About Radiant

Radiant is an El Segundo, CA-based company building the world's only mass-produced, transportable nuclear microreactors. The U.S. grid is under growing strain, with power demand accelerating, driving higher utility costs, rising carbon emissions, and interconnection backlogs. Radiant has a solution, transportable, on-site power. Our first reactor, Kaleidos, is 1 megawatt: small enough to be factory-built, transported by land, sea, or air, and deployed wherever power is needed. 1 MW can power 1000 homes for five years. Ship it back and we refuel for a 20 year operating life. We made energy a product that can be used for critical infrastructure like military bases, data centers, hospitals, and remote sites, as well as the commercial main street businesses that keep America running. Founded in 2020, Radiant is under contract to deliver power to the U.S. Army, Navy and Air Force and has signed pre-order agreements with Equinix, with deployments beginning in 2028.

Lead Nuclear Materials Engineer

Radiant is seeking a highly motivated Lead Nuclear Materials Engineer to lead Radiant’s nuclear materials team in the development, testing, and qualification of materials and related manufacturing processes used in the Kaleidos 1MWe nuclear microreactor. The ideal candidate is excited to grow an in-house nuclear materials team, is proficient in materials selection, testing, and analysis, takes great ownership of their work end-to-end, and thrives in a highly cross-functional, fast-paced environment. Your team’s ownership spans fuel, moderators, shielding, neutron poisons, and irradiation testing. You will be a key contributor to building the world's first mass-produced, rapidly-deployable nuclear reactor.

Responsibilities & Duties

Set the technical direction for the nuclear materials team, including the definition of project scopes, the guidance of day-to-day engineering and support activities, and the development of a nuclear materials roadmap to support future reactor designs and builds

Deliver materials solutions for fuel, moderator, shielding, and neutron poison designs for Kaleidos

Accountable for nuclear materials engineering team’s technical output

Lead and mentor team members technically and professionally

Communicate project status, issues, and schedules to teammates and executives

Present to external stakeholders and regulatory bodies (DOE, NRC)

Review test plans, purchase orders, and analysis

Provide surge materials engineering support as-needed

Manage irradiation testing from design of experiment through irradiation to post irradiation examination (PIE)

Required Qualifications & Skills

Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution in Materials Science and Engineering, or in Mechanical, Aeronautical, Nuclear, or Chemical Engineering with a materials science and engineering focus.

5+ years of experience working in the development, testing, and/or analysis of nuclear materials for demanding load cases and environments

Hands-on experimental or testing experience in laboratory or production environments

Desired Qualifications & Skills

Master’s or PhD degree from an accredited institution in Materials Science and Engineering, or in Mechanical, Aeronautical, Nuclear, or Chemical Engineering with a materials science and engineering focus.

2+ years of engineering leadership and management experience at a company building and/or testing hardware for nuclear, aerospace, or other extreme environments

Expert-level competency in at least one area of nuclear materials such as fuel, neutron poisons, shielding, or moderators

Experience with development and qualification of material systems for use in high temperature and irradiation environments.

Knowledge of standard test methods for materials and experience with development of design allowables.

Self-motivated with strong organizational, written, and oral communication skills.

Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively with design and operations teams to deliver high-value results.

Experience with using text-based software development tools (Python or similar).