Director of Engineering - Nuclear

Location: Chicago, IL – 5 days in office

We are supporting a next-generation energy company focused on advancing innovative, small-scale nuclear technologies to deliver reliable, low-carbon power solutions for a rapidly evolving world.

The Engineering Manager will lead engineering from concept through production-ready systems, owning scope and driving system-level execution while providing hands-on technical leadership and problem-solving. Directly contribute to technical work while setting standards, guiding critical development phases, and coordinating a team of ~15–20 engineers. Reporting to the CTO.

• Lead engineering efforts across the full lifecycle: concept development, detailed design, and progression to production‑ready systems
• Own and manage scope within the engineering domain
• Provide day‑to‑day technical leadership and guidance, including reviewing engineering work and supporting problem‑solving
• Be hands‑on for the next 6–12 months, actively involved in technical work while setting direction and standards
• Guide engineering deliverables at the product/system level, not just concept or analysis
• Lead the organization through critical development phases toward execution and deployment
• Manages an engineering organization of ~15–20 engineers (not all direct reports)

• 15-25 years of engineering experience, must have been in this role before (or a very close equivalent)
• Strong hands‑on engineering background, ideally within nuclear or highly regulated engineering environments.
• An engineer who has done the work and led teams through full product life cycles.
• Experience advancing programs from conception through production, not isolated phases
• Has previously managed a team.

Please note candidates with primarily software backgrounds will not find it aligned with their experience.