Chief Engineer, Product Engineering

About Aalo Atomics Aalo Atomics is pioneering a new era in clean energy with factory-fabricated microreactors designed to deliver affordable, scalable, and reliable nuclear power. Our mission is to make nuclear energy globally accessible, starting with the Aalo-1, a 10 MWe reactor leveraging cutting-edge safety, modularity, and efficiency. Based in Austin, TX, we’re rapidly growing as we work to deploy the world’s first fleet of advanced microreactors. Join us and help revolutionize energy for a sustainable future. About the role The Chief Engineer of Product Engineering is the senior-most technical leader for every module that leaves the Austin factory floor. The role exists at the point where designs become hardware. From the close of Preliminary Design through Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT) and shipment to the site, the Chief Engineer is accountable for every reactor module that Aalo delivers, every drawing released for manufacturing, and the technical content of the FSAR (NRC) or DSA (DOE) safety submittal that closes Final Design. The Chief Engineer leads all Heads of Product Lines across the reactor: Fuel and Core, Reactor, Steam Generator, Turbine Generator, Electrical, Instrumentation and Control, Refueling, and Artificial Intelligence. Each Module Owner is a senior technical leader for their system. The Chief Engineer holds them, and is held by leadership, to one standard: complete modules, fabricated and tested in Austin, shipped on schedule, and ready to commission. This is a deeply hands-on role. We expect the Chief Engineer to be on the factory floor every day, reading drawings, watching hardware come together, and resolving technical questions in person. We are looking for a leader in the tradition of the great chief engineers of American industry: someone who owns the program, sets the standard, and ships. What you'll own End-to-End Lifecycle : The engineering process from Preliminary Design exit gate through Final Design closure. Technical Matrix : Leadership of all Module Owners and their teams across the seven reactor product lines. Configuration Control : The drawing release system, strictly enforcing the rule that drawings must be fully released to authorize manufacturing. Manufacturing Package : The integrated Bill of Materials (BOM), work instructions, fixturing, and assembly plans for every module. Factory Verification : Factory Acceptance Test (FAT) protocols, execution, and pass/fail criteria. Logistics Engineering : Module transportation plans from Austin to the project site. Commissioning Handover : Technical commissioning test plans handed over to the site deployment team. Safety Submittals : Technical authorship and defense of the FSAR or DSA submittal at Final Design closure. Regulatory Compliance : Engineering input to the safety basis, licensing submittals, and regulator interactions in close partnership with Regulatory Affairs. Core Responsibilities Executive Leadership & Culture Talent Management : Lead, develop, and hold accountable the Heads of all reactor Product Lines. Team Scaling : Recruit, mentor, and retain the elite engineering leaders required to scale from a first-of-a-kind (FOAK) reactor to a fleet of factory-built reactors. Culture Carrier : Drive an organizational culture of extreme ownership and first-principles thinking across all engineering teams. First-Principles Execution : Enforce a rigid design philosophy: delete before optimize, optimize before accelerate, and accelerate before automate. Process Governance & Schedule Ownership Lifecycle Governance : Set and enforce the engineering process, cadence, and phase gates for all product development cycles. Schedule Defense : Own the integrated schedule for Product Engineering deliverables and defend it to the company, the customer, and the regulator. Requirement Scrubbing : Question every requirement placed on our designs and processes—including those handed down from senior leadership—and ruthlessly remove those that do not