Project Quality Engineer Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

Thanks for your interest in Oklo!  We are searching for a Quality Engineer to provide technical quality engineering support for materials, pressure-retaining components, supplier activities, and ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code compliance, and to help ensure that items and services are specified, procured, tested, documented, and accepted with the rigor needed to support safe and reliable nuclear projects.

Position Description

The Quality Engineer will serve as a technical quality resource for the implementation and execution of Oklo's Quality Assurance Program in accordance with ASME NQA-1, ANSI/ANS-15.8, applicable ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code requirements, contractual and regulatory requirements, and Oklo procedures. This role will work closely with Engineering, Procurement, Supplier Quality, Project Quality, suppliers, laboratories, and fabrication organizations to translate code and material requirements into practical controls; verify material specifications and test requirements; review and manage certified material test reports; support material traceability and special process controls; and develop a robust Certifying Engineer Program. The successful candidate will be a hands-on quality engineer who can interpret complex technical requirements, evaluate objective evidence, resolve material and certification issues, and make clear, defensible quality decisions in a fast-paced, highly regulated environment.

Specific responsibilities may include:

• Support the implementation, maintenance, assessment, and continuous improvement of quality engineering controls in accordance with ASME NQA-1, ANSI/ANS-15.8, applicable ASME BPVC requirements, project specifications, contractual commitments, and Oklo procedures.
• Serve as a technical quality resource for ASME BPVC matters; guide cross-functional discussions on applicable Code requirements, material and fabrication provisions, Code Cases, certification expectations, and the practical application of those requirements to Oklo items and services.
• Review drawings, design specifications, procurement specifications, requisitions, purchase orders, and supplier documents to verify that applicable Code, material, testing, inspection, documentation, traceability, and quality assurance requirements are clearly identified and effectively flowed down.
• Ensure materials conform to applicable ASME, ASTM, SA/SB, and project specifications by verifying material grade, product form, dimensions, condition, heat treatment, chemical composition, mechanical properties, supplementary requirements, identification, marking, and heat or lot traceability.
• Establish, administer, and continuously improve the certified material test report program, including receipt, logging, technical review, approval status, discrepancy control, linkage to procured items, retention, retrieval, and turnover of CMTRs and supporting material records.
• Analyze CMTRs, material test reports, certificates of conformance, laboratory reports, heat-treatment records, NDE reports, and related objective evidence for completeness, authenticity, traceability, specification compliance, and consistency with purchase-order and design requirements.
• Provide technical guidance on material testing and acceptance strategies, including chemical analysis, positive material identification, tensile testing, impact testing, hardness testing, metallography, corrosion testing, nondestructive examination, and pressure or leak testing, as applicable; define acceptance criteria, sampling bases, witness or hold points, and qualified laboratory expectations.
• Develop, implement, and maintain a Certifying Engineer Program that defines responsibilities, authority, independence, competency requirements, training, qualification, authorization, periodic requalification, performance monitoring, records, and escalation expectations for personnel certifying technical compliance.
• Perform or coordinate technical reviews supporting Certifying Engineer decisions and verify that certifications are based on complete and accurate objective evidence, unresolved discrepancies are appropriately controlled, and approval authority is exercised independently and consistently.
• Support qualification, evaluation, and oversight of material organizations, ASME certificate holders, component manufacturers, fabricators, testing laboratories, heat-treatment providers, NDE organizations, and other suppliers performing work that affects material or pressure-boundary quality.
• Provide quality engineering oversight of special processes, including welding, brazing, heat treatment, nondestructive examination, forming, machining, cleaning, coating, and other controlled fabrication activities; review procedures, personnel qualifications, process qualifications, essential variables, and resulting records for compliance.
• Develop and maintain inspection and test plans, quality requirement matrices, material control and traceability procedures, receiving inspection criteria, surveillance plans, review checklists, and hold or witness points that translate technical requirements into clear and verifiable acceptance activities.
• Participate in design, procurement, supplier, fabrication, and readiness reviews to identify Code interfaces, material risks, testing needs, acceptance methods, documentation requirements, and quality controls early enough to prevent rework, delays, or loss of traceability.
• Evaluate nonconformance reports, deviations, substitutions, and material discrepancies; support technically sound dispositions, root cause and extent-of-condition evaluations, corrective actions, and effectiveness reviews; and verify that approved dispositions are properly implemented and documented.
• Support commercial grade dedication activities for materials and components, as applicable, by helping identify critical characteristics, acceptance criteria, verification methods, sampling plans, traceability needs, and the objective evidence required to provide reasonable assurance of performance.
• Help prevent and identify counterfeit, fraudulent, and suspect items by recognizing irregularities in material certifications, test results, markings, traceability, supplier documentation, and chain of custody, and by ensuring potential concerns are controlled, evaluated, escalated, and reported.
• Perform or support audits, surveillances, assessments, source inspections, and technical evaluations; evaluate objective evidence, document findings and observations, verify corrective action closure, and ensure quality records are complete, legible, accurate, traceable, retrievable, and maintained in approved systems.
• Develop metrics, status reports, trend analyses, technical guidance, and training related to Code compliance, material acceptance, CMTR review, testing, supplier performance, and Certifying Engineer activities; communicate risks and recommended actions clearly to Engineering, Procurement, Quality, project leadership, suppliers, and other stakeholders.

Minimum Qualifications:

• 7+ years of progressively responsible quality engineering, materials engineering, supplier quality, inspection, testing, fabrication, or related experience in nuclear energy, Department of Energy work, ASME Code construction, or another highly regulated and technically complex environment.
• Bachelor's degree in materials, metallurgical, mechanical, nuclear, chemical, or another relevant engineering discipline, or an equivalent combination of education, technical training, and directly applicable experience.
• Strong working knowledge of the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code and demonstrated ability to interpret and apply applicable material, fabrication, examination, testing, documentation, and certification requirements to procurement and supplier activities.
• Strong working knowledge of ASME NQA-1 and/or ANSI/ANS-15.8, including procurement control, document control, item identification and control, special processes, inspection, testing, measuring and test equipment, nonconformance, corrective action, records, and audits.
• Demonstrated experience reviewing CMTRs and material certifications and evaluating chemical composition, mechanical properties, heat treatment, supplementary requirements, material identification, traceability, laboratory results, and specification compliance.
• Experience with supplier quality oversight, material testing, welding or other special processes, inspection planning, nonconformance control, corrective action, and maintenance of complete and traceable quality records.
• Ability to work remotely and travel to Oklo, supplier, laboratory, fabrication, and project locations as business needs require, with the communication skills and professional judgment needed to lead technical discussions and make defensible quality decisions

Bonus Qualifications:

• Experience applying ASME BPVC Section II and Section III material and certification requirements, including advanced reactor or Division 5 applications, NCA-3800/NCA-3900 controls, applicable Code Cases, or related nuclear pressure-boundary requirements.
• Experience developing or administering a Certifying Engineer, responsible engineer, technical qualification, or authorization program, including competency evaluation, training, qualification records, periodic requalification, and performance monitoring.
• Professional Engineer licensure or an applicable certification such as ASQ Certified Quality Engineer, ASQ Certified Quality Auditor, AWS Certified Welding Inspector, NDE Level II or III, or another recognized materials, welding, inspection, or quality credential.
• Familiarity with 10 CFR 50 Appendix B, 10 CFR Part 21, DOE Order 414.1D, commercial grade dedication, ISO/IEC 17025, ASTM material standards, suspect or counterfeit item controls, or other requirements used in nuclear procurement and fabrication.
• Experience with electronic quality management systems, enterprise resource planning or product lifecycle management systems, material traceability databases, digital CMTR workflows, supplier portals, document control platforms, and quality metrics or data visualization.

Competencies

We are looking for a high-energy quality engineer who has a thorough understanding of:

• ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code structure and application, including material specifications, certification, fabrication, examination, testing, documentation, Code interfaces, and the use of applicable Code Cases and referenced standards.
• Materials engineering fundamentals, including metallurgy, product forms, manufacturing processes, heat treatment, chemical and mechanical properties, degradation mechanisms, testing methods, sampling, and acceptance criteria.
• Certified material test report review and material traceability, including heat and lot identification, specification editions, supplementary requirements, test result evaluation, record authenticity, discrepancy resolution, and linkage of records to installed or delivered items.
• ASME NQA-1 and ANSI/ANS-15.8 quality assurance requirements and how they are translated into practical controls for design, procurement, supplier activities, item control, special processes, inspection, testing, nonconformance, corrective action, records, and audits.
• Procurement and supplier quality controls, including supplier qualification, purchase-order quality clauses, source surveillance, laboratory oversight, receiving inspection, material control, documentation review, supplier performance monitoring, and final data packages.
• Special process and fabrication controls for welding, brazing, heat treatment, nondestructive examination, forming, machining, cleaning, coating, and pressure or leak testing, including procedure, personnel, equipment, and qualification requirements.
• Technical qualification and certification programs, including competency models, independence, authority, training, examinations, authorization, requalification, performance monitoring, records, and disciplined escalation of unresolved technical issues.
• Nonconformance control, technical dispositions, root cause analysis, extent of condition, corrective action, effectiveness review, commercial grade dedication, counterfeit or suspect item prevention, and risk-based quality decision-making.
• Clear technical communication, professional challenge, sound engineering judgment, attention to detail, cross-functional collaboration, training, conflict resolution, and the ability to influence employees, suppliers, laboratories, contractors, and senior leaders.

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 eve...