Radiation Safety Officer (RSO)

Thanks for your interest in Oklo! We are searching for a Radiation Safety Officer (RSO) to join our team.

This position will be on-site in Idaho Falls, Idaho.

Position Description

Oklo Isotopes is building scalable U.S. radioisotope production capabilities in facilities dedicated to producing essential isotopes for healthcare, space, industry, research, and defense applications. In February 2026, Oklo’s Idaho Radioisotopes Laboratory (IRL) located in Idaho Falls received its Material Possession License from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to take a leading role in the manufacturing and distribution of beneficial radioisotopes in the U.S.

We are seeking a Radiation Safety Officer (RSO) to serve as the technical authority for radiation protection activities at the IRL. This role is designed for an experienced Certified Health Physicist (CHP) or an equivalently seasoned radiation protection professional who brings strong technical judgment, operational leadership, and deep expertise in radiation safety program implementation.

The Radiation Safety Officer owns the Radiation Protection Program for IRL and is responsible for ensuring safe, compliant, and efficient radiological operations in support of isotope production, laboratory operations, radioactive material handling, and facility readiness activities. This role combines strategic program leadership with hands-on operational engagement and provides significant influence over facility operations, licensing activities, operational readiness, and long-term safety culture.

Specific responsibilities may include:

Serve as the designated Radiation Safety Officer with technical authority and accountability for the IRL Radiation Protection Program in accordance with NRC requirements, applicable State regulations, and site procedures.

Establish, maintain, and enforce radiation protection standards, radiological controls, and operational procedures using sound health physics principles.

Provide technical oversight and guidance for radioactive material handling, isotope production activities, contamination controls, radioactive waste management, and radiological work planning.

Lead, mentor, and develop radiation protection personnel, technicians, and operational staff to maintain strong field execution and radiological safety culture.

Perform and oversee complex radiological evaluations including shielding analyses, dose assessments, contamination control strategies, ALARA planning, and radiological work reviews.

Integrate radiation protection requirements into facility modifications, operational procedures, commissioning activities, and infrastructure upgrades.

Serve as the primary technical interface with regulatory authorities during inspections, audits, licensing activities, and regulatory communications.

Help prepare, review, and approve regulatory documentation, license amendments, corrective action plans, radiological procedures, and radiation safety training programs.

Lead investigations of radiological events, abnormal occurrences, and operational issues including root cause analysis and corrective action development.

Support operational readiness, emergency preparedness, and commissioning activities associated with IRL operations.

Partner with operations, engineering, maintenance, laboratory, and leadership teams to align radiation protection strategies with operational goals and long-term facility objectives.

Promote operational excellence, procedural compliance, industrial safety, and a strong nuclear safety culture.

Minimum Qualifications:

Bachelor’s degree in Health Physics, Nuclear Engineering, Radiochemistry, Chemistry, Physics, or a related technical discipline.

Minimum of 10 years of progressively responsible experience in health physics, radiation safety, or radiological operations within regulated nuclear, isotope production, laboratory, or industrial environments.

Demonstrated experience implementing and managing radiation protection programs in regulated radiological environments.

Experience leading or supervising technical staff, including mentoring, training, and professional development.

Strong working knowledge of NRC regulations, radiation protection principles, ALARA practices, contamination controls, and radiological work planning.

Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively with regulators, senior leadership, and multidisciplinary technical teams.

Strong technical writing, organizational, problem-solving, and operational decision-making skills.

Bonus Qualifications:

Certified Health Physicist (CHP) strongly preferred.

Experience supporting radioisotope production facilities, hot cell operations, gloveboxes, or nuclear laboratory environments.

Experience supporting startup, commissioning, or operational readiness activities.

Experience interfacing with NRC inspectors, Agreement State regulators, or external regulatory agencies.

Familiarity with radioactive material transportation, waste management, and laboratory radiological controls.

Competencies

We are looking for an RSO that is:

Passionate about unleashing beneficial isotopes

Committed to operational excellence and nuclear safety culture

Willing and able to learn quickly

Eager to work on a dynamic team, receive constructive feedback, and grow with us

Willing to think differently and do things in new ways

Comfortable in a fast-paced, highly iterative startup environment

Excited to think creatively, critically, and reflectively about the problems they are solving

Willing to propose novel and creative solutions to technical and operational problems

An excellent writer who can write in modern active voice, so make your cover letter compelling and write it well!

Detail-oriented and committed to procedural compliance and technical rigor

Capable of exercising sound judgment and decision-making in radiological and operational environments

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.

About Oklo travel requirements:

Oklo requires remote employees to travel to headquarters (Santa Clara, CA) twice a quarter annually, based on business or team needs, including attendance at team meetings, off-sites, and other company events or gatherings. For the first two weeks of onboarding, employees are required to be in person at