Lead OT Engineer - Reactor

Valar Atomics is a nuclear energy company focused on scaling high-temperature gas reactors (HTGRs) for grid-independent industrial applications. The company is developing what it calls gigasites, large-scale facilities housing hundreds of nuclear reactors intended to power heavy industry, data centers, hydrogen production, and clean hydrocarbon fuel synthesis. Their reactor design uses TRISO fuel, a graphite moderator, and helium coolant, a combination the company highlights for its strong safety profile and proliferation resistance. By operating outside the traditional electricity grid, Valar Atomics aims to unlock economies of scale that have historically eluded the nuclear industry. Valar Atomics' mission centers on making nuclear energy the cheapest and most reliable energy source in the world, with a particular emphasis on decarbonizing industrial processes and enabling clean fuel production. Their hydrogen output, generated via a sulfur-iodine thermochemical cycle, can be combined with captured CO2 to produce synthetic hydrocarbons through a modified Fischer-Tropsch process, offering a pathway to drop-in clean fuels. The company also targets the surging power demands of AI data centers, which are projected to require over 200 additional terawatt-hours of grid power by 2030. The company is currently advancing its Ward 250 project, a test reactor being developed in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy, the San Rafael Energy Research Center, and the State of Utah, with a target go-live date of July 4, 2026, America's 250th birthday. The reactor has already been physically transported to Emery County, Utah, with logistical support from the U.S. military. Four executive orders issued under the Trump administration provided a mandate supporting the project's accelerated deployment timeline.

About Valar Atomics

At Valar Atomics, we're redefining what's possible in energy. Our mission is to make clean, high-temperature nuclear power scalable—unlocking abundant energy for industry, hydrogen, and next-generation manufacturing. We are a team of builders, engineers, and operators who believe nuclear energy should be fast to deploy, factory-made, and built for the real world. Our first pilot plant in Orangeville, Utah will demonstrate how advanced nuclear systems and fuel fabrication can power the future. Joining Valar Atomics means becoming part of a company where autonomy, ownership, and impact exist at every level.

The Team 

As part of the Engineering organization, Instrumentations & Controls designs the systems that monitor, automate, and protect Valar's facilities and reactor technologies. The team develops reliable control architectures that enable safe and efficient operations.

The Role 

Valar Atomics is a young startup that turns ambitious engineering into working hardware. Before our third anniversary, we designed, built, commissioned, and operated a DOE-authorized research reactor outside the national laboratory system. That pace defines how we work: learn quickly, make sound decisions, and build systems that perform. Safe operation, disciplined testing, and regulatory rigor are non-negotiable. Analysis must lead to decisions and delivery, and we expect people to take ownership and see their work through. If you want hard problems, real responsibility, and the freedom to build with urgency, bring your judgment and drive to Valar. 

Own the reactor program's daily OT work plan, team workload, and delivery commitments. Keep installation, testing, maintenance, and handoffs moving as site readiness and program priorities change, with clear expectations and calm follow-through. Technical expertise is preferred, not required; people-management and decision authority develop through explicit delegation. 

OT Engineering delivers power and rack infrastructure, compute, networks, identity, security, operational data, and industrial software platforms. The FactoryTalk scope covers backend deployment, configuration, integration, and recovery.  

Key Responsibilities 

• Plan and prioritize reactor OT work against site access, installation readiness, test prerequisites, available resources, and agreed commitments.
• Assign work, set clear expectations, coach team members, give candid feedback, and address missed commitments within delegated authority.
• Maintain a current view of site work, vendor activities, dependencies, and unresolved issues; revise the plan when conditions change.
• Coordinate installation, testing, maintenance, and turnover with engineers and site stakeholders.
• Maintain as built structured cabling drawings for site and reactor network systems
• Remove obstacles, resolve competing demands on the team, and escalate constraints before they threaten committed work.
• Obtain required engineering and acceptance decisions, then follow the agreed work through verified completion and accurate handoff records.

You Will Be Successful in This Role If 

• Highly organized, with disciplined task tracking, accurate documentation, clear priorities, and reliable follow-through.
• Calm direction when site conditions or priorities change, with timely decisions and escalation.
• Consistent coaching, candid feedback, and fair accountability that improve team performance.
• Highly proficient in contractor management and leading a team that is majority contractors for a time
• Clear ownership of daily commitments and timely adjustment of plans when prerequisites or resources change.
• Discipline in checking agreed readiness conditions and obtaining engineering direction before affected work proceeds. 

Basic Qualifications  

• Direct people-management or supervisory experience, including assignments, expectations, coaching, feedback, and accountability for completion.
• Experience coordinating concurrent technical or operational work involving specialists, vendors, resources, schedules, and dependencies.
• Ability to maintain clear priorities, realistic work plans, accurate status and issue records, and dependable follow-through under pressure.
• Experience removing delivery obstacles, escalating consequential issues, and coordinating handoffs against engineers' requirements and acceptance decisions within delegated authority.
• Coordinate site work and handoffs against installation readiness, approved test prerequisites, and engineering acceptance decisions.
• Technical specialization is preferred, not required. Qualified nontechnical people managers are eligible; hands-on engineering execution is not required.

Preferred Skills and Experience  

• Experience leading installation, commissioning, maintenance, or test-facility work.
• Experience coordinating work across engineering, construction, operations, and vendors.
• Familiarity with OT infrastructure, controlled work processes, or facility testing. 

What We Offer  

• Competitive base salary 
• Equity ownership in a rapidly growing advanced energy company 
• Comprehensive medical benefits 
• Unlimited PTO
• Free daily lunch and dinner provided onsite 
• Generous PPE stipend
• High-impact startup environment with significant ownership and autonomy 
• Opportunities for rapid career growth and internal advancement 
• Direct collaboration with experienced operators, engineers, and industry leaders 
• The opportunity to help build and scale transformative energy technology from the ground up

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

Valar Atomics is an equal opportunity employer. We consider all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other protected status under applicable law.

We are committed to providing a workplace free of discrimination and harassment and will provide reasonable accommodation as required by law.

Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States as a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident (green card holder).