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 Senior Manager, Commercial Development reporting to the Vice President of Commercial & Corporate Development (VP). This is a strategic and hands-on role designed to increase the effectiveness of the Vice President of Commercial & Corporate Development and commercial leadership team.
The Senior Manager, Commercial Development will work across business and engineering functions to drive alignment, improve productivity, and streamline execution of strategic initiatives. The ideal candidate has experience operating within complex technical organizations, with proven success in executive-level support, strategic program development, cross-functional leadership, and organizational execution.
Responsibilities
- Act as an extension of the Vice President of Commercial & Corporate Development to drive execution of strategic priorities and key business initiatives.
- Provide leadership and coordination across commercial engineering, operations, and corporate functions to ensure alignment with business objectives.
- Drive successful execution of strategic programs in alignment with company objectives, including follow-through and accountability across stakeholders.
- Facilitate effective decision-making for the VP of Business Development & Finance and commercial leadership team by managing meeting preparation, synthesizing complex information, identifying key risks and opportunities, and providing actionable recommendations.
- Manage and coordinate internal and external inquiries directed to the VP of BD & Finance, and recommend appropriate course of action and coordinating responses with stakeholders
- Serve as liaison between the VP, commercial leadership, cross-functional leaders, and external partners to ensure organizational alignment and timely execution of priorities.
- Oversee the rhythm of business for commercial organization, including leadership meetings, communications, operating reviews, action tracking, and cross-functional planning processes.
- Lead or coordinate special projects, strategic initiatives, and high-priority assignments from conception through implementation and achievement of business objectives.
- Develop clear, concise executive communications, presentations, reports, dashboard, and decision-support materials for senior leadership.
- Identify opportunities to improve organizational effectiveness, business processes, communication flows, and operational execution.
- Drive accountability for strategic initiatives by establishing milestones, tracking deliverables, monitoring performance metrics, and escalating risks as needed to ensure successful execution.
- Partner with functional leaders to prioritize resources, align organizational efforts, and deliver results against annual operating plans and company goals.
- Other duties as assigned.
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Engineering, or similar field; advanced degree (MBA, MS in Engineering/Technology Management) is preferred
- 10+ years of progressive experience in business operations, program management, strategic planning, management consulting, commercial operations, engineering management, or related leadership functions
- 5+ years of experience leading complex cross-functional initiatives and driving execution of strategic business objectives.
- Experience in strategy, commercial development, and/or energy/manufacturing sectors is preferred
- Experience working on strategic partnerships, joint ventures, or capital projects is a plus
- Demonstrated experience working directly with executive leadership and influencing decisions at the senior leadership level.
- Proven track record of translating strategic priorities into executable plans and delivering measurable business outcomes.
- Experience leading organizational change, business transformation, operational improvement or enterprise-level initiatives.
- Demonstrated ability to lead through influence and align diverse stakeholder groups without direct reporting authority.
- Strong financial and business acumen, including experience evaluating tradeoffs, prioritizing investments, and supporting strategic decision-making.
Knowledge, Skills & Abilities
- Advanced knowledge of business operations, strategic planning, program management, and organizational effectiveness principles.
- Ability to translate strategic concepts and objectives into executable plans, driving accountability, and deliver measurable business results
- Strong leadership skills with the ability to influence, align, and coordinate cross-functional teams toward common objectives.
- Exceptional project and program management capabilities, including planning, prioritization, risk management, and execution oversight.
- Ability to analyze complex business, financial, operational, and technical information and provide actionable recommendations
- Strong executive presence with the ability to communicate effectively with senior leaders, external stakeholders, and technical teams.
- Excellent written communication skills with experience preparing executive presentations, reports, business cases, and strategic communication
- Demonstrated ability to build trusted relationships and collaborate effectively across multiple functions and levels of the organizations
- Demonstrated commitment to continuous improvement, operational excellence, and achievement of business objectives.
- Ability to exercise sound judgement, maintain confidentiality, and operate effectively in highly dynamic and ambiguous environments.
Physical Demands
- Remaining in a stationary position, often standing, or sitting for prolonged periods
- Moving about to accomplish tasks or moving from one worksite to another
- Adjusting, moving, transporting, installing, positioning, or removing objects up to 10 pounds in all directions
- Communicating with others to exchange information
Environmental Conditions
- General office environment
- Assessing the accuracy, neatness and thoroughness of the work assigned
- High-concentration, demanding and fast-paced
- Manufacturing/Industrial Environments, occasionally
Travel
- Travel required, up to 20%
Additional Requirements
- Seldomly requires working weekends
- Occasionally requires schedule flexibility
- Occasionally requires non-standard work-week hours
- Occasionally requires extended hours to support launch and critical project timelines
The salary range for this position is $201,272 to $251,590 for employees working onsite at our Alameda, CA headquarters. The range provided in this job posting represents the typical range or starting rate of candidates hired in California. Factors that may be used to determine your actual salary may include your education, experience, knowledge, skills, abilities, the market data for your work location, and a comparison to other employees already in the role.
#LI-Onsite
About our Benefits
We know that we have some of the most talented and dedicated employees, and we believe in rewarding them accordingly. If you work here, full-time employees (excludes interns) expect to have access to the benefits below:
- Competitive compensation packages
- Medical, dental and vision benefits for employees and their dependents
- Paid Vacation
- 401(k) and pre-tax health insurance, dependent care, and commuter benefits (FSA)
Kairos Power is committed to building a diverse workforce that reflects the communities where we do business. Kairos Power is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status. We actively welcome people of different experiences, abilities, and perspectives.
Kairos Power participates in E-Verify.
Candidates only, no recruiters or agencies please.
Note: You are applying for a position that is located in a facility that handles information that is subject to export control restrictions by the Department of Energy under 10 CFR Part 810. To work in this facility, you need to be authorized by the Department of Energy to access Part 810-controlled information. Foreign nationals who are citizens of countries that are not on the Department of Energy’s general authorization list (link below) are not permitted to work in our facility unless the Department of Energy issues an export control license to the company to permit that individual to have access to Part 810-controlled information. The following questions are intended to determine the licensing requirements that may apply. https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/10/appendix-A_to_part_810
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Engineering, or a similar field
- 10+ years of progressive experience in business operations, program management, strategic planning, management consulting, commercial operations, engineering management, or related leadership functions
- 5+ years of experience leading complex cross-functional initiatives and driving strategic business objectives
- Demonstrated experience working directly with executive leadership and influencing senior-level decisions
- Proven ability to translate strategic priorities into executable plans and deliver measurable business outcomes
- Experience leading organizational change, business transformation, operational improvement, or enterprise-level initiatives
- Ability to lead through influence and align diverse stakeholder groups without direct reporting authority
- Strong financial and business acumen, including evaluating tradeoffs, prioritizing investments, and supporting strategic decisions
- Advanced degree such as an MBA or MS in Engineering or Technology Management
- Experience in strategy, commercial development, and/or energy or manufacturing sectors
- Experience with strategic partnerships, joint ventures, or capital projects
- Advanced knowledge of business operations, strategic planning, program management, and organizational effectiveness
- Exceptional project and program management capabilities, including planning, prioritization, risk management, and execution oversight
- Ability to analyze complex business, financial, operational, and technical information and provide actionable recommendations
- Strong executive presence and communication skills with senior leaders, external stakeholders, and technical teams
- Excellent written communication skills, including executive presentations, reports, business cases, and strategic communications
- Ability to build trusted relationships and collaborate across multiple functions and organizational levels
- Commitment to continuous improvement, operational excellence, and achievement of business objectives
- Ability to exercise sound judgment, maintain confidentiality, and operate effectively in dynamic and ambiguous environments
What We Do
Kairos Power has a mission to enable the world’s transition to clean energy, with the ultimate goal of dramatically improving people’s quality of life while protecting the environment. We are an engineering company focused on the delivery of a clean, affordable and safe energy solution through the integrated design, licensing and demonstration of advanced reactor technology. Growing from a broad research effort at U.S. universities and national laboratories, Kairos Power was founded to accelerate the development of an innovative nuclear technology that has the potential to transform the energy landscape in the United States and internationally. Kairos Power is focused on reducing technical risk through a novel approach to test iteration often lacking in the nuclear space. Our schedule is driven by the goal of a U.S. demonstration plant before 2030 and a rapid deployment thereafter. The challenge is great, but so too is the opportunity.
