Strategic Partnerships Manager

Thanks for your interest in Oklo! We are searching for a Strategic Partnerships Manager to join our team. 

Position Description

We are seeking a high-caliber Strategic Partnerships Manager to join Oklo’s Corporate Development team. In this role, you will be a primary architect of the ecosystem required to deploy advanced fission at scale. You will identify, negotiate, and manage high-stakes relationships with a diverse set of global partners - from industrial giants and hyperscale customers to innovative startups.

This is a high-impact, external-facing role that requires a rare blend of commercial intuition, technical literacy, and deal-making finesse. You aren’t just managing accounts; you are building the commercial infrastructure for the future of clean energy.

Specific responsibilities may include:

Partnership Development & Negotiation

• Lead the end-to-end lifecycle of strategic partnerships, pre and post-deal.
• Manage relationships with large-scale enterprise customers, helping them navigate the transition to reliable, carbon-free baseload power.
• Act as the primary point of contact for horizontal partners (e.g., fuel cycle providers, EPC firms, and technology integrators) to ensure seamless operational alignment.

Ecosystem Management

• Build and maintain a robust suite of adjacent startups - including Oklo’s portfolio companies - identifying synergies between emerging technologies and Oklo’s deployment roadmap.
• Act as a strategic advisor to partner companies, ensuring mutual value creation and long-term alignment with Oklo’s mission.

Strategic Commercial Analysis

• Develop complex commercial frameworks and "win-win" incentive structures for multi-decade partnerships.
• Work with the finance team to model the economic impact of various partnership structures, including Joint Ventures (JVs) and off-take agreements.

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Serve as the "voice of the partner" internally, collaborating with Legal, Regulatory, Engineering, and Finance to ensure deal terms are executable.
• Prepare high-stakes briefing materials and strategic recommendations for executive leadership and the Board of Directors.

Market Intelligence

• Maintain a deep pulse on the energy landscape, identifying shifts in competitor strategy, government incentives, and industrial power demand.

Minimum Qualifications:

• 4–6 years of experience in strategic partnerships, business development, corporate development, or management consulting.
• Proven track record of negotiating complex, multi-party commercial agreements.
• Experience designing creative financial structures for sophisticated transactions.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to build commercial models and evaluate the financial health and strategic fit of potential partners.
• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Economics, Engineering, or a related field; MBA is a plus.
• Highly self-directed, with a track record of independently owning and delivering complex, cross-functional projects.

Preferred Traits:

• Entrepreneurial mindset with ability to operate independently and take initiative.
• Deep curiosity about markets, emerging business models, and investment trends.
• Prior exposure to or experience in nuclear, energy, start ups.

Competencies

We are looking for a Strategic Partnerships Manager that is:

• Passionate about clean energy
• Passionate about making advanced fission 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

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.

About Oklo travel requirements:

Oklo requires remote employees to travel to headquarters (Santa Clara, CA) twice a quarter annually, based on business or team needs, including attendance at team meetings, off-sites, and other company events or gatherings. For the first two weeks of onboarding, employees are required to be in person at headquarters in Santa Clara, CA.

About Oklo compensation: $165,000 - $215,000

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

Oklo offers flexible time off, equity, competitive pay, 401k, health insurance, FSA, flexible work hours, and other benefits.

This position may involve access to information subject to U.S. export control laws. Only applicants who meet the definition of a U.S. person under applicable laws may be eligible.

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.

#CHOP: Oklo’s Values
Collaboration: We go further, together. We bring diverse perspectives, listen actively, and build trust through transparency and respect. We work across disciplines, sharing ownership to turn complex challenges into shared successes.
Humility: We are team players who act for the good of the company and for the world. We are focused on our mission, not personal recognition.
Ownership: We take pride in what we do and how we do it. We are proactive in finding solutions and see tasks through  to completion. We are committed to delivering on our promises to provide clean, reliable, and affordable energy.
Pathfinding: We chart new ground where no path exists by approaching challenges with curiosity, courage, and creativity while navigating ambiguity.