Continuous Improvement/Operational Excellence Engineer

About the Company

At Valar Atomics, we're redefining what's possible in energy. Our mission is to make clean, high-temperature nuclear power scalable—unlocking abundant energy for industry, hydrogen, and next-generation manufacturing. We are a team of builders, engineers, and operators who believe nuclear energy should be fast to deploy, factory-made, and built for the real world.

Responsibilities

• Lead enterprise-wide process improvement initiatives across Engineering, Manufacturing, Construction, Supply Chain, Quality, and other functions
• Map, analyze, and standardize end-to-end business processes to improve safety, quality, and scalability
• Facilitate structured problem-solving using Lean, Six Sigma, and value stream mapping
• Develop process architectures, governance frameworks, and performance measurement systems
• Partner with leadership to define future-state workflows and implement business systems like ERP, PLM, and QMS
• Establish meaningful process performance metrics, dashboards, and scorecards
• Coach leaders and teams on continuous improvement methodologies and process ownership

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Industrial, Mechanical, Manufacturing, Systems, or Quality Engineering, or a related technical discipline
• 15+ years of experience in operational excellence, continuous improvement, or business process development
• Proven experience in manufacturing, engineering, energy, aerospace, defense, or nuclear environments
• Strong understanding of process mapping, root cause analysis, and value stream mapping
• Familiarity with enterprise business systems (ERP, CRM, PLM, MES, QMS, etc.)
• Strong facilitation and cross-functional collaboration skills

Preferred Qualifications

• Knowledge of quality management systems (ISO 9001, AS9100, NQA-1, etc.)
• Familiarity with nuclear regulatory governance (10 CFR 830, 10 CFR 50)
• Lean Six Sigma Green Belt or Black Belt certification
• Experience facilitating Kaizen events and large-scale organizational transformation
• Strong systems-thinking capability and experience in highly regulated industries

Benefits

• Competitive base salary
• Equity ownership
• Comprehensive medical benefits
• Free daily lunch and dinner provided onsite
• High-impact startup environment with significant autonomy