Senior Operations Specialist, Salt Production Facility

Company Overview Kairos Power is a new nuclear energy technology and engineering company whose mission is to enable the world’s transition to clean energy, with the ultimate goal to dramatically improve people’s quality of life while protecting the environment. This goal will be accomplished through the commercialization of the fluoride-salt-cooled, high-temperature reactor (FHR) that can be deployed with robust safety, affordable costs, and flexible operation to accommodate the expansion of variable renewables. Job Summary Kairos Power is seeking a highly motivated Senior Operations Specialist to serve as a senior technical resource within the Operations organization supporting plant design, construction, commissioning, startup, and transition to routine operations. The Senior Operations Specialist will provide experienced operational judgment throughout the project lifecycle, helping ensure plant systems and equipment can be safely, reliably, and effectively operated, commissioned, isolated, maintained, and turned over to Operations. This position will work closely with Operations, Engineering, Construction, Commissioning, and project teams to identify and resolve operability concerns early and to develop practical solutions that support successful plant startup and long-term operation. The successful candidate will bring significant hands-on experience with complex industrial facilities and will be comfortable working both in an engineering environment and directly in the field. This individual will provide technical leadership during construction and commissioning activities, support development of operating and commissioning procedures, and serve as an experienced Operations representative during design reviews, equipment acceptance, system turnover, and operational readiness activities. Responsibilities • Serve as the Operations group’s technical specialist for plant design, construction, commissioning, and startup, providing experienced operational judgment from engineering design through turnover to routine plant operations. • Review engineering designs for operability and commissioning readiness, including Utility system, Piping and valve arrangements, Equipment layouts and accessibility, Isolation strategies, and Control strategies and system interfaces. • Identify plant designs that may be difficult or unsafe to operate, commission, isolate, or maintain, and work collaboratively with Engineering to develop practical alternatives. • Recommend improvements to equipment arrangement, routing, valving, accessibility, and other design features that affect safe and reliable plant operation. • Represent Operations during equipment fabrication, construction, installation, testing, and acceptance activities. • Participate in field verification and validation of operating and commissioning procedures, system configurations, and design assumptions before turnover to Operations. • Capture and incorporate commissioning, startup, and operating lessons learned into procedures, design improvements, and future project activities. • Support verification that required operating procedures, technical documentation, drawings, and system information are available and suitable for turnover to Operations. • Participate in and support Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT), equipment receipt planning, Site Acceptance Testing (SAT), and field inspections. • Independently identify, document, communicate, and drive resolution of construction and installation deficiencies that could affect safe or reliable operation, and work with appropriate stakeholders to support their resolution, including Flange integrity and torquing, Bolting and mounting, Fixed-equipment installation, Equipment accessibility, Piping, valve, and component configuration. • Develop and coordinate Operations input to plant commissioning and startup plans and execution packages. • Support development and integration of commissioning and startup schedules, including system turnover, sequencing, testing, and operational readiness activities. • Define and coordinate commissioning activities such as Pressure testing, Water or other safe-material testing, System flushing and preparation, Equipment checkout, and System turnover and acceptance. • Identify and support the procurement of temporary equipment, materials, and tools required for commissioning and startup, including generators, air compressors, temporary hoses, gaskets, tanks, pumps, and specialty tools. • Provide technical guidance and hands-on field guidance during commissioning and startup activities. • Troubleshoot plant, equipment, construction, and commissioning issues and develop practical solutions in collaboration with Engineering, Construction, and Operations personnel. • Provide technical direction and training to operators performing commissioning and startup activities. • Support Pre-Startup Safety Reviews (PSSR), system turnover, plant readiness assessments, and operational readiness activities. • Develop, review, and provide technical guidance for plant operating procedures, including Equipment-specific operating procedures, Commissioning procedures, Plant startup procedures, Plant shutdown procedures, and Abnormal and off-normal operating procedures. • Provide Operations input and technical guidance for control narratives and other documentation defining how plant systems and equipment are operated. • Support development, review, and rationalization of plant alarms to ensure appropriate operator response and effective plant control. • Serve as a senior Operations technical resource to Engineering and project teams supporting Management of Change (MOC), Plant improvement projects, Design modifications, New capital projects, Construction and installation activities, and Commissioning and startup planning. • Apply independent operational judgment to identify risks, improve designs, resolve technical challenges, and support safe and reliable plant operation. • Proactively identify issues that could impact plant safety, operability, maintainability, commissioning, startup, schedule, or long-term reliability, and drive those issues toward resolution. • Support plant Operations activities as directed by Operations leadership. • Other duties as assigned. Qualifications • 10+ years of relevant experience in operations, commissioning, startup, maintenance, or technical support of complex industrial process facilities. • Demonstrated experience supporting the construction, commissioning, startup, or operation of newly constructed or significantly modified industrial facilities. • Experience coordinating or supporting system turnover and operational readiness activities. • Experience interpreting engineering drawings, P&IDs, equipment documentation, and technical specifications. • Experience providing technical guidance to operations or commissioning personnel. • Experience reviewing engineering designs from an operational and field-execution perspective. • Experience developing or executing commissioning plans, startup plans, operating procedures, test packages, or system turnover documentation. • Experience participating in equipment inspection, FAT, SAT, construction walkdowns, punch listing, system turnover, or acceptance activities. • Experience working collaboratively with multidisciplinary Engineering, Construction, Operations, Maintenance, and other project stakeholders. • Experience working in facilities involving hazardous materials, complex chemical processes, high-temperature systems, or comparable industrial hazards preferred. • Experience supporting PSSR, PHA/HAZOP, MOC, operational readiness, or comparable process-safety activities preferred. Knowledge, Skills & Abilities: • Demonstrated ability to troubleshoot complex plant and equipment issues and develop practical field solutions. • Knowledge of industrial piping systems, valves, rotating and fixed equipment, utility systems, instrum