Software Lifecycle Specialist

Oklo·Santa Clara, CA or Remote·Posted today

Nuclear industryUS only

About this role

Oklo, a nuclear energy startup, is seeking a Software Lifecycle Specialist to establish and maintain software development lifecycle governance frameworks across engineering teams. You'll define standards, workflows, and compliance controls in GitLab and Jira; establish traceability between requirements, design, code, and testing; and ensure audit readiness for a regulated nuclear energy environment. This role balances process rigor with engineering velocity in a fast-moving organization.

Responsibilities

—Define and maintain software lifecycle standards, templates, and workflows across GitLab and Jira
—Establish and enforce traceability between requirements, design artifacts, code, testing, and validation activities
—Partner with engineers to ensure proper scoping, backlog hygiene, and milestone alignment
—Define change control and configuration management expectations in collaboration with DevOps/Engineering Infrastructure
—Support audit readiness by ensuring lifecycle documentation and records are complete and reproducible
—Define lifecycle standards including Definition of Done expectations and release controls
—Build reporting and dashboards that provide visibility into lifecycle health, risk, and delivery status
—Identify gaps in the software lifecycle and improve engineering workflows
—Translate nuclear compliance requirements into practical, implementable engineering workflows
—Evaluate and recommend tooling improvements that strengthen lifecycle integrity without introducing unnecessary process overhead

Qualifications

—Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Computer Science, or equivalent industry experience
—5+ years of experience in software development, DevOps, technical program management, software quality, or systems engineering
—Experience working in regulated or compliance-driven environments
—Strong understanding of software development lifecycle concepts including requirements traceability, version control, CI/CD, configuration management, validation, and release control
—Experience working with Jira or similar issue tracking systems in a structured, milestone-driven environment
—Experience documenting processes clearly and unambiguously
—Strong cross-functional communication skills
—Comfort operating in ambiguous environments and building structure where none exists

Desired

—Experience supporting NQA-1, ISO 9001, NIST, or similar regulatory or compliance frameworks
—Experience with GitLab, especially GitLab CI/CD and repository governance controls
—Experience defining or auditing SDLC frameworks
—Experience building dashboards or lifecycle reporting tools
—Experience supporting engineering organizations with hardware, simulation, or embedded systems
—Familiarity with CAD or PLM lifecycle controls
—Experience writing or maintaining work instructions and formal procedures
—Experience with secure software development lifecycle frameworks such as CSSLP or similar certifications