Credentials that matter
Skills and tools
- ASME NQA-1
- ISO 9001
- Nist
Required 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
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
Preferred qualifications
- 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
Location, schedule, and travel
Remote with required travel to Santa Clara, CA headquarters twice per quarter; two-week in-person onboarding at headquarters required.
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Software Lifecycle Specialist
Oklo · $110k–$165k/yr