• 401(k) and pre-tax health insurance dependent care and commuter benefits (FSA)

Kairos Power is committed to building a diverse workforce that reflects the communities where we do business. Kairos Power is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race color religion gender gender identity or expression sexual orientation national origin genetics disability age or veteran status. We actively welcome people of different experiences abilities and perspectives.

Kairos Power participates in E-Verify.

Candidates only no recruiters or agencies please.

Note: You are applying for a position that is located in a facility that handles information that is subject to export control restrictions by the Department of Energy under 10 CFR Part 810. To work in this facility you need to be authorized by the Department of Energy to access Part 810-controlled information. Foreign nationals who are citizens of countries that are not on the Department of Energys general authorization list (link below) are not permitted to work in our facility unless the Department of Energy issues an export control license to the company to permit that individual to have access to Part 810-controlled information. The following questions are intended to determine the licensing requirements that may apply. Experience:

Staff IC