Vice President Operations Jobs in Washington (NOW HIRING)

The Nuclear Company is the fastest growing AI tech-enabled startup in the nuclear and energy space, pioneering a fleet-scale approach to building the next generation of nuclear reactors. Through our design-once, build-many model, we're accelerating the deployment of safe, reliable, and affordable nuclear energy.
We operate with an AI-first mindset. Every employee is expected to leverage AI, technology, and the Nuclear Operating System (NOS) as integral components of their role to improve the quality, speed, and impact of their work. We expect every team member to continuously identify opportunities to automate workflows, enhance decision-making, improve processes, and contribute to the ongoing evolution of NOS as a strategic operating capability that enables The Nuclear Company to scale with excellence.
We hire people who are driven by purpose, thrive in ambiguity, and are energized by building what has never been built before. Our team combines intellectual curiosity with high agency, embraces candid feedback and continuous learning, and holds themselves and others to exceptional standards. Our values-Transparency, Responsibility, Unity, Scrappiness, and Tenacity-guide how we hire, collaborate, and make decisions every day. They are not words on a wall; they are the standard by which we operate. TRUST is the foundation of our safety culture, fostering intellectual honesty, accountability, and open communication, while our values challenge every team member to execute with urgency, humility, resilience, and an unwavering commitment to our mission.
About the role
The Senior Vice President, Operations is TNC's fleet-level owner of nuclear plant operations from fuel load through the full operating life of each facility. This is TNC's first operations hire and one of the most important the company will make. The person who takes this role is not joining an existing operating organization - they are building it.
TNC's Build-Own-Operate model is only as credible as TNC's operating capability. Investors, regulators, offtakers, and partners will assess TNC's long-term viability based in large part on whether TNC can field a world-class operating organization. The SVP, Operations is the person who builds that organization - establishing the nuclear safety culture, the operating standards, the staffing model, and the regulatory posture that will govern TNC's plants for decades.
This role has two equally important mandates. The first is internal - build TNC's operating organization, receive plants from the Deployment team at fuel load, and operate them safely, reliably, and efficiently over their full licensed life. The second is external - develop and deliver operational readiness services and planning support for partners and utilities who are building their own operating organizations or planning to operate their own facilities. These two mandates reinforce each other: TNC's internal operating excellence is the proof point that makes the external services credible.
TNC's development-to-operations pipeline moves through three sequential phases. This role enters during the commissioning and fuel load phase - working alongside the SVP, Deployment during the handoff period - and then owns the plant from commercial operation through end of life. The fuel load handoff is not a single event; it is a managed transition with shared accountability and defined milestones.
As TNC's organizational structure matures and the company scales, reporting lines may be adjusted to reflect evolving business needs - the scope and accountabilities of this role are not contingent on any single reporting structure.
Responsibilities
Operations Organization Build
The most urgent mandate of this role is building TNC's operating organization before it is needed. Operating organizations take years to build, qualify, and license. The time to start is now.

• Design and build TNC's nuclear operating organization from the ground up - defining the structure, staffing model, qualification requirements, and training program that will allow TNC to receive and operate its first plant at fuel load.

• Establish TNC's nuclear safety culture from the first hire - the operating culture that takes root in the early days of organization-building is the culture that governs plant safety for the life of the facility. This is not a compliance exercise; it is the foundation of everything TNC does as an operator.

• Develop the operating staffing plan for TNC's lead project - identifying the number, qualifications, and timeline for licensed and non-licensed operating staff required to support fuel load and initial commercial operations.

• Coordinate with the SVP, Regulatory Affairs, Quality & Training on the training program for TNC's operating organization - operator qualification, simulator training, and ongoing training program development are a shared accountability between Operations and the regulatory/training function.

• Establish TNC's operating procedures program - emergency operating procedures, abnormal operating procedures, and normal operating procedures are the foundation of licensed operations. These must be in place and validated before fuel load.

Fuel Load Handoff & Initial Operations
Receiving the plant from the Deployment team at fuel load is one of the most complex transitions in the nuclear lifecycle. The SVP, Operations owns TNC's readiness for that transition.

• Engage during commissioning alongside the SVP, Deployment - ensuring the operating organization is ready to receive the plant, that all pre-operational testing is complete, and that the plant's technical documentation is sufficient to support licensed operations.

• Own the fuel load readiness assessment - confirming that TNC's operating organization, procedures, staffing, and NRC authorizations are in place before fuel load is authorized. The SVP, Operations does not accept a plant that is not ready to operate.

• Manage the NRC pre-operational inspection program in coordination with the SVP, Regulatory Affairs, Quality & Training - ensuring TNC's operating organization meets all NRC requirements for initial fuel load and plant startup.

• Lead the initial startup program through initial criticality and power ascension testing to commercial operation - the most consequential operational sequence TNC will execute on each project.

Fleet Operations Management

• Own long-term safe, reliable, and efficient operation of TNC's plants across the full operating fleet - capacity factor, unplanned scrams, corrective action program performance, and INPO evaluation results are the primary metrics by which operations performance is measured.

• Own the outage management program across TNC's operating fleet - refueling outages, forced outages, and major maintenance outages are the highest-risk and highest-cost events in the operating lifecycle. Outage performance is a direct measure of operational maturity.

• Maintain TNC's operating licenses across all facilities - coordinating with the SVP, Regulatory Affairs, Quality & Training on license renewals, technical specification changes, and NRC inspection readiness. The operating license is TNC's most valuable single asset at each site.

• Engage with INPO and WANO as TNC's senior operations representative - TNC will seek INPO accreditation for its training program and will participate fully in the industry peer evaluation process. INPO performance is not a compliance exercise; it is the industry's benchmark for operating excellence.

• Develop operating performance metrics and report to the President/CNO on a regular cadence - capacity factor, safety system performance, corrective action program health, and outage performance. The CNO should never be surprised by operating performance.

Operational Readiness Services - External Partners
TNC's operating capability is a commercial asset as well as an internal necessity. Partners and utilities who are planning to operate nuclear facilities - whether TNC BOO projects or their own - need expert operational readiness support. TNC is positioned to provide it.

• Develop and deliver operational readiness advisory services for partners and utilities who are building their own operating organizations or planning to operate nuclear facilities - organizational design, staffing model development, procedure program development, training program design, and pre-operational readiness assessments.

• Support partners in developing operational readiness plans for facilities they will eventually operate independently - TNC's role is to transfer capability and build organizational strength in the partner, not to create dependency. The goal is a partner that can operate well on their own, with TNC as a trusted long-term resource.

• Coordinate with the SVP, Nuclear Services on the commercial boundary for operational readiness services - Nuclear Services BD owns the client relationship and commercial origination; SVP, Operations owns the delivery capability and technical execution. The two lanes are coordinated and non-overlapping.

• Build TNC's reputation as the premier operational readiness partner in the US nuclear industry - the quality of TNC's own operating organization is the proof point that makes the external services credible. Internal excellence and external services reinforce each other.

Experience

• 15+ years of progressive leadership experience in nuclear plant operations, with direct senior leadership accountability at a US nuclear generating station - Plant Manager, Vice President of Operations, or equivalent required.

• NRC-licensed Senior Reactor Operator (SRO) or equivalent operating authority experience strongly preferred - deep personal familiarity with the technical and regulatory demands of licensed nuclear operations is a baseline expectation for this role.

• Direct experience building or significantly restructuring a nuclear operating organization - this role requires the judgment and leadership capability to design and build an operations function from scratch, not just inherit and maintain an existing one.

• INPO evaluation experience as a senior executive - direct accountability for plant performance metrics, INPO evaluation outcomes, and corrective action program health at the senior leadership level.

• Experience with nuclear new build, plant restart, or initial fuel load operations strongly preferred - familiarity with the pre-operational testing program, startup sequence, and NRC initial licensing inspection process is a significant advantage.

• Demonstrated nuclear safety culture leadership - a track record of building and sustaining the behavioral standards, corrective action program discipline, and safety conscious work environment that defines top-tier nuclear operating organizations.

• Commercial judgment sufficient to engage credibly with external partners on operational readiness services - this is not purely an internal operations role; the external services mandate requires the ability to represent TNC's capability in commercial and partner conversations.

Benefits

• Competitive compensation packages
• 401k with company match
• Medical, dental, vision plans
• Generous vacation policy, plus holidays

Estimated Starting Salary RangeThe estimated starting salary range for this role is $300,000 - $350,000 annually less applicable withholdings and deductions, paid on a bi-weekly basis. The actual salary offered may vary based on relevant factors as determined in the Company's discretion, which may include experience, qualifications, tenure, skill set, availability of qualified candidates, geographic location, certifications held, and other criteria deemed pertinent to the particular role.
EEO StatementThe Nuclear Company is an equal opportunity employer committed to fostering an environment of inclusion in the workplace. We provide equal employment opportunities to all qualified applicants and employees without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic. We prohibit discrimination in all aspects of employment, including hiring, promotion, demotion, transfer, compensation, and termination.
Export Control
Certain positions at The Nuclear Company may involve access to information and technology subject to export controls under U.S. law. Compliance with these export controls may result in The Nuclear Company limiting its consideration of certain applicants.
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