Project Quality Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

Thanks for your interest in Oklo! We are searching for a Project Quality Assurance Manager to support our project quality assurance, EPC, construction, procurement, manufacturing, records, and operations-readiness activities.

Position Description

The Project Quality Assurance Manager supports the planning, implementation, oversight, and closeout of project quality assurance activities for Oklo EPC, construction, internal procurement, procurement receipt, manufacturing, document control, records, turnover, and operations-readiness work.

This role helps ensure project work is planned, documented, verified, and completed in accordance with Oklo standards, licensing commitments, quality assurance requirements, contractual obligations, safety expectations, and applicable site and regulatory requirements. The role translates NQA-1, DOE Order 414.1D, 10 CFR 50 Appendix B aligned quality principles, commercial grade dedication expectations, procurement quality requirements, and project-specific requirements into practical execution plans.

This position serves as a key quality coordination and oversight point between Oklo, EPC contractors, vendors, subcontractors, suppliers, consultants, and internal stakeholders including Engineering, Procurement, Supply Chain, Manufacturing, Construction, Project Controls, Quality Assurance, Document Control, Records Management, Safety, Security, Regulatory, and Operations teams.

Success in this role requires strong quality judgment, field awareness, document and records discipline, supplier and procurement quality experience, construction execution awareness, sound decision-making, and the ability to proactively identify and escalate quality, documentation, turnover, and operations-readiness risks before they affect safety, quality, cost, schedule, licensing, or project milestones.

Specific responsibilities may include:

• Develop, implement, and maintain project-level Quality Assurance Plans, procedures, inspection and test plan expectations, audit and surveillance plans, and quality records requirements for EPC, construction, procurement, receipt, manufacturing, turnover, and operations-readiness activities.
• Translate licensing, quality program, NQA-1, DOE Order 414.1D, 10 CFR 50 Appendix B aligned, code, contractual, and project requirements into clear, executable instructions for project teams, EPC contractors, suppliers, and internal Oklo teams.
• Develop and maintain quality requirements for QL-1 and other quality-significant structures, systems, components, materials, services, and construction activities, including acceptance criteria, verification methods, objective evidence, traceability, and required hold or witness points.
• Develop the care, custody, and control transfer plan from EPC and construction contractors to Oklo so Oklo can accept assets, preserve configuration control, and take the project into operations.
• Define handover and operational-readiness criteria, including system boundaries, turnover scope, asset ownership, equipment preservation, punch-list closure, open item control, walkdowns, acceptance reviews, completion statements, and required records before Oklo assumes operations.
• Develop internal Oklo procurement quality plans in accordance with applicable licensing, quality, technical, commercial grade dedication, supplier quality, and project requirements.
• Define required procurement documentation for Oklo-issued procurements, including quality clauses, supplier documentation requirements, certificates of conformance, material traceability, inspection and test documentation, critical characteristics, deviations, and turnover records.
• Develop the internal plan for procurement receipt, receipt inspection, material acceptance, storage, preservation, release for manufacturing or construction, and disposition of nonconforming or suspect/counterfeit items.
• Develop quality documentation and records requirements for Oklo manufacturing, assembly, fabrication, modification, inspection, testing, final acceptance, and release activities.
• Ensure procurement, receipt, manufacturing, construction, and turnover processes are aligned with Document Control, Records Management, Engineering, Procurement, Supply Chain, Manufacturing, Operations, and Quality Assurance expectations.
• Provide QA oversight of construction execution, including work package readiness, field implementation, inspections, surveillances, walkdowns, testing, commissioning support, issue resolution, turnover, and project closeout.
• Review drawings, specifications, procedures, work packages, procurement documents, RFIs, submittals, technical questions, inspection plans, and quality records for alignment with applicable requirements.
• Manage and streamline project corrective action processes, including condition reports, nonconformances, audit findings, root or apparent cause evaluations, corrective actions, effectiveness reviews, and lessons learned.
• Create and maintain metrics, logs, trackers, dashboards, and reports for QA performance, document and records completion, procurement and manufacturing documentation status, supplier issues, audit and surveillance findings, and care, custody, and control readiness.
• Plan and execute audits and surveillances of project activities, EPC contractors, suppliers, internal procurements, receipt inspection, manufacturing activities, construction execution, document control, and quality records.
• Support supplier qualification, supplier audits, supplier surveillance, supplier performance monitoring, receipt inspection requirements, and commercial grade dedication implementation.
• Coordinate with Engineering, Procurement, Supply Chain, Manufacturing, Construction, Operations, Regulatory, Safety, Security, Document Control, Records Management, EPC contractors, and suppliers to resolve quality issues and maintain project alignment.
• Provide indoctrination and training for project staff on the QA program, procurement quality expectations, document control, records, construction quality, corrective action, turnover, and care, custody, and control requirements.
• Manage, mentor, coach, and develop QA professionals assigned to project, construction, supplier, procurement, document control, manufacturing, and turnover activities.
• Maintain confidentiality and security of sensitive and export-controlled information (ECI) and escalate project quality risks, documentation gaps, licensing and QA alignment issues, handover-readiness risks, and other items that may affect safety, quality, cost, schedule, compliance, or operations readiness.

Minimum Qualifications:

• 8 years of relevant quality assurance, project quality, construction quality, supplier quality, procurement quality, manufacturing quality, document control, records management, nuclear facility, DOE, EPC, or regulated project experience.
• Experience implementing quality assurance requirements in DOE, nuclear, high-hazard, national laboratory, commercial nuclear, defense, aerospace, industrial, or other regulated project environments.
• Working knowledge of DOE Order 414.1D, NQA-1, and quality program principles aligned with 10 CFR 50 Appendix B.
• Experience developing or implementing project-level Quality Assurance Plans, procedures, surveillance plans, audit plans, inspection plans, corrective action processes, or quality records requirements.
• Experience supporting EPC or construction execution, including work planning, inspections, surveillances, nonconformance resolution, requirements verification, turnover, closeout, or operational readiness.
• Experience supporting procurement quality, supplier quality, supplier documentation, receipt inspection, manufacturing documentation, commercial grade dedication, document control, records management, or quality-affecting material acceptance activities.
• Experience leading, mentoring, training, or supervising quality professionals, project personnel, or cross-functional teams.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to write clear requirements, procedures, reports, corrective actions, and management updates.
• Proficiency with common business, collaboration, document-management, and project tools, including Microsoft Office/Teams, Google Workspace, Adobe Acrobat Pro, Zoom, Slack, Confluence, Jira, SharePoint, or similar platforms.
• Ability to work effectively in a remote, cloud-based, office-based, and site-based project environment and travel to Oklo offices, project sites, EPC locations, supplier facilities, manufacturing locations, and construction sites as required.
• Ability to satisfy applicable project site access, safety training, security, background, export-control, and onboarding requirements; U.S. citizenship required.

Bonus Qualifications:

• Managing or supporting project quality assurance activities on EPC, capital construction, industrial, energy, DOE, nuclear, or other complex regulated infrastructure projects.
• Developing and implementing Project Quality Assurance Plans, quality procedures, inspection plans, surveillance plans, audit plans, corrective action processes, and records turnover requirements.
• Establishing care, custody, and control transfer plans, asset handover criteria, system turnover expectations, operational readiness criteria, and final acceptance requirements.
• Developing internal procurement quality plans, procurement quality clauses, supplier documentation requirements, receipt inspection requirements, and manufacturing documentation requirements.
• Supporting procurement receipt, material acceptance, storage, preservation, suspect/counterfeit item controls, release for use, and documentation required for quality-significant items.
• Supporting QL-1, safety-related, safety-significant, quality-significant, or other high-consequence structures, systems, components, materials, services, or construction activities.
• Performing QA oversight of construction execution, work package readiness, field implementation, inspections, surveillances, walkdowns, testing, commissioning support, turnover, and closeout.
• Supporting supplier qualification, supplier audits, supplier surveillance, supplier performance monitoring, commercial grade dedication, source inspection, receipt inspection, and supplier corrective actions.
• Maintaining alignment between drawings, specifications, procedures, RFIs, submittals, TQs, NCRs, inspection records, manufacturing records, procurement records, redlines, as-builts, punch items, and turnover deliverables.
• Providing QA indoctrination, training, coaching, mentoring, and leadership for project-level staff or quality professionals.
• Using document management, project management, quality management, and collaboration systems such as SharePoint, InEight, Procore, Bluebeam, Microsoft Project, Primavera P6, Smartsheet, M-Files, Confluence, Jira, or similar platforms.
• Experience with DOE Order 414.1D, NQA-1, 10 CFR 50 Appendix B aligned quality programs, nuclear facility construction, high-hazard work, national laboratory projects, DOE/NNSA projects, DOE Q clearance, or lead auditor credentials.

Competencies

We are looking for a Project Quality Assurance Manager that is:

• Strong knowledge of project quality assurance in EPC, construction, procurement, supplier quality, manufacturing, and regulated project environments.
• Ability to translate licensing and QA program requirements into practical execution plans, procedures, records requirements, and field expectations.
• Working knowledge of DOE Order 414.1D, NQA-1, and 10 CFR 50 Appendix B aligned quality principles.
• Strong understanding of document control, quality records, records turnover, objective evidence, configuration control, and operational handover expectations.
• Ability to develop care, custody, and control transfer criteria from EPC or construction contractors to Oklo Operations.
• Ability to develop procurement, receipt, manufacturing, and turnover documentation plans that satisfy licensing and quality requirements.
• Strong attention to detail with a high standard for accuracy, completeness, traceability, and retrievability of quality records.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to coordinate effectively across multiple teams and stakeholders.
• Ability to coordinate across engineering, procurement, supply chain, manufacturing, construction, quality, safety, project controls, operations, document control, records management, contractors, vendors, and site stakeholders.
• Analytical and logical problem-solving abilities with sound judgment, field awareness, and critical-thinking skills.
• Ability to work independently while following established procedures, escalating issues appropriately, and maintaining accountability for assigned responsibilities.
• Proactive, collaborative, and solution-oriented approach with a passion for clean energy and advanced nuclear technology.

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 wh...