Hot Cell Design Engineer
OkloSanta Clara, Canada
Full Time
Posted June 22, 2026
$80k - $180k
Nuclear Energy
Remote
Apply Now
Application opens on company website
Listing evidence and provenance
- Source
- greenhouse View original listing
- Freshness
- Open in the current public read path; this is not an employer guarantee.Last observed September 29, 2026
- Classification
- Modern power-system classification not yet published for this listing.Legacy source industry field: Nuclear Energy
- Pay provenance
- Employer-provided pay
Job Description
As a Hot Cell Design Engineer at Oklo, you will help shape a highly specialized, remotely-operable hot cell environment that enables the safe, efficient processing of used nuclear fuel (UNF).
Key Responsibilities
- Lead or support the mechanical and systems design of radiological hot cells used in UNF recycling, including shielding, ventilation, confinement, and remote handling systems
- Define equipment and material layouts, including material transfer pathways and maintenance access strategies
- Work with radiation modeling and safety analysis specialists to develop shielding requirements and establish design constraints
- Integrate robotic and remote handling technologies (e.g., manipulators, cameras, cranes, etc.) into cell design
- Contribute to the structural evaluation of confinement systems, ensuring compliance with fire protection, external hazard, and natural phenomena hazard requirements
- Collaborate with structural, HVAC, instrumentation, and process engineers to ensure seamless integration across all hot cell systems
- Participate in Failure Modes and Effects Analyses (FMEA), hazard analyses, and radiological safety assessments
- Contribute to design reviews, procurement specifications, and installation and commissioning plans
- Support prototyping, testing, and commissioning of hot cell subsystems
Requirements
- We are looking for a Hot Cell Design Engineer that is:
- Passionate about clean energy, fuel recycling, and efficient stewardship of natural resources
- An optimist at heart
- Passionate about making advanced fission a reality
- Willing and able to learn quickly
- Willing to think differently and do things in new ways
- 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 writer who can write in a modern active voice (so make your cover letter compelling and write it well!)
- Able to communicate technical content and results verbally
- Bachelor’s degree or higher in Mechanical Engineering, Nuclear Engineering, or a related discipline
- 5+ years of experience in radiological facility design, glovebox or hot cell engineering, or radiological material handling
- Strong working knowledge of remote handling systems, robotics, or manipulator technologies
- Understanding of radiation shielding principles, criticality safety, and radiological protection standards
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Demonstrated ability to collaborate on cross-functional teams and integrate feedback from engineering, licensing, and safety
- Strong systems engineering intuition and problem-solving capabilities
- 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.
- Oklo requires remote employees to travel to headquarters (Santa Clara, CA) twice a quarter annually, based on business or team needs, including attendance at team meetings, off-sites, and other company events or gatherings. For the first two weeks of onboarding, employees are required to be in person at headquarters in Santa Clara, CA.
Ready to Apply?
Apply directly on Oklo's site
Get new power and energy jobs weekly
New jobs across data centers, grid, nuclear, storage, generation, and renewables. One email a week.
Job Alerts
Get alerts for jobs like this one
More at Oklo
Similar Jobs
More jobs at Oklo
Similar jobs in Nuclear Energy
More jobs in Santa Clara, Canada
Is this your company?Claim your listing free →