Maintenance Technician

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, Fuels & Materials develops and qualifies the advanced materials and fuel technologies that form the foundation of Valar's reactor systems. The team ensures performance, reliability, and long-term durability under demanding operating conditions. 

 

The Role

The Maintenance Technician ensures safe, reliable, and compliant operation of the Valar Atomics TRISO Fuel Facility. The technician performs preventive and corrective maintenance on process equipment, instrumentation, and facility systems in a safety-critical, NRC/DOE-regulated environment. This is a mid-level role requiring 3–7 years of industrial maintenance experience; ideally in a nuclear, chemical, or advanced manufacturing setting.

Key Responsibilities 

• Perform scheduled preventive maintenance on CVD coater furnaces, calcining furnaces, sintering furnaces, chemical systems, and AWD units per approved work orders.
• Replace consumable components: graphite heating elements, reactor tubes, cones, gas distributors, etc.
• Diagnose and repair faults on mechanical, electrical, and pneumatic systems; complete corrective work orders within defined response windows.
• Maintain gas feed systems including mass flow meters, gas lines, valves, and associated instrumentation (accuracy maintained to ±1 % FS).
• Perform maintenance on material-handling equipment; disassemble and reassemble for radiological safety compliance.
• Service the off-gas handling and combustion burner system; verify scrubber and absolute filter performance.
• Execute instrument calibration tasks; issue calibration certificates and maintain records per equipment data sheets and P&IDs.
• Interpret instrument loop diagrams and PLC ladder logic to support fault isolation; liaise with controls engineers on SCADA/OIS issues.
• Identify, order, and manage critical spare parts inventory (heating elements, pyrometers, seals, etc.).
• Work within the facility Radiation Protection and ALARA program; wear appropriate PPE and comply with contamination-control procedures.
• Support configuration management by documenting modifications and updating maintenance procedures as required.

You Will Be Successful in This Role If

• Executes all maintenance tasks to procedure with zero safety violations.
• Closes corrective work orders on time and within estimated labor hours.
• Works effectively with operations, QA, and radiological safety personnel to plan and clear work.
• Responds promptly to unplanned equipment faults.
• Demonstrates ownership of equipment health and proactively identifies deterioration before failure occurs.

Basic Qualifications 

• 3–7 years of maintenance technician experience in a nuclear, chemical process, or precision manufacturing facility.
• Demonstrated competency in mechanical systems: pumps, valves, gas lines, furnaces, and rotating equipment.
• Electrical and instrumentation skills: calibration, loop checking, 480 V industrial electrical systems.
• Ability to read and interpret P&IDs, instrument loop diagrams, wiring diagrams, and maintenance manuals.
• Familiarity with maintenance software for workorder creation and closure.
• Must be a U.S. citizen or U.S. person eligible to access HALEU material under DOE/NRC regulations.
• Strong written communication skills for procedure authoring and maintenance record-keeping.

Preferred Skills and Experience 

• Experience maintaining CVD furnaces, high-temperature kilns, or gas-phase deposition equipment.
• Nuclear Maintenance qualification or radiological worker training.
• Experience with PLC-controlled process systems and OIS/SCADA interfaces (Allen-Bradley, Siemens).
• Familiarity with criticality safe geometry controls and ALARA work practices in uranium-processing environments.

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).