Human Factors Engineer

Thanks for your interest in Oklo! We are searching for a Human Factors Engineer to join our team.

Position Description

Oklo is seeking a Human Factors Engineer to develop the human factors safety basis for a first-of-a-kind used nuclear fuel (UNF) recycling facility. This individual will own the application of Human Factors Engineering to safety-significant personnel activities. This individual will heavily impact the development of personnel activities, evaluation of personnel activities, design of human-system interfaces, and development of procedures. This individual will foster safety through facilitating correct, and inhibiting wrong, decisions by personnel and by ensuring there exist adequate means for detecting, correcting, and compensating for human error.

Specific responsibilities may include:

Develop the human factors engineering (HFE) strategy, implementation plans, technical bases, and safety basis documentation, including HFE inputs to the integrated safety analysis (ISA), items relied on for safety (IROFS), management measures, and safety program commitments.

Tailor NRC HFE guidance and fuel-cycle-facility review expectations into a practical, graded HFE program appropriate for a first-of-a-kind used nuclear fuel recycling facility.

Evaluate the implementation of human factors engineering best practices in the development of safety-significant personnel activities including actions credited in safety analyses, abnormal event response, maintenance, inspections, surveillance, material handling, and recovery activities.

Lead operating experience reviews, functional requirements analyses, function allocation, task analyses, staffing and qualifications analyses, and human action evaluations across startup, normal operations, shutdown, maintenance, abnormal operations, emergency response, and degraded equipment or interface conditions.

Translate task analysis and safety analysis results into requirements for alarms, indications, controls, procedures, training objectives, staffing, qualifications, work environment, PPE, dose and contamination controls, and human error prevention, detection, and recovery features.

Define Human System Interface (HIS) requirements for control rooms, local control stations, remote handling stations, glovebox or hot-cell interfaces, material handling interfaces, alarm systems, displays, controls, automation, communications, and computer-based or paper-based procedure systems.

Plan and execute HFE verification and validation activities, including HSI task support verification, HFE design verification, integrated system validation, mockups, simulator exercises, walkdowns, tabletop exercises, human-in-the-loop evaluations, performance measures, and human engineering discrepancy resolution.

Prepare license application content, safety evaluation materials, readiness reviews, audit packages, requests for additional information, and inspection support materials.

Interface with engineering teams and vendors to ensure HFE requirements are integrated early in the design lifecycle and remain aligned with design changes, operating concepts, and safety basis assumptions.

Help establish human performance monitoring and continuous improvement approaches so that validated HFE assumptions remain effective as the facility design, procedures, training, and operations mature.

Minimum Qualifications:

Bachelor's degree in human factors engineering, engineering psychology, cognitive systems engineering, systems engineering, nuclear engineering, chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, or a related technical field.

5+ years of experience applying human factors engineering to nuclear reactor or fuel cycle technology

Experience conducting or supporting HFE analyses such as operating experience review, function allocation, task analysis, human action evaluation, HSI design review, procedure and training input development, and staffing qualification analysis

Familiarity with NRC or DOE expectations for human factors, safety analysis, licensing documentation, management measures, credited human actions, or safety-significant administrative controls

Direct experience with NUREG-0711, NUREG-0700, NUREG-0800 Chapter 18, and NUREG-1520.

Strong technical writing skills, including the ability to produce auditable, licensing-quality documentation that clearly links safety basis assumptions, human actions, design requirements, procedures, training, and verification evidence.

Preferred Qualifications:

Advanced degree or professional certification in human factors, ergonomics, cognitive systems engineering, systems safety, nuclear engineering, or a related field.

Experience with fuel cycle facilities, used nuclear fuel handling, reprocessing or recycling, hot cells, gloveboxes, remote handling, radiological work controls, and nuclear criticality safety.