---
title: 'Plant Manager at General Matter'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/plant-manager-general-matter-paducah-dtfeh1qfjv7x'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-13'
---

# Plant Manager at General Matter

- **Company:** General Matter
- **Location:** Paducah, KY
- **Posted:** 2026-09-09
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-13
- **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/generalmatter/jobs/5410209008

## Job description

## About the Company

General Matter is enriching uranium in America.

Our goal is to design, build, and operate the world’s lowest-cost enrichment services in the United States.

Our mission is to restore America’s ability to produce nuclear fuel—fuel that will power AI, advanced manufacturing, critical industries, and the next generation of nuclear reactors.

Ultimately, our work will help power national ambitions and enable a high-energy society.

We were incubated by Founders Fund, like Anduril and Palantir before us, and are backed by top-tier investors. Our lean, world-class team of engineers and operators is applying a first-principles approach to solving the problem of nuclear fuel production.

We are a mission-driven company with a culture of urgency, accountability, and transparency.

Help us build a high-energy society by making the cleanest, safest form of baseload energy the most affordable.

## About This Role

As Plant Manager, you'll build and lead General Matter's Paducah site from the ground up — standing up the plant, staffing and training the organization, and then running full site operations once the facility is live. You'll oversee commissioning and acceptance, operations, maintenance, engineering, regulatory, and business functions at the site, report directly to the Head of Nuclear Operations, and serve as the primary interface between Paducah and corporate leadership.

## Responsibilities

- Lead site readiness efforts to bring the Paducah plant online, including staffing, training, and organizational build-out
- Build, develop, and manage the site leadership team and broader plant workforce, including effective on-going talent management and development strategies.
- Set the site's operational culture, establishing sustainable standards of excellence for safety, accountability, and performance through effective team leadership, team alignment, workforce engagement and on-going performance monitoring activities
- Ensure effective transition from construction through execution of commissioning and acceptance activities and Operational Readiness Reviews to support authorization for operations from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
- Oversee day-to-day operations, maintenance, engineering, regulatory, and business functions once the plant is running
- Ensure the plant operates safely and in compliance with all applicable NRC, DOE, OSHA and other required regulatory requirements
- Establish business strategies and plans that achieve site performance targets for production, safety, quality and financial performance.
- Establish and maintain effective working relationships and proactive communication strategies with external stakeholders, including regulators, customers, community stakeholders, and site visitors as needed
- Serve as the primary point of contact between the Paducah site and corporate leadership, ensuring alignment on priorities, resourcing, and performance

## Basic Qualifications

- BS/BA in science, engineering, or a technical field
- 15+ years of overall experience, including significant experience in senior plant leadership (e.g., Plant Manager, Site Vice President or Director, Operations Director, or equivalent)
- 5 years of management experience in the nuclear industry and/or a nuclear-related field or 10 years in other highly regulated industrial environments (e.g., semiconductor, chemical/refining, defense manufacturing) also considered
- Demonstrated ability to build and lead teams and set organizational culture at scale
- Strong track record of interfacing effectively with workers, regulators, customers, local community stakeholders and corporate/executive leadership
- Ability to obtain and maintain required security clearance and access authorization
- Excellent communication skills, with the ability to operate across technical, regulatory, and business audiences

## Preferred Skills and Experience

- Prior nuclear industry experience, particularly at an enrichment, fuel fabrication, or other NRC/DOE-licensed facility
- Experience standing up a new facility or bringing a plant from construction/startup into operations
- Experience operating in a fast-paced, resource-constrained, or startup environment
- Advanced degree in engineering, business, or a related field

Additional Requirements

Ability to work extended hours and weekends as necessary.

## Equal Opportunity Employer

General Matter is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with General Matter is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.

## Compensation and Benefits

The base salary range for this role is $220,000–$280,000 annually.

Compensation bands are determined by role, level, location, and alignment with market data. Individual level and base pay is determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on job-related skills, education, experience, technical capabilities and internal equity. Please note that the stated salary range is an estimate and may be adjusted based on market conditions, business needs, or other factors. In addition to base salary, for full-time hires, you may also be eligible for long-term incentives, in the form of stock options, and access to medical, vision & dental coverage as well as access to a 401(k) retirement plan.

## About General Matter

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Nuclear energy – uranium enrichment, nuclear fuel supply chain
- **Target customers**: Nuclear power plant operators (civilian reactors, small modular reactors, microreactors), data center operators, industrial manufacturers, and government/defense entities
- **Mission**: “Restore US leadership in nuclear fuel” and “make the cleanest, safest form of baseload energy the most affordable” [generalmatter.com/mission](https://generalmatter.com/mission/)

## Products & Services
- **Low Enriched Uranium (LEU)**: Enrichment of uranium to 3-5% U-235 for existing US civilian reactors (supplying ~20% of US grid power)
- **High Assay Low Enriched Uranium (HALEU)**: Enrichment to 5-20% U-235 for next-generation small modular reactors (SMRs) and microreactors
- **Enrichment as a Service**: Novel, scalable, cost-competitive enrichment technology to fill the critical gap in the US nuclear fuel cycle (conversion → enrichment → deconversion/fabrication)

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not disclosed (private company)
- **Key Metric**: Currently hiring for 64+ roles across engineering, construction, legal, and operations; actively building enrichment capacity
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Described as backed by “institutions” and “generational companies” – specific names not publicly available [generalmatter.com/careers](https://generalmatter.com/careers/)
- **Growth Signals**: Aggressive hiring across multiple disciplines; establishing a physical presence in Los Angeles (HQ) and Paducah, Kentucky (construction/manufacturing); addressing a critical national security gap (US currently performs <1% of global enrichment)

## Competitive Advantages
- **Domestic enrichment technology**: Novel, proprietary enrichment process designed to be cheaper, more reliable, and scalable compared to foreign state-backed competitors
- **National security moat**: Sole US-focused enrichment startup aiming to break dependence on Russian and Chinese supply chains
- **Talent pool**: Attracts high-caliber individuals from nuclear engineering, technology, finance, and special operations backgrounds
- **First-mover in HALEU**: Positioned to fuel the next wave of advanced reactors and behind-the-meter power for AI data centers

## Strategic Focus
- **Scale domestic enrichment capacity**: Build and operate enrichment facilities in the US (Los Angeles and Paducah)
- **Support AI and manufacturing growth**: Provide reliable, emissions-free baseload power for compute and industrial expansion
- **Enable advanced reactors**: Supply HALEU for SMRs and microreactors, opening new markets in remote and austere environments
- **Strengthen US energy independence**: Restore US leadership in nuclear fuel production

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: High standards, extreme ownership, copious autonomy, deep trust, zero politics – described as “work with the best across nuclear, tech and finance” [generalmatter.com/careers](https://generalmatter.com/careers/)
- **Work environment**: On-site roles in Los Angeles, CA (engineering, nuclear, legal) and Paducah, KY (construction, procurement); no remote/hybrid options explicitly stated
- **Notable perks**: Mission-driven work with national impact; opportunity to solve a critical energy and security challenge; flat organization with high agency
- **Engineering culture**: Emphasis on control systems, embedded software, simulation, DevOps, and nuclear safety engineering; also seeks creative minds and numbers savants

## Sources
1. [generalmatter.com](https://generalmatter.com/)
2. [generalmatter.com/careers](https://generalmatter.com/careers/)
3. [generalmatter.com/mission](https://generalmatter.com/mission/)
4. [generalmatter.com/technology](https://generalmatter.com/technology/)
5. [job-boards.greenhouse.io/generalmatter](https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/generalmatter)

## Other roles at General Matter

- [Radiation Safety Officer / Radiation Protection Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/radiation-safety-officer-radiation-protection-manager-general-matter-los-1nj9rzrhwkg5) — Los Angeles CA OR Paducah, KY
- [Environmental and Radioactive Waste Management Program Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/environmental-and-radioactive-waste-management-program-manager-general-matter-39j8wh4rd3w1) — Paducah KY OR Los Angeles, CA
- [Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/environmental-health-and-safety-ehs-engineer-general-matter-paducah-9ap3hb5yrv4w) — Paducah, KY
- [Head of IT](https://feeny.ai/job/head-of-it-general-matter-los-angeles-05ep4shy6mez) — Los Angeles, CA
- [Automation and Controls Engineer, Manufacturing](https://feeny.ai/job/automation-and-controls-engineer-manufacturing-general-matter-los-angeles-6arft9asv089) — Los Angeles, CA
- [Summer 2027 Internship - Supply Chain](https://feeny.ai/job/summer-2027-internship-supply-chain-general-matter-los-angeles-defnveptk5ee) — Los Angeles, CA
- [Nuclear Safety Basis Lead](https://feeny.ai/job/nuclear-safety-basis-lead-general-matter-los-angeles-91cjp93rh5ne) — Los Angeles, CA
- [Construction Quality Control/Assurance Specialist](https://feeny.ai/job/construction-quality-control-assurance-specialist-general-matter-richland-th4w2cfne416) — Richland, WA
- [Summer 2027 Internship - Civil Engineering](https://feeny.ai/job/summer-2027-internship-civil-engineering-general-matter-los-angeles-zggztmj2apy4) — Los Angeles, CA
- [Summer 2027 Internship - Embedded Software Engineering](https://feeny.ai/job/summer-2027-internship-embedded-software-engineering-general-matter-los-angeles-nrwtqxkfr2ej) — Los Angeles, CA