Director of Health, Safety & Environmental (HSE)

The Nuclear Company is the fastest growing AI tech-enabled startup in the nuclear and energy space, pioneering a fleet-scale approach to building the next generation of nuclear reactors. Through our design-once, build-many model, we're accelerating the deployment of safe, reliable, and affordable nuclear energy.

We operate with an AI-first mindset. Every employee is expected to leverage AI, technology, and the Nuclear Operating System (NOS) as integral components of their role to improve the quality, speed, and impact of their work. We expect every team member to continuously identify opportunities to automate workflows, enhance decision-making, improve processes, and contribute to the ongoing evolution of NOS as a strategic operating capability that enables The Nuclear Company to scale with excellence.

We hire people who are driven by purpose, thrive in ambiguity, and are energized by building what has never been built before. Our team combines intellectual curiosity with high agency, embraces candid feedback and continuous learning, and holds themselves and others to exceptional standards. Our values— Transparency, Responsibility, Unity, Scrappy, and Tenacity —guide how we hire, collaborate, and make decisions every day. They are not words on a wall; they are the standard by which we operate. TRUST is the foundation of our safety culture, fostering intellectual honesty, accountability, and open communication, while our values challenge every team member to execute with urgency, humility, resilience, and an unwavering commitment to our mission.

TNC Services , the services division of The Nuclear Company, brings together field execution, specialized workforce solutions, and Professional Services expertise to support the nuclear industry across the full asset lifecycle. While The Nuclear Company advances the fleet-scale deployment of new nuclear power, TNC Services supports the industry today through outage and maintenance execution delivered by TNC Field Services and TNC FieldWorks, alongside Professional Services spanning project delivery, engineering, licensing and regulatory, security, cybersecurity and compliance, and workforce development. Together, our teams combine proven nuclear expertise, technology, and an AI-enabled approach to help utilities operate safely and reliably today while building the capabilities needed for tomorrow’s nuclear fleet.

About the role

The Director of Health, Safety, and Environmental (HSE) will build and own the enterprise Health, Safety, Environmental, Industrial Hygiene, and Human Performance function across The Nuclear Company and TNC Services. This leader will assess current and future needs, establish the HSE strategy and operating framework, and personally lead implementation across corporate operations, greenfield development and deployment projects, construction, and field services while the function and supporting team are being built.

This is a hands-on leadership role requiring someone who can move between enterprise strategy and immediate operational execution. The Director will initially serve as the company’s primary HSE resource, supporting field operations, outage activities, projects, and incident response as needed while developing the organizational structure and capabilities required for longer-term support.

The Director will establish the systems, metrics, governance, and reporting required to provide executive leadership, the Board, and other key stakeholders with clear visibility into HSE performance, enterprise risk, and organizational readiness as TNC continues to grow.

Please note: This role requires regular hybrid office presence in either Washington, D.C., Columbia, SC, or Lexington KY. The position may be advertised in additional nearby markets for visibility; however, candidates must be commutable to or willing to relocate to one of the three designated office locations.

Responsibilities

Enterprise HSE Leadership: Build and own the enterprise HSE function across The Nuclear Company and TNC Services, including strategy, policies, programs, governance, and performance measures. Assess organizational needs and develop a phased roadmap and operating model supporting corporate operations, greenfield projects, construction, fleet deployment, field services, and outages.

HSE Systems & Human Performance: Establish and continuously improve enterprise standards for safety leadership, Human Performance, job hazard analysis, pre-job briefs, stop-work authority, contractor safety, industrial hygiene, occupational health, corrective actions, and organizational learning.

Regulatory, Environmental & External Reporting: Ensure compliance with applicable OSHA, EPA, DOT, state environmental, customer, and commercial nuclear requirements. Establish accurate HSE metrics and reporting for executive leadership, the Board, annual reports, investor communications, audits, inspections, and other external requirements.

Incident Management & Operational Support: Lead and directly support incident response and investigations involving injuries, near misses, environmental events, property damage, and nuclear safety concerns. Oversee root-cause analysis, corrective actions, lessons learned, workers’ compensation, and return-to-work programs.

Project, Field & Services Integration: Partner with Operations, Engineering, Construction, Project Management, and TNC Services to embed HSE into greenfield development, construction, field services, and outage execution. Provide hands-on guidance and site support while assessing when dedicated project, field, or business-level HSE resources should be added.

Technology & Organizational Development: Use AI, technology, and the Nuclear Operating System to improve risk identification, analytics, reporting, and organizational learning. Develop the HSE organizational structure, recruit and mentor future team members, and foster a culture of trust, accountability, and employee ownership of safety.

Required Experience

10+ years of progressive HSE leadership experience supporting nuclear, energy, construction, manufacturing, industrial maintenance, or other complex, highly regulated operations.

Bachelor’s degree in Occupational Safety, Environmental Science, Industrial Hygiene, Engineering, Construction Management, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.

Demonstrated experience building, implementing, or significantly scaling an enterprise or multisite HSE management system.

Experience establishing HSE strategy, policies, governance, performance measures, and executive-level reporting.

Hands-on experience supporting field operations, construction projects, major capital programs, outages, or other high-risk industrial environments.

Strong working knowledge of OSHA requirements, environmental compliance, industrial safety, incident investigation, root-cause analysis, and corrective-action programs.

Preferred Experience

Commercial nuclear power experience, including new nuclear construction, operating plants, outages, or major nuclear capital projects.

Experience preparing HSE metrics and disclosures for Boards, annual reports, investors, or public-company reporting.

CSP, ASP, CIH, PMP, or another relevant professional certification.

Familiarity with NRC-regulated environments, nuclear safety culture, Human Performance, INPO standards, or EPRI guidance.

Experience leading HSE programs across both union and non-union workforces.

Experience implementing AI-enabled safety tools, predictive analytics, or digital HSE reporting platforms.

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 $176,000 - $210,000 annually less applicable withholdings and deductions, paid on a bi-weekly b