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Lead Electrical Engineer

Torrance, California, United States

About Valar Atomics

At Valar Atomics, we're redefining what's possible in energy. Our mission is to make clean, high-temperature nuclear power scalable—unlocking abundant energy for industry, hydrogen, and next-generation manufacturing. We are a team of builders, engineers, and operators who believe nuclear energy should be fast to deploy, factory-made, and built for the real world. Our first pilot plant in Orangeville, Utah will demonstrate how advanced nuclear systems and fuel fabrication can power the future. Joining Valar Atomics means becoming part of a company where autonomy, ownership, and impact exist at every level.

The Team 

You will lead Valar Atomics' Electrical Engineering team within the Instrumentation, Control & Electrical (IC&E) organization. The team delivers the electrical infrastructure that powers and is powered by Valar's facilities, from utility and grid interconnection through generation, MV distribution, process area LV systems, and emergency power across the reactor program, fuel manufacturing operations, and power generation and distribution scope. You will work alongside I&C, mechanical, process, power conversion, and nuclear safety engineers in a hands-on environment where power system integrity directly supports production reliability and nuclear safety, with some of the most technically interesting generation and distribution challenges in the advanced nuclear sector. The team values technical depth, disciplined documentation, and a safety-first culture, and you will set that tone for the engineers you hire.

The Role 

Valar Atomics is seeking a Lead Electrical Engineer to lead and build our electrical engineering team, and to own electrical engineering delivery across the full plant scope, Reactor, Nuclear Fuel Manufacturing, Power Generation, and Power Distribution. This is a player-coach role: you will be both the team's leader, hiring, developing, directing, and growing electrical engineers across our career ladder, and its most senior technical voice while that team is built, with design responsibility spanning LV, MV, and HV systems from utility interconnection and the generation switchyard through medium voltage distribution to process and facility low voltage systems. You will own the electrical architecture of a first-of-a-kind nuclear power plant, including its power generation electrical scope: generator integration, excitation and protection, step-up transformation, and grid interconnection. This role builds the organization it will lead. 

Key Responsibilities 

Team Leadership and Organization Building 

  • Build the electrical engineering team: define roles and requisitions across the Engineer / Senior / Staff / Principal ladder with the Director, recruit and interview candidates, own hiring recommendations, and onboard and integrate new engineers.
  • Lead the team day to day: assign and prioritize work across the four plant areas, direct and review technical output, manage performance, and develop each engineer's technical depth and progression along the ladder.
  • Own engineering resourcing strategy: workload forecasting across Reactor, Nuclear Fuel Manufacturing, Power Generation, and Power Distribution scopes; internal versus contractor engineering allocation; and technical direction and oversight of engineering subcontractors and consultants.
  • Establish the discipline's ways of working — checking practice, calculation and study bases, design standards, and documentation discipline — and evolve their ownership to Staff and Principal engineers as the team grows. 

Technical Leadership and Delivery 

  • Own electrical engineering delivery across all four plant areas: the scope, quality, and schedule of power system studies, designs, specifications, and construction and commissioning support produced by the team.
  • Own the plant electrical architecture end-to-end across voltage classes: HV utility interconnection and switchyard, generator and generator step-up (GSU) transformer integration, MV distribution, LV process and facility systems, emergency and standby power, and DC/UPS systems.
  • Own the power generation electrical scope: generator specification and integration with the power conversion system, excitation and voltage regulation, generator and interconnection protection, synchronization, auxiliary power, and grid code and interconnection technical requirements.
  • Serve as the discipline's senior technical authority: approve power system studies (load flow, short circuit, arc flash, protection coordination, grounding), one-line development, protection philosophy and relay settings, and major equipment specifications, delegating approval authority to Staff and Principal engineers as they are hired.
  • Own the utility and AHJ technical relationships: interconnection studies and agreements, protection interface requirements, code interpretation and compliance strategy, and inspection support.
  • Lead the electrical discipline in interdisciplinary design reviews, HAZOP studies, and licensing-support activities; represent the discipline's position at program level and own resolution of cross-discipline conflicts.
  • Lead vendor engagement for major electrical packages: pre-qualification, technical bid evaluation, award recommendation, factory acceptance activities, and escalation of systemic vendor issues. 

Program Coordination 

  • Coordinate electrical scope and interfaces across the reactor, fuel manufacturing, power conversion, and site infrastructure programs, including load growth, sequencing of energisation, and shared distribution infrastructure decisions.
  • Advise IC&E leadership on electrical technical risk, resourcing, and sequencing; provide independent technical judgment where schedule and cost pressure intersect engineering integrity.
  • Maintain disciplined engineering records consistent with nuclear quality requirements, ensuring traceability of design decisions, analyses, and test results, and setting the example for the team's documentation culture. 

Basic Qualifications  

  • Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or a closely related discipline.
  • 10+ years of electrical engineering experience across power generation, utility, process, or industrial projects.
  • Demonstrated experience leading an electrical engineering team: assigning and directing work, reviewing and approving other engineers' output, and developing engineers — not solely project or matrix leadership.
  • Experience building an engineering team through direct hiring: defining roles, recruiting, interviewing, and onboarding engineers you then led.
  • Substantial power generation electrical experience, including generator integration, excitation, generator and interconnection protection, GSU transformers, switchyard or substation scope, and grid interconnection requirements. Experience from cogeneration / combined heat and power (CHP) facilities fully satisfies this requirement.
  • Demonstrated design proficiency across LV, MV, and HV systems — from utility/transmission-level interconnection and switchyards through MV distribution to LV process and facility systems, including the studies, protection, and equipment specification appropriate to each voltage class.
  • Expert-level proficiency in power system analysis (SKM Power Tools, ETAP, PSS/E, or equivalent), including ownership or approval of load flow, short circuit, arc flash, and protection coordination studies.
  • Demonstrated end-to-end ownership of electrical scope on at least one major capital project, from front-end design through energisation and commissioning.
  • Strong working knowledge of applicable codes and standards (NEC/NFPA 70, IEEE including the C37 protection series, NEMA, ANSI, IEC), sufficient to set and defend discipline standards.
  • Experience representing an electrical discipline to external parties — utilities, AHJs, regulators, or major vendors. 

Preferred Skills and Experience  

  • Professional Engineer (P.E. / P.Eng.) registration or equivalent.
  • Experience leading utility interconnection from application through energisation, including interconnection agreements and PPA technical interfaces.
  • Nuclear facility electrical experience, including nuclear classification and separation requirements (IEEE 384, Class 1E concepts) or work under NQA-1 / 10 CFR 50 Appendix B quality programs.
  • Generator protection expertise (IEEE C37.102) and experience with synchronization, black start, or islanded operation schemes.
  • Experience with IEC 61850 substation automation and protection communication.
  • Experience with emergency and standby power system design, DC systems, and battery sizing (IEEE 485/1115).
  • Experience on first-of-a-kind, prototype, or early-stage plant programs where the electrical organization and its standards had to be built rather than inherited.  

What We Offer  

  • Competitive base salary 
  • Equity ownership in a rapidly growing advanced energy company 
  • Comprehensive medical benefits 
  • Unlimited PTO
  • Free daily lunch and dinner provided onsite 
  • Generous PPE stipend
  • High-impact startup environment with significant ownership and autonomy 
  • Opportunities for rapid career growth and internal advancement 
  • Direct collaboration with experienced operators, engineers, and industry leaders 
  • The opportunity to help build and scale transformative energy technology from the ground up

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

Valar Atomics is an equal opportunity employer. We consider all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other protected status under applicable law.

We are committed to providing a workplace free of discrimination and harassment and will provide reasonable accommodation as required by law.

Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States as a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident (green card holder).

Salary

$196,000 - $240,000 USD

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