Deputy General Counsel

POSITION DESCRIPTION:

The Deputy General Counsel (DGC) will play a pivotal role in supporting all legal matters affecting the company. Reporting directly to the Chief Legal Officer, the DGC will collaborate closely with senior leadership to provide legal counsel, manage the legal department, and address a wide range of legal and compliance questions, particularly those related to power generation, power purchase agreements, entity structures, labor law, and securities law.

The DGC will have a broad range of responsibilities, including drafting and negotiating commercial agreements, supporting merger and acquisition transactions, overseeing litigation, and collaborating with outside counsel. A significant aspect of the role will involve partnering with internal and external business leaders to align legal strategies with Oklo’s goals, while fostering the company’s innovative and entrepreneurial culture.

SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Act as a legal advisor and partner to the CLO and the senior leadership team.
• Develop and implement legal strategies in alignment with Oklo’s business objectives.
• Oversee and negotiate complex commercial contracts, including power purchase agreements and vendor agreements.
• Provide legal guidance on compliance, risk management, and regulatory matters, particularly in the nuclear and renewable power sectors.
• Support and lead the company’s legal efforts in mergers, acquisitions, financing transactions, and shareholder relations.
• Collaborate with external counsel to manage corporate transactions and litigation matters.
• Ensure compliance with corporate governance, including Board of Directors meetings and governance-related matters, and act as Corporate Secretary as needed.
• Manage legal budgets and select external legal vendors.
• Support the protection and management of Oklo’s intellectual property, including patents, trademarks, and copyrights.
• Provide counsel on employment law and collaborate with People Operations on workforce matters.
• Support the company’s compliance programs and code of ethics, working closely with finance and HR leadership.
• Ensure that Oklo’s staff receive training as needed to ensure compliance with relevant legal and regulatory standards.
• Evaluate the legal department’s performance and implement strategies to improve its effectiveness.
• Manage and mentor any assigned legal department staff, including hiring, training, and performance evaluations.
• Respond promptly and accurately to requests from the General Counsel, CEO, COO, and other executives.
• Contribute to special projects as assigned and take on other duties as required.

MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Lead and manage a team within the legal department, including external legal resources and contractors.
• Oversee the direction and coordination of work, set expectations, and monitor delegated activities.
• Provide leadership, mentoring, and regular feedback to team members.
• Address issues, manage conflicts, and resolve problems in collaboration with senior leadership.

KEY COMPETENCIES:

• Analytical Acumen: Ability to synthesize complex legal and business information and provide actionable insights.
• Problem Solving: Strong skills in identifying, addressing, and resolving legal challenges efficiently.
• Communication: Clear and effective communicator, capable of providing concise legal advice and presenting to diverse audiences.
• Leadership: Inspires and motivates others, accepts constructive feedback, and fosters a collaborative work environment.
• Judgment: Exhibits sound judgment in making decisions and demonstrates the ability to act decisively when required.
• Strategic Thinking: Ability to align legal strategy with business goals and operational execution.
• Organizational Skills: Capable of managing multiple priorities, utilizing time efficiently, and developing realistic plans.

EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE:

• Juris Doctor (JD) from an accredited law school and active bar membership in the relevant jurisdiction.
• 7+ years of experience practicing law, with a focus on corporate and commercial matters.
• Proven track record in managing legal teams and handling complex transactions in a fast-paced environment.
• Demonstrated ability to provide strategic counsel and navigate legal challenges in a startup or rapidly evolving company.

ABOUT YOU:

• Entrepreneurial Spirit: You thrive in a startup environment, enjoy challenges, and are driven by innovation and problem-solving.
• Collaborative Team Player: You work well in teams, contributing positively without ego and supporting colleagues to achieve shared goals.
• Creative Thinker: You bring fresh ideas and can develop novel solutions to complex legal and business challenges.
• Detail-Oriented: You pay attention to the fine details that drive consistency, quality, and success.

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS:

• Salary: $230,000-320,000 contingent on experience
• Equity opportunities, 401k, health insurance, flexible paid time off, and more.
• Flexible work hours and a collaborative, innovative environment.

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.

Minimum Qualifications:

• [If you have experience and expertise in reactor design, apply!  We also think the following are good indicators of qualifications to do this job: Bachelors, Masters, or PhD in a technical field, such as nuclear engineering, with experience in reactor design and analysis (Masters or PhD may be preferable)]
• [Fluency with Python]
• [Experience with modern object oriented languages, preferably C++]
• [Proficiency with high performance computing systems]
• [Experience with fast reactor design and analysis is highly recommended]
• [Proficiency with MCNP and SERPENT is highly recommended]
• [Proficiency with DIF3D, REBUS, … is recommended]

About Oklo compensation:

Oklo offers flexible time off, equity, competitive pay, 401k, health insurance, FSA, flexible work hours, and other benefits.

[We are looking to fill this position immediately!]

About Oklo Inc.: Oklo is a California-based company developing clean energy plants to provide emission-free, reliable, and affordable energy using advanced fission. Oklo is a fast-growing startup with a history of reliable funding and milestones for more than 5 years.  Oklo’s first product is a microgrid scale powerhouse. The powerhouse can produce clean energy for decades without needing to refuel, and also has the capability to turn nuclear waste into clean energy.

Oklo received a Site Use Permit from the U.S Department of Energy, demonstrated fabrication of its fuel, was awarded fuel from the Idaho National Laboratory, and submitted the first accepted advanced fission license application to the regulator.

Oklo has been featured in Popular Mechanics, Wired, Architectural Digest, Hyperallergic, POWER Magazine, has been the subject of a Harvard Business School case, and was featured in the documentary The New Fire, among many other features.