How to apply for Process Engineer - Fuel Recycling

About Oklo

Oklo is a nuclear technology company working on next-generation fast fission technology and nuclear waste recycling. The company's stated goal is clean, reliable, affordable energy, and this role sits directly inside that effort by supporting a fuel recycling facility. Someone might want to work here because the work connects reactor technology with waste reduction rather than treating them as separate problems.

About the role

This is a process engineering role on Oklo's Fuel Recycling team, focused on chemical separation subsystems such as pyroprocessing, off-gas separation, and waste immobilization. The work covers design, prototyping, validation, equipment sizing, process flow sheets, heat and material balances, and P&IDs. The role also serves as a technical lead across multiple lifecycle stages and requires coordination with facility design, unit process equipment design, and licensing teams.

A typical day

A typical day likely involves running or reviewing process simulations, updating heat and material balances, and revising P&IDs for a separation subsystem. The role also involves meetings with facility design, equipment design, and licensing teams, plus work on test protocols or prototype equipment. The exact daily rhythm is not described in the posting, so ask about team structure and how remote work is coordinated.

Who Oklo is looking for

• Has hands-on process engineering experience with chemical separation systems, ideally in nuclear, pyroprocessing, or hazardous chemical environments.
• Can build and validate process simulations, heat and material balances, and P&IDs, and translate them into equipment specifications and instrument process data specifications.
• Has experience defining system and unit process requirements, performance criteria, and test protocols, then prototyping and operating test systems to refine designs.
• Can serve as a technical lead through design, fabrication, installation, commissioning, operation, and maintenance stages while working with licensing and facility design teams.

Tips for this application

• Map your resume directly to the listed responsibilities: process flow sheets, heat and material balances, P&IDs, equipment sizing, instrument process data specifications, and validation methodologies.
• Name your process simulation tools explicitly, since the job description calls out process simulation tools but does not list them.
• If you have pyroprocessing, off-gas separation, or waste immobilization experience, put it in the first third of your resume because those are the named subsystems.
• Show any experience working with regulatory or licensing requirements, since the role involves developing systems that meet facility and regulatory requirements.
• Because this is a remote US role, state your location and confirm you can work in the US; do not assume the employer will infer it.

What to cover in your cover letter

Cover the specific subsystems you have worked on, such as pyroprocessing, off-gas separation, or waste immobilization. Describe a time you defined unit process requirements and validation methods, not just operated equipment. Explain how you have used process simulation to produce heat and material balances and flow sheets. Address your ability to act as a technical lead across lifecycle stages, including commissioning or operations support.

Research before applying

• Read Oklo's public material on its fast fission technology and its stated approach to recycling nuclear waste, so you can connect your work to the facility's purpose.
• Look up what pyroprocessing is and how it differs from aqueous reprocessing, since it is named as a possible subsystem.
• Check whether Oklo has published anything about its fuel recycling facility plans, licensing status, or site locations.
• Find out what process simulation tools Oklo lists in other engineering job postings, since this posting does not name them.

Likely interview topics

Based on the job description, expect questions about:

• Walk through a chemical separation subsystem you designed or validated, including how you set performance criteria and test protocols.
• How do you build a heat and material balance for a new unit process, and which simulation tools do you use?
• Describe your experience with pyroprocessing, off-gas separation, or waste immobilization. Which of these have you worked on directly?
• How have you handled regulatory or licensing requirements in a process design, and how did that change the design?
• Tell us about a time you served as technical lead from design through commissioning or operations. What broke and how did you fix it?

Common mistakes to avoid

• Applying with a generic process engineering resume that does not mention chemical separation, pyroprocessing, off-gas, or waste immobilization.
• Listing process simulation experience without naming the software or the type of balances and flow sheets produced.
• Ignoring the licensing and regulatory side of the role, which appears in both the responsibilities and the requirements.