---
title: 'Production Quality Engineer at Valar Atomics'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/production-quality-engineer-valar-atomics-torrance-h1s7m11wa4jv'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-10-16'
---

# Production Quality Engineer at Valar Atomics

- **Company:** Valar Atomics
- **Location:** Torrance, CA
- **Compensation:** $90k–$125k
- **Posted:** 2026-10-08
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-10-16
- **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/valaratomics/jobs/4432119009

## Job description

## About Valar Atomics

At Valar Atomics, we're redefining what's possible in energy. Our mission is to make clean, high-temperature nuclear power scalable—unlocking abundant energy for industry, hydrogen, and next-generation manufacturing. We are a team of builders, engineers, and operators who believe nuclear energy should be fast to deploy, factory-made, and built for the real world. Our first pilot plant in Orangeville, Utah will demonstrate how advanced nuclear systems and fuel fabrication can power the future. Joining Valar Atomics means becoming part of a company where autonomy, ownership, and impact exist at every level.

The Team

As part of the Regulations & Safety organization, Quality Assurance establishes the systems and standards that ensure products and processes consistently meet the highest levels of quality and compliance. The team promotes continuous improvement and operational excellence across the company.

## The Role

As Production Quality Engineer, you will provide technical quality engineering support directly to the production floor for HTGR reactor component and fuel-related manufacturing activities. This role sits within the Torrance manufacturing and fuel fabrication environment. This role serves as the technical quality authority for production processes, working alongside Production Quality Supervisors, Technicians, and Inspectors to define inspection methods, evaluate process capability, disposition nonconforming material, and drive root cause and corrective action for production quality issues. You will partner closely with Manufacturing Engineering, Design Engineering, and Operations to ensure production processes are controlled, verifiable, and capable of meeting engineering requirements at production tempo.

This is a hands-on floor engineering role. You will spend significant time directly on the production floor evaluating process performance, reviewing nonconformances, supporting inspection planning, and working through technical problems with operators, technicians, and manufacturing engineers in real time.

## Key Responsibilities

- Develop and maintain inspection plans, control plans, and verification methods for production processes, ensuring alignment with engineering drawings, specifications, and process control requirements.
- Serve as the technical disposition authority for production nonconformances, making timely, technically defensible use-as-is, rework, repair, or scrap decisions with appropriate engineering justification, even under schedule pressure.
- Lead root cause analysis and corrective action (CAPA) for production quality issues, applying structured problem-solving methods (8D, 5-Why, fishbone, etc.) and taking ownership of issues through to closure.
- Evaluate process capability and measurement system performance, including Cp/Cpk studies, Gauge R&R, and other Measurement Systems Analysis (MSA) activities, favoring data-driven decisions over reflexive inspection or rejection.
- Work directly on the production floor alongside operators, technicians, and manufacturing engineers to solve quality problems in real time.
- Partner with Manufacturing Engineering and Design Engineering to resolve manufacturability issues, process deviations, and engineering change impacts affecting production quality.
- Support Production Quality Supervisors and Technicians with technical guidance on inspection methods, gauge selection, sampling plans, and verification strategy.
- Support development and technical content of Quality Plan Certification Training Syllabi for Operator Verification Certification (OVC), enabling delegated verification where appropriate.
- Analyze production quality data and trends to identify systemic issues, recurring nonconformances, and opportunities for process improvement.
- Participate in internal audits of production processes and support external audit and customer quality reviews as the technical subject matter expert.
- Support qualification and verification activities as production processes transition from prototype to sustained production.

## Basic Qualifications

- Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Materials Engineering, Quality Engineering, or related technical discipline.
- 3+ years of experience in quality engineering, manufacturing engineering, or process engineering within a production environment.
- Ability to interpret engineering drawings, GD&T, specifications, and process control documentation.
- Working knowledge of statistical process control (SPC), process capability analysis (Cp/Cpk), and Measurement Systems Analysis (MSA/Gauge R&R).
- Experience with nonconformance and CAPA systems and root cause investigation methodologies.
- Strong communication skills across engineering, manufacturing, and quality functions, with the ability to translate technical findings into practical action.
- Comfortable working within active manufacturing environments including exposure to industrial noise, fabrication-related fumes, and changing operational conditions while following all safety protocols.

## Preferred Skills and Experience

- Experience supporting nuclear, aerospace, defense, semiconductor, or similarly regulated manufacturing environments.
- Familiarity with NQA-1, ASME, AS9100, IATF 16949, or similar quality management standards.
- Experience with APQP/PPAP, PFMEA, and process control plan development.
- Lean Six Sigma Green Belt, Black Belt, or equivalent process improvement certification.
- Experience using statistical analysis tools (Minitab, JMP, or similar) for process and data analysis.
- Experience supporting or implementing Operator Verification Certification (OVC) or similar delegated-verification programs
- Experience transitioning manufacturing processes from prototype/R&D to sustained production.

## What We Offer

- Competitive base salary
- Equity ownership in a rapidly growing advanced energy company
- Comprehensive medical benefits
- Unlimited PTO
- Free daily lunch and dinner provided onsite
- Generous PPE stipend
- High-impact startup environment with significant ownership and autonomy
- Opportunities for rapid career growth and internal advancement
- Direct collaboration with experienced operators, engineers, and industry leaders
- The opportunity to help build and scale transformative energy technology from the ground up

## Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

Valar Atomics is an equal opportunity employer. We consider all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other protected status under applicable law.

We are committed to providing a workplace free of discrimination and harassment and will provide reasonable accommodation as required by law.

Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States as a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident (green card holder). Salary $90,000—$125,000 USD

## About Valar Atomics

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Valar Atomics is scaling nuclear energy through grid-independent, high-temperature gas reactors (HTGR) for hydrogen production, data center power, heavy industrial power, and clean hydrocarbon fuel synthesis.
- **Entity Type**: Private (total funding $494M–$600.5M, latest round Debt - II)
- **Headquarters**: El Segundo, California, United States (additional location in Orangeville, Utah)
- **Founded**: 2023
- **Founders**: Not publicly listed (key executives include President Muhammad Shahzad and CNO Mark Mitchell)

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Nuclear energy / advanced nuclear reactor technology
- **Target customers**: Large-scale industrial users (hydrogen producers, data centers, heavy industry), grid-independent operations, and fuel synthesis plants (B2B, Enterprise)
- **Mission or purpose**: “Nuclear needs scale” – unlock economies of scale by building hundreds of reactors on Valar gigasites, divorcing industrial power from the traditional grid.

## Products & Services
- **[Ward 250 Reactor]**: A grid-independent HTGR using TRISO fuel, designed for high-volume, non-bespoke production. Achieved criticality in June 2026 under DOE’s pilot program. Product type: Hardware (nuclear reactor).
- **[Hydrogen Production]**: Reactors paired with a sulfur-iodine cycle process to produce cheap, abundant hydrogen. Product type: Industrial energy product.
- **[Data Center Power]**: Dedicated on-site nuclear power for AI data centers, targeting AI’s projected 200+ TWh additional demand by 2030. Product type: Service / infrastructure.
- **[Heavy Industrial Power]**: Grid-independent power for processes like green steel and bauxite electrolysis. Product type: Service / infrastructure.
- **[Clean Hydrocarbon Fuels]**: Combines cheap hydrogen with captured CO₂ via a modified Fischer-Tropsch process to create synthetic fuels. Product type: Fuel product.
- **[Modular Citadel Shielding]**: Pre-cast, self-tensioning shielding system for mass-manufactured reactor protection. Production line capable of 1,000+ blocks per year. Product type: Hardware component.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation / Market Cap**: Not disclosed (CB Insights shows valuation as hidden)
- **Key Metric**: Total funding reported as $494M (LinkedIn) or $600.5M (CB Insights, conflicting reports); latest round debt financing in November 2025.
- **Notable Investors**: Palmer Luckey, Shyam Sankar, Day One Ventures, DTX Ventures, Contrary, Riot Ventures (led Seed), Snowpoint Ventures (led Series A), and 28+ others.
- **Growth Signals**: Headcount of 74 employees (+232% YoY, +9.6% monthly); 30 active job postings; Ward 250 reactor achieved criticality in June 2026; partnerships with DOE, San Rafael Energy Research Center, and State of Utah; opened first nuclear site (San Rafael) in February 2026.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Proven HTGR design** with unmatched safety profile and proliferation resistance when paired with TRISO fuel.
- **Grid-independent “gigasite” model** that avoids traditional grid constraints, enabling mass manufacturing of standardized reactors.
- **Vertical integration**: In-house design of reactors, fuel processing (sulfur-iodine cycle), and shielding systems (Modular Citadel).
- **Speed to market**: Ward 250 is on track for power operations before July 4, 2026, under a DOE mandate.
- **Talent base**: Attracts engineers from Ultra Safe Nuclear, X-energy, Anduril, and other advanced hardware companies.

## Strategic Focus
- **Scale manufacturing**: Transition from project-based nuclear to high-volume production through gigasites.
- **Achieve operational milestones**: Achieve hot criticality and power operation at Ward 250 by mid-2026.
- **Expand product lines**: Deliver grid-independent hydrogen, data center power, and synthetic fuels to meet industrial and AI energy demands.
- **Grow headcount rapidly**: Aggressively hiring in engineering, operations, quality, and technical roles.

## Why Work Here
- **Mission-driven culture**: “Hardware is the only thing that counts” – emphasis on building real reactors, not just pitching.
- **High growth environment**: Company doubled headcount in the past year; roles offer significant ownership and impact.
- **Locations**: Hawthorne (CA), El Segundo (CA), Orangeville (UT), and Huntington (UT) – roles span design, manufacturing, and field operations.
- **Work style**: Likely on-site/hybrid for technical roles (e.g., Build Engineer, Nuclear Operations Manager, Machinist).
- **Perks & culture**: Rapid advancement opportunities, exposure to cutting-edge nuclear and chemical engineering, and a team with deep ties to defense and deep-tech.
- **Current openings**: 30+ roles including mechanical engineers, plant operators, quality engineers, finance systems engineers, and technical recruiters.

## Sources
1. [valaratomics.com](https://valaratomics.com/)
2. [Greenhouse careers](http://job-boards.greenhouse.io/valaratomics)
3. [CB Insights](https://www.cbinsights.com/company/valar-atomics)
4. [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/valar-atomics)

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