Job Summary

Kairos Power is seeking a Director of Product Cost Strategy and Forecasting to lead the development and execution of the company’s product cost architecture and forecasting systems. This leader will own the methodologies, tools, and processes that enable Kairos Power to estimate and forecast the cost of its reactor systems, fuel, salt, and supporting infrastructure with accuracy, transparency, and consistency. These cost insights will directly inform corporate forecasting, pricing, contracting, and investment decisions as the company transitions from demonstration to commercial deployment.

Reporting to the Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives, the Director of Product Cost Strategy and Forecasting will collaborate closely with the Director of FP&A, Cost Accounting Manager, and technical leaders across Engineering, Manufacturing, and Supply Chain. The role requires exceptional cross-functional coordination and the ability to bridge technical, financial, and operational disciplines. The successful candidate will combine strong analytical capability with a practical understanding of engineered systems and manufacturing economics to drive predictable, competitive, and continuously improving product costs across Kairos Power’s programs.

Responsibilities

Forecasting and Methodology

• In close collaboration with cross-functional stakeholders, support and coach the relevant technology teams and cost owners in the development of an enterprise-wide cost forecasting framework that integrates engineering, manufacturing, and financial data to inform planning, pricing, and contracting decisions
• Develop and maintain parameterized cost models across major domains—including salt, fuel, reactor hardware, construction, and shared infrastructure—ensuring transparency, traceability, and consistency in assumptions and data sources.
• Define and document cost estimation methodologies, inputs, and governance processes to ensure alignment with corporate forecasting and investor-facing financial models.
• Establish and manage a regular forecasting cadence synchronized with company planning cycles, enabling leadership to make data-driven investment, pricing, and contracting decisions.
• Work closely with Engineering and other technical cost owners to ensure assumptions are well-documented, realistic, and consistently applied across systems, serving as both a coach and partner in developing cost maturity.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner with Finance, Accounting, and FP&A to ensure cost forecasts directly inform budgeting, scenario analysis, and long-range financial planning.
• Work with the Cost Accounting Manager to reconcile forecasts against actuals, perform root-cause variance analyses, and refine assumptions based on observed performance.
• Collaborate with Engineering, Supply Chain, and Manufacturing teams to identify and track cost drivers, anticipate future cost impacts, and inform design and sourcing decisions.
• Coordinate with the Strategy team and FP&A to align product cost models with corporate pro forma, techno-economic, and investor-facing analyses.
• Foster strong communication and data-sharing practices across disciplines to ensure a unified understanding of cost structure, risk, and opportunity.

Insights and Decision Support

• Develop learning-curve and scaling frameworks that quantify expected cost improvements across successive product generations and manufacturing expansions.
• Conduct sensitivity and scenario analyses to assess the impact of design changes, production scaling, introduction of new capabilities, and supply-chain dynamics on total cost.
• Analyze cost trends, anomalies, and one-time events to distinguish between structural and transient cost drivers.
• Provide data-driven recommendations to drive cost reduction, operational efficiency, and improved market competitiveness.
• Support internal pricing and contracting discussions by confirming that proposed pricing and commercial terms align with established cost targets and financial assumptions, and by quantifying impacts when they do not.

Reporting and Communication

• Develop and maintain reporting tools that clearly communicate cost forecasts, trends, and key drivers to executive leadership.
• Translate complex cost analyses into concise and actionable insights that support strategic decision-making.
• Prepare and deliver presentations, summaries, and visualizations that convey cost performance, forecast accuracy, and improvement opportunities.
• Ensure cost transparency in internal and customer-facing reporting, including support for cost-plus and open-book contracting frameworks.
• Collaborate with FP&A, Accounting, and Strategy to maintain consistent cost narratives across internal and external communications.

Team Leadership

• Build and lead a small team responsible for product cost forecasting and analysis, providing mentorship, structure, and technical direction.
• Foster a culture of rigor, transparency, and continuous improvement in cost modeling and forecast accuracy, aligned with the Kairos Power culture and mission.
• Establish clear development paths for team members as the cost forecasting function expands to support commercial deployment.
• Collaborate with leaders across Engineering, Finance, and Manufacturing to reinforce shared ownership of cost outcomes and cross-functional problem-solving.
• Encourage innovation in modeling methods, data integration, and visualization to enhance both accuracy and usability of cost information.

Other duties as assigned

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degrees in Engineering, Corporate Finance or related discipline required; advanced degree in Engineering or Corporate Finance preferred
• 10+ years of experience in cost forecasting, cost engineering, or manufacturing finance, including a minimum of five years in a leadership role
• Experience at a manufacturer or hardware developer within the past five years
• The successful candidate will have a proven track record of developing and managing cost forecasting systems for complex engineered products or large-scale manufacturing programs.
• Strong analytical skills and proficiency in developing detailed cost and financial models are essential.
• The role requires the ability to integrate technical, operational, and financial data to support decision-making, along with exceptional communication skills and experience presenting to executive stakeholders.
• Familiarity with ERP systems such as NetSuite or Oracle and advanced Excel modeling capability are expected.
• Candidates must be comfortable operating in a fast-paced, cross-functional environment and managing multiple priorities simultaneously.
• An advanced degree in business administration, engineering, data science, economics, or a related field is preferred.
• Candidates with extensive experience leading progressively responsible roles in cost estimation, product cost management, or manufacturing economics will be strongly preferred, particularly those who have built or scaled cost forecasting functions in complex manufacturing or capital project environments.
• Experience in clean energy, aerospace, advanced manufacturing, or other capital-intensive project environments is highly valuable.
• Knowledge of cost accounting principles, variance analysis, and open-book or cost-plus contracting models is preferred.
• Familiarity with learning-curve modeling, sensitivity analysis, and cost scaling methodologies is an advantage.
• Proficiency with data analysis and visualization tools such as Python, Power BI, or Tableau is desirable.
• Candidates with demonstrated success leading cross-functional cost management initiatives and influencing decision-making in dynamic, fast-paced organizations will be especially well suited for this role.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills and strong organizational skills
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills and attention to detail
• Ability to work with highly collaborative team and proven team player working with various teams
• Ability to solve problems quickly and efficiently
• Prioritizes and ensures safety of oneself and others
• Ability to proactively collect, manage and transfer knowledge
• Ability to seek different and novel ways to create efficiencies when working on problems, challenges and issues

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
• 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

Safety and PPE

• Reading and interpreting hazardous warning signs
• Reporting issues with equipment or unsafe conditions

Travel

• If candidate not physically located in Albuquerque, NM, travel is up to 20-30% 

Additional Requirements

• Requires occasional working weekends
• Requires occasional schedule flexibility
• Requires occasional extended hours to support launch and critical project timelines

The salary for this position is $209,400 to $261,800 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 maybe 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. 

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Why This Role Matters

Pacific Fusion (PF) is seeking a Project Engineer to support a large, complex, first-of-a-kind R&D and light industrial facility.

The successful candidate will be responsible for supporting the project team in executing the construction execution plan—including maintaining a strong on-site presence, managing RFIs and submittals, reviewing and approving change orders, tracking project risks, and validating contractor forecasts and progress—while facilitating key design, construction, commissioning, and turnover milestones.

The role is embedded on site and works day-to-day with the Construction Manager and General Contractor (GC). The Project Engineer serves as a critical owner-side execution and commercial control resource for preconstruction and construction activities, supporting field coordination, risk and contingency management, scope control, quality closeout, and disciplined cost and schedule performance.

What You'll Do

• Maintain daily on-site presence supporting construction activities.  Monitor progress, identify issues early, and escalate proactively. Coordinate between PF, GC, designers, and subcontractors. Participate in safety walks, inspections, and coordination meetings.  Support punch list, quality closeout, and turnover readiness. 
• Manage RFI workflows and drive timely resolution. Lead owner-side review and approval of change orders, validating entitlement, scope, cost, and schedule impacts.
• Maintain the project risk register and partner with the PF Cost Engineer to manage contingency usage and forecasting. Review contractor cost reports and update the owner’s Estimate at Completion (EAC), proactively identifying emerging risks.
• Support schedule execution, progress verification, commissioning coordination, and turnover readiness, while providing general project management support and acting as a delegate to the Construction Manager as needed.

What You Bring

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Construction Management, or a related technical field (or equivalent hands-on construction experience in lieu of a degree)
• 3–7+ years of experience in project engineering, field engineering, or construction management on commercial, industrial, or large capital projects
• Direct experience managing RFIs, submittals, and construction documentation
• Experience reviewing and validating change orders, including scope, cost, and entitlement considerations
• Strong understanding of construction means and methods
• Ability to work independently in a fast-paced, startup or low-process environment
• Comfortable working full-time on active construction sites

Bonus Points For

• General Contractor or subcontractor background with hands-on field experience
• Exposure to risk tracking, contingency management, or cost forecasting
• Experience on complex, industrial, high-tech, or first-of-a-kind facilities
• Startup or scale-up company experience
• OSHA 30 certification
• Proficiency with common construction project management platforms such as Procore, Autodesk Construction Cloud (ACC), BIM 360, Primavera P6, MS Project or similar tools

Job Summary 

Reporting to the Fuel Operations Manager, this position contributes to the development and production of pebble fuel for Kairos Power’s fluoride-salt-cooled, high-temperature reactor. The individual selected for this position will help construct, operate, and maintain and assemble equipment and work with engineers to execute the annular fuels R&D program. As part of an operations team, the individual selected for this position will run the manufacturing process for the facility, as well as implement other mechanical assembly, support and operation as required by code or regulation. This individual thrives in a fast-paced, positive environment, which values continuous improvement and accountability.

Responsibilities

Mechanical Assembly and Troubleshooting 

• Carefully assembling mechanical components according to detailed instructions and blueprints.
• Aligning and positioning parts to ensure proper fit and function.
• Using hand tools, power tools, and specialized fixtures to secure components.
• Checking for tolerances and quality control during assembly.
• Performs troubleshooting of malfunctioning equipment and develops solutions to restore equipment to operation.
• Assists engineering staff in developing the critical operations program and critical spares list.
• Read and interpret design plans, and prepare layouts for assembling components
• Participate in engineering reviews and studies to support future equipment and facility upgrades.

Facility Operations

• Execute the manufacturing processes associated with the annular fuels program.
• Support the day-to-day operations of the facility; Startup, run, and shutdown heavy machinery and auxiliary equipment.
• Assist in performing and evaluating both destructive and non-destructive tests on annular fuel. Document results under the QA program.
• Identify equipment issues, provide recommended corrective actions, and participate in root cause analysis as necessary.
• Perform lockout-tagout of mechanical and electrical equipment.
• Work with hazardous chemicals and radiological materials within gloveboxes, fume hoods, or other engineered containment enclosures.
• Use tools such as drills, grinders, calipers, and presses, etc.
• Operate mobile equipment such as forklifts, loaders, scissor lifts, and aerial lifts.
• Understand and adhere to all safety rules and regulations.
• Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Combination of education and/or work experience equivalent to 6+ years in mechanical assembly, pipefitting, or mechanical trades. Experience in maintenance, fabrication shops, manufacturing, or process plant work experience preferred.
• High school diploma or GED certificate required. Associates degree in Mechatronics, Millwright, or completion of trade school/vocational certification program preferred.
• Experience working from procedures, P&IDs, construction drawings, work permits, and technical manuals.
• Experience developing or contributing to work instructions and standard operating procedures preferred.
• Certification in forklift or aerial lift operation (or ability to obtain).

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Thorough knowledge of mechanical parts like hydraulics, motors, welding, and belt systems and how to work safely in those environments
• Strong mechanical aptitude and experience in a heavy manufacturing environment.
• Ability to read and interpret blueprints and schematics.
• Strong problem-solving and time management skills
• Capacity and willingness to learn and perform new duties or more complex assignments.
• Ability to work within a highly collaborative team
• Ability to solve problems quickly and efficiently
• Prioritizes and ensures safety of oneself and others
• Ability to proactively collect, manage, and transfer knowledge
• Ability to seek different and novel ways to create efficiencies when working on problems, challenges, and issues

Physical Demands

• Moving self in different positions to accomplish tasks in various environments including tight and confined spaces
• Moving about to accomplish tasks or moving from one worksite to another
• Adjusting, moving, transporting, installing, positioning, or removing objects up to 40 pounds in all directions
• Communicating with others to exchange information
• Operating motor vehicles, heavy equipment, or machinery
• Repetitive assembly operations of manufacturing test fixtures and test setups in collaboration with engineering and manufacturing teams 
• Use hand tools

Environmental Conditions 

• High temperatures occasionally
• Noisy environments occasionally
• Lab or Manufacturing Environment
• Odors or fumes from chemicals or chemical reactions
• Assessing the accuracy, neatness and thoroughness of the work assigned
• High-concentration, demanding and fast-paced
• Rigging activities or environments involving heavy load movement
• Elevated heights
• Radiological or Controlled Environment

Safety and PPE

• Reading and interpreting hazardous warning signs
• Reporting issues with equipment or unsafe conditions
• Wearing proper PPE, to include face mask, face shields, respirators, gloves, safety shoes, etc.

Certification

• Certification in forklift or aerial lift operation (or ability to obtain).

Additional Requirements

• Occasionally 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

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