Project Planner Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

Thanks for your interest in Oklo! We are searching for a Project Planner to join our team.
Position Description
Project Planners at Oklo are responsible for tracking all aspects of ongoing projects including but not limited to: initial charter and project team assignments, specification of deliverables and vendor engagement and selection, project schedule kept to a daily WBS level of detail, project milestones, and regular reporting to leadership. As the hub of project management activity, the project planner must be an excellent communicator and highly effective with vendors, project team members, company leadership, customers, regulating agencies, and other key project stakeholders.
Specific responsibilities may include:
Tracking and reporting of capital and revenue projects:

• Develop and maintain comprehensive project schedules, incorporating work breakdown structures (WBS) and Gantt charts to monitor progress effectively
• Coordinate with project managers to update project milestones and deliverables
• Provide regular reports to leadership, highlighting project status, risks, and opportunities for improvement

Project Team and Stakeholder Communications:

• Facilitate clear and consistent communication among project teams, vendors, and stakeholders to align objectives and expectations
• Ensure that changes to project schedules are communicated promptly, assessing impacts on the critical path and overall project delivery

Financial reporting:

• Work closely with the finance team to monitor project budgets, track expenditures, and forecast financial needs
• Utilize enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems to manage project-related financial data, ensuring accuracy and compliance
• Support the development of financial reports that inform decision-making and strategic planning

Project closeout and deliverable acceptance criteria:

• Coordinate with engineering and quality assurance teams to define and document deliverable acceptance criteria
• Compile and organize project documentation, creating comprehensive records that support knowledge transfer and future project planning
• Lead the project closeout process, ensuring that all objectives are met and lessons learned are captured

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelors in engineering, project management, or related field
• 5+ years of experience in project planning
• Experience with planning on large ($10+ Million) capital projects
• Proficiency in MS Project, SmartSheets, or other project management software tools

Bonus Qualifications:

• PMP or PMI-SP certification
• Familiarity with ERP systems like NetSuite or SAP
• Experience with energy infrastructure projects (design, construction, or commissioning)
• Experience at startups

Competencies
We are looking for a Project Planner that is:

• Experienced in project management within technical or industrial environments
• An effective communicator who can articulate priorities and foster alignment across diverse teams
• Skilled at maintaining schedules and enforcing routines in a creative and fast-paced culture
• Passionate about Oklo's mission to design and deploy advanced fission power plants to provide clean, reliable, and affordable energy
• 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
• An excellent writer who can write in a modern active voice, so please make your cover letter compelling and write it well!

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: $70,000 - $110,000
Oklo offers flexible time off, equity, competitive pay, 401k, health insurance, FSA, flexible work hours, and other benefits.
We are looking to fill this position immediately!
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.
Candidates should be aware that employment may be contingent upon successful completion of a drug screening, and employees may be subject to drug testing at any time in accordance with company policy and applicable laws.
Recruitment Fraud Disclaimer
Oklo is aware of recent recruitment fraud attempts targeting job seekers. Please be cautious of anyone claiming to represent Oklo who does not contact you from an official Oklo email address.
All legitimate communications from our recruiting team- including application updates, interview requests, and job offers - will come exclusively from an @oklo.com email. Oklo will never ask for sensitive personal information, payments, or account credentials during the hiring process.
If you receive suspicious outreach or have concerns about the authenticity of any communication claiming to be from Oklo, please contact us through the official channels listed on our website.