Civil and Environmental Engineer

Thanks for your interest in Oklo! We are searching for a Civil and Environmental Engineer to join our engineering and deployment team. We are looking to fill this position immediately.

Position Description

Oklo is developing advanced fission power plants to deliver clean, reliable, and affordable energy at scale. As we expand deployment activities, we are looking for a Civil / Environmental Engineer to lead early-stage site development planning and civil infrastructure definition for future Oklo project sites.

In this role, you will own the development of conceptual site layouts, grading and drainage approaches, utility routing concepts, and preliminary civil works packages that support project siting, permitting, estimating, and execution planning. You will work cross-functionally with energy strategy, environmental, construction, operations, and project deployment teams to translate high-level project requirements into practical and buildable site concepts.

This position is ideal for someone who enjoys combining technical engineering judgment with fast-paced project development work and wants to play a foundational role in deploying next-generation clean energy infrastructure.

Specific responsibilities may include:

• Develop conceptual and preliminary site layouts for advanced reactor facilities and supporting infrastructure that includes harmonizing development with natural landscape features and ecological functions

• Design and develop industrial site layouts that integrate sustainability principles, incorporating natural features (e.g., topography, vegetation, drainage patterns) to optimize environmental performance, resilience, and regulatory compliance

• Generate early-stage civil works plans including grading, drainage, access roads, stormwater systems, underground utilities, laydown areas, and construction support facilities

• Support site feasibility studies, constructability evaluations, and site selection efforts

• Prepare estimates on overburden and spoils generated and cost estimates for civil and site development scopes

• Coordinate with environmental, geotechnical, structural, mechanical, electrical, and construction teams to ensure integrated site solutions

• Support permitting and environmental review activities, including coordination with local, state, and federal agencies

• Interface with external engineering firms, EPC partners, surveyors, and geotechnical consultants

• Develop technical specifications, scopes of work, and design criteria for civil engineering activities

• Support development of project schedules and execution strategies for site preparation and construction activities

• Participate in iterative design reviews and continuously refine site concepts as project requirements evolve

• Generate clear technical documentation, reports, drawings, and presentations supporting internal and external stakeholders

• Support construction planning, sequencing, and field execution activities as projects mature

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering, Environmental Engineering, or related discipline

• 5+ years of relevant engineering experience in industrial, energy, infrastructure, environmental, or site development projects

• Experience developing site layouts, grading plans, utility concepts, and civil design packages

• Familiarity with civil engineering design tools such as Civil 3D, AutoCAD, GIS platforms, or equivalent

• Experience preparing conceptual cost estimates and quantity takeoffs

• Understanding of stormwater management, drainage design, and utility coordination

• Familiarity with applicable codes, standards, and permitting processes

• Ability to travel occasionally to project and development sites

• Professional Engineer (PE) license or Engineer in Training (EIT) with expectation of PE certification

Bonus Qualifications

• Experience with nuclear, industrial, energy, or mission-critical infrastructure projects

• Experience supporting environmental permitting or NEPA processes

• Familiarity with geotechnical investigations and site characterization activities

• Experience coordinating with EPC contractors and construction teams

• Experience with construction field engineering or construction management

• Knowledge of DOE, NRC, OSHA, EPA, or state environmental regulations

• Experience working in startup or highly iterative engineering environments

Competencies

We are looking for a Civil / Environmental Engineer that is:

• Experienced in site development, land development, industrial facilities, energy infrastructure, or heavy civil projects

• Passionate about clean energy and infrastructure deployment

• Comfortable owning broad technical scopes in a highly collaborative environment

• Excited to work in a fast-paced, highly iterative startup environment

• Able to balance conceptual thinking with practical execution details

• Willing to think differently and develop creative solutions to infrastructure and site challenges

• Comfortable navigating ambiguity and shifting project priorities

• Highly organized and capable of managing multiple parallel projects

• An excellent communicator capable of presenting technical concepts clearly to multidisciplinary teams

• A strong writer capable of producing concise, thoughtful technical documentation

• Passionate about integrating technical aspects of site layout with aesthetic and natural features

• Understands the importance of balancing technical needs with community acceptance

• Motivated by building first-of-a-kind systems and infrastructure

• Able to optimize first of a kind designs towards Nth of a kind designs by making valid engineering assumptions, identifying common plant elements, and reducing negative space

Who you are:

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. Excellent grammar and spelling matter for both good communication as well as the image of the company that we put forward.

About Oklo travel requirements:

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.

About Oklo compensation:

Salary:$130,000-$180,000

Oklo offers flexible time off, equity, competitive pay, 401k, health insurance, FSA, flexible work hours, and other benefits.

This position may involve access to information subject to U.S. export control laws. Only applicants who meet the definition of a U.S. person under applicable laws may be eligible.

About Oklo Inc.: Oklo Inc. is developing fast fission power plants to deliver clean, reliable, and affordable energy at scale; establishing a domestic supply chain for critical radioisotopes; and advancing nuclear fuel recycling to convert nuclear waste into clean energy. Oklo was the first to receive a site use permit from the U.S. Department of Energy for a commercial advanced fission plant, was awarded fuel material from Idaho National Laboratory, and submitted the first custom combined license application for an advanced reactor to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Oklo is also developing advanced fuel recycling technologies in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy and U.S. National Laboratories.

#CHOP: Oklo’s Values
Collaboration: We go further, together. We bring diverse perspectives, listen actively, and build trust through transparency and respect. We work across disciplines, sharing ownership to turn complex challenges into shared successes.
Humility: We are team players who act for the good of the company and for the world. We are focused on our mission, not personal recognition.
Ownership: We take pride in what we do and how we do it. We are proactive in finding solutions and see tasks through  to completion. We are committed to delivering on our promises to provide clean, reliable, and affordable energy.
Pathfinding: We chart new ground where no path exists by approaching challenges with curiosity, courage, and creativity while navigating ambiguity.