Visual Designer

Thanks for your interest in Oklo! We are searching for a Visual Designer to join our team. 

Position Description

Oklo is seeking a Visual Designer who can bring creativity, strategy, and visual storytelling together to strengthen how we communicate our mission and milestones. This role requires an innovative thinker—someone who can translate complex ideas into compelling visuals, propose bold creative concepts, and lead visual direction across media, events, and digital platforms.

You will own the visual identity of the brand, help shape how Oklo shows up in the world, and ensure that every design—from fact sheets to video storyboards—reinforces our credibility, innovation, and purpose. The ideal candidate is highly collaborative, flexible, and thrives in a fast-paced, evolving environment.

Specific responsibilities may include:

Creative Direction & Brand Stewardship

• Lead the development and evolution of Oklo’s visual identity across all communications channels
• Propose innovative creative concepts and design directions that advance Oklo’s storytelling and brand visibility
• Ensure consistent application of brand standards across all materials, digital assets, and external communications
• Audit and manage the visual asset library, maintaining version control, organization, and accessibility

Design & Production

• Design high-impact materials, including fact sheets, infographics, reports, presentations, and event visuals
• Develop layouts and assets for web, digital, and social media campaigns
• Support video production and animation projects through storyboarding, visual direction, and coordination with creative vendors
• Create and refine brand elements, icons, and graphics for company-wide use

Storytelling & Collaboration

• Translate technical, policy, and scientific concepts into clear, visually engaging narratives
• Collaborate across teams—communications, marketing, operations, and government affairs—to align visuals with messaging
• Present creative ideas and options clearly, incorporating input and feedback from multiple stakeholders
• Balance creative leadership with flexibility, adapting to changes and evolving priorities

Process & Quality

• Manage creative workflows to meet fast-paced deadlines without compromising quality
• Conduct regular brand audits and recommend updates or enhancements
• Maintain an organized system for visual assets and templates to enable consistent, efficient use across teams

Minimum Qualifications:

• 5–8 years of experience in visual communications, brand design, or creative direction (experience in technology, energy, or mission-driven sectors preferred)
• Strong portfolio demonstrating creativity, visual storytelling, and brand system management
• Expert in Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop, Premiere, After Effects) and/or Figma
• Experience with video production, motion graphics, and animation storyboarding
• Proven ability to lead creative projects, manage multiple priorities, and work cross-functionally
• Highly organized, detail-oriented, and adaptable in a dynamic environment
• Strong communication and presentation skills

Bonus Qualifications:

• Strong preference for those local to Santa Clara, CA
• Innovative and proactive—constantly proposing new visual ways to tell stories and engage audiences
• Balances creative vision with practical execution
• Thrives under pressure and can manage shifting timelines or priorities with calm focus
• Passionate about design’s role in advancing understanding of technology, energy, and innovation

Competencies

We are looking for a Visual Designer that is:

• Innovative and proactive—constantly proposing new visual ways to tell stories and engage audiences
• Able to balance creative vision with practical execution
• Able to thrive under pressure and can manage shifting timelines or priorities with calm focus
• Passionate about design’s role in advancing understanding of technology, energy, and innovation
• Willing and able to learn quickly
• Eager to work on a dynamic team, receive constructive feedback, and grow with us
• 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 
• Willing to propose novel and creative solutions to technical problems
• An excellent writer who can write in modern active voice, so make your cover letter compelling and write it well!
• Able to communicate technical content and results verbally 

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:

Salary: $90,000-$130,000

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

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.