Back to jobs
tags.new

Staff Software Engineer

Washington, DC

The Nuclear Company is the fastest growing startup in the nuclear and energy space creating a never before seen fleet-scale approach to building nuclear reactors. Through its design-once, build-many approach and coalition building across communities, regulators, and financial stakeholders, The Nuclear Company is committed to delivering safe and reliable electricity at the lowest cost, while catalyzing the nuclear industry toward rapid development in America and globally.

About the role

As a Staff Software Engineer, you will serve as a technical leader responsible for architecting and delivering software that powers critical aspects of our nuclear energy platform. You'll work at the intersection of software, engineering, and operations, solving complex problems in a highly regulated environment where reliability and safety are paramount. This role requires both strategic thinking and hands-on execution, with opportunities to influence technical direction, mentor engineers, and drive cross-functional initiatives. Your work will directly contribute to advancing clean, carbon-free energy solutions and shaping the future of the nuclear industry.

Responsibilities

  • Software Design & Development: Lead the design and development of robust, scalable, and high-quality software solutions for critical nuclear energy applications. This includes architecting new features, writing clean and efficient code, and participating in code reviews. 
  • Technical Leadership: Provide technical leadership and guidance to junior and mid-level engineers, mentoring them in best practices for software development, quality, and adherence to industry standards. 
  • System Integration: Work closely with hardware engineers, control systems engineers, and other software teams to ensure seamless integration of software components with physical systems and external interfaces. 
  • Quality & Compliance: Implement and advocate for rigorous software quality assurance practices, including comprehensive testing, debugging, and documentation, ensuring compliance with nuclear industry regulations and internal quality standards. 
  • Performance Optimization: Identify and resolve complex performance issues, ensuring our software operates efficiently and reliably under demanding conditions. 
  • Problem Solving: Tackle challenging technical problems, proposing innovative solutions and driving their implementation from concept to deployment. 
  • Documentation: Create and maintain thorough technical documentation, including design specifications, architecture diagrams, and testing protocols.

Experience

  • Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a closely related technical field.  
  • 7+ years of progressive experience in software development, with a strong portfolio of successfully delivered projects. 
  • Experience developing software for highly regulated, safety-critical, or mission-critical industries (e.g., nuclear, aerospace, defense, medical devices, automotive safety). Direct nuclear industry experience is highly preferred. 
  • Proficiency in one or more relevant programming languages such as JavaScript, TypeScript, or Python. 
  • Demonstrated experience with full software development life cycles (SDLCs), including Agile and Waterfall methodologies. 
  • Strong understanding of software design patterns, data structures, and algorithms. 
  • Experience with version control systems (e.g., Git) and collaborative development workflows. 
  • Expertise in designing and implementing complex software architectures. 
  • Deep understanding of software quality assurance principles and testing methodologies. 
  • Ability to debug and troubleshoot intricate software systems. 
  • Exceptional problem-solving and analytical skills. 
  • Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to articulate technical concepts to diverse audiences. 
  • Ability to work effectively in a collaborative, fast-paced environment. 

Preferred Exerience

  • Experience building offline-capable, air-gapped, or otherwise disconnected applications, and packaging them for constrained or containerized deployment environments. 
  • Hands-on experience integrating third-party physical security systems. 
  • Experience applying AI features & ML models into production workflows. 
  • Exposure to nuclear, critical infrastructure, defense, or physical security domains. 

Benefits

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

Estimated Starting Salary Range
The estimated starting salary range for this role is $150,000 - $173,000 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 Statement
The 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.
 
Recruiting Fraud Alert
Your safety is our priority. We want to ensure your job search stays secure. Please note that the team at The Nuclear Company only communicates through official @thenuclearcompany.com email addresses. We will never ask for payments or sensitive financial information at any stage of our recruitment process. For your peace of mind, please verify all openings and submit your applications directly through our official careers page.

Create a Job Alert

Interested in building your career at The Nuclear Company? Get future opportunities sent straight to your email.

Apply for this job

*

indicates a required field

Resume/CV*

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

Cover Letter

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

Education

Select...
Select...
Select...
Select...
Select...
Select...
Select...
Select...

U.S. Standard Demographic Questions

We invite applicants to share their demographic background. If you choose to complete this survey, your responses may be used to identify areas of improvement in our hiring process.
Select...
Select...
Select...
Select...
Select...
Select...

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey. Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiring process or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in a confidential file.

As set forth in The Nuclear Company’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

Select...
Select...
Race & Ethnicity Definitions

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection. As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measure the effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categories is as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.

Select...

Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability

Form CC-305
Page 1 of 1
OMB Control Number 1250-0005
Expires 04/30/2026

Why are you being asked to complete this form?

We are a federal contractor or subcontractor. The law requires us to provide equal employment opportunity to qualified people with disabilities. We have a goal of having at least 7% of our workers as people with disabilities. The law says we must measure our progress towards this goal. To do this, we must ask applicants and employees if they have a disability or have ever had one. People can become disabled, so we need to ask this question at least every five years.

Completing this form is voluntary, and we hope that you will choose to do so. Your answer is confidential. No one who makes hiring decisions will see it. Your decision to complete the form and your answer will not harm you in any way. If you want to learn more about the law or this form, visit the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) website at www.dol.gov/ofccp.

How do you know if you have a disability?

A disability is a condition that substantially limits one or more of your “major life activities.” If you have or have ever had such a condition, you are a person with a disability. Disabilities include, but are not limited to:

  • Alcohol or other substance use disorder (not currently using drugs illegally)
  • Autoimmune disorder, for example, lupus, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV/AIDS
  • Blind or low vision
  • Cancer (past or present)
  • Cardiovascular or heart disease
  • Celiac disease
  • Cerebral palsy
  • Deaf or serious difficulty hearing
  • Diabetes
  • Disfigurement, for example, disfigurement caused by burns, wounds, accidents, or congenital disorders
  • Epilepsy or other seizure disorder
  • Gastrointestinal disorders, for example, Crohn's Disease, irritable bowel syndrome
  • Intellectual or developmental disability
  • Mental health conditions, for example, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, PTSD
  • Missing limbs or partially missing limbs
  • Mobility impairment, benefiting from the use of a wheelchair, scooter, walker, leg brace(s) and/or other supports
  • Nervous system condition, for example, migraine headaches, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis (MS)
  • Neurodivergence, for example, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, dyspraxia, other learning disabilities
  • Partial or complete paralysis (any cause)
  • Pulmonary or respiratory conditions, for example, tuberculosis, asthma, emphysema
  • Short stature (dwarfism)
  • Traumatic brain injury
Select...

PUBLIC BURDEN STATEMENT: According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. This survey should take about 5 minutes to complete.