Senior Director of Project Finance (Santa Clara)

Thanks for your interest in Oklo! We are searching for a Senior Director of Project Finance to join our team.

Position Description

We are seeking an experienced and motivated Senior Director of Project Finance to lead project-level capital formation and support the commercialization of Oklo's first-of-a-kind (FOAK) power plants. This role will be instrumental in securing construction and permanent financing for a new class of energy infrastructure and developing scalable financial structures for future deployments.

You'll drive full-lifecycle project financing effortsincluding sourcing, structuring, negotiation, and financial closeacross equity, debt, tax credit, and government-backed capital solutions. You'll also work collaboratively with other Oklo teams to develop and evaluate early stage project opportunities to ensure commercial and financial viability. The ideal candidate will bring a strong deal track record across multiple project finance transactions in the power and energy sectors.

This is a unique opportunity to have a highly visible, high-impact role in advanced nuclear energy with regular engagement across Oklo's executive leadership, Board of Directors, investors and government stakeholders. This role reports to Oklo's Vice President of Finance and Treasurer. The position is remote/hybrid and can accommodate candidates based in major financial or energy markets.

Specific responsibilities may include:

• Lead all aspects of project finance transactions including sourcing, structuring, negotiation, and execution of construction and term debt, project equity, tax equity, transferable tax credit financing, and other hybrid structures
• Work closely with the commercial, engineering, legal, and development teams to evaluate new project opportunities, underwrite investment cases, and ensure projects are de-risked and financeable
• Build, own, and maintain detailed project finance models that incorporate accurate technical, regulatory, commercial, financial and tax inputs for each project
• Engage directly with banks, lenders, infrastructure funds, tax credit investors, and government agencies (e.g., DOE Loan Programs Office to raise capital for Oklo's powerhouse deployments
• Support the commercial team with structuring and negotiation of power purchase agreements with customers and other key project contracts to ensure project financing
• Coordinate with the government affairs team to monitor and evaluate evolving federal and state incentive and financing programs, and tax credit policy that may impact project financing
• Develop scalable templates, term sheets, models, and internal processes to support efficient scalability of project finance efforts across future reactor deployments
• Contribute to cross-functional initiatives including project insurance strategy, credit enhancement tools, and risk allocation frameworks for FOAK deployments
• Help build a best-in-class project finance team at Oklo

Competencies

We are looking for a Senior Director of Project Finance that is:

• Passionate about making advanced nuclear a reality
• Willing and able to learn quickly
• Willing to think differently and do things in new ways
• Comfortable in a fast-paced, highly iterative startup environment
• Excited to think creatively, critically, and reflectively about the problems they are solving while not leaning only on what has been done before
• Willing to propose novel and creative solutions to technical problems
• Able to communicate technical content and results verbally

Who you are:

A startup person: You aren't driven by titles or hierarchy, and prefer efficiency to excess process. You don't need or expect to have a lot of guidance but you enjoy working in a fast-paced team. If you prefer the culture and feel of a large organization, that is great, but you likely won't enjoy working with us! There is plenty of important work and plenty of good opportunities with organizations like that.

Motivated: You are self-motivated. You bring an enthusiasm to the team, and imbue a sense of passion that goes beyond clocking in and clocking out. This isn't about a fake or arbitrary pieces of flair mentality or lack of work-life balance! It is about being a part of the vision and feeling a part of reaching team goals.

A team-player: Oklo genuinely is a team. We aren't about taking credit for ourselves, and we aren't about pushing blame to others. We do incredible things because we work as a team.

An excellent communicator: We need a person who is not only technically competent but also a clear and upbeat communicator.

Creative: Being creative means that when things fall outside clear scopes or processes or problems arise without clear solutions, you are able to identify it as well as invent ways to solve a problem or fill a need without micromanagement. The successful person in this job will not only be creative, but also enjoy being creative and solving open-ended problems which may change day-by-day.

Detail-oriented: This focus is a big part of excellence, consistency, and quality. Excellent grammar and spelling matter for both good communication as well as the image of the company that we put forward.

Minimum Qualifications:

• 7-10+ years of experience in project finance, preferably in the power or renewable energy sectors
• Proven track record of sourcing, structuring, negotiating, and closing complex project finance transactions (debt, equity, tax equity or tax credit, or hybrid)
• Expertise in detailed project financial modeling, project valuation, credit risk analysis, and capital structuring
• Existing network of project and infrastructure finance lenders and investors
• Understanding of power project lifecycles including development, permitting, interconnection, construction and operations
• Experience building and managing high performing project finance teams
• Proven ability to work with cross functional teams to achieve successful outcomes
• Excellent communication and negotiation skills, including experience working with external stakeholders (investors, regulators, counsel)

Bonus Qualifications:

• Background in nuclear or other FOAK energy technologies
• Direct experience with the DOE Loan Programs Office or similar government-backed capital structures is a plus
• Experience with a project finance lender
• Experience at a startup or other high-growth environment

About Oklo compensation: $225,000-$300,000

Salary may fall outside of the range provided and will be dependent on applicant experience.

Oklo offers robust compensation packages including competitive pay, equity, performance bonuses, 401k, health insurance, FSA, flexible work hours, flexible time off and other benefits.

About Oklo Inc.: Oklo Inc. is developing fast fission power plants to deliver clean, reliable, and affordable energy at scale; establishing a domestic supply chain for critical radioisotopes; and advancing nuclear fuel recycling to convert nuclear waste into clean energy. Oklo was the first to receive a site use permit from the U.S. Department of Energy for a commercial advanced fission plant, was awarded fuel material from Idaho National Laboratory, and submitted the first custom combined license application for an advanced reactor to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Oklo is also developing advanced fuel recycling technologies in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy and U.S. National Laboratories. #J-18808-Ljbffr