Director, Product Cost

Overview

Kairos Power is a new nuclear energy technology and engineering company focused on enabling the world’s transition to clean energy. The mission is to dramatically improve people’s quality of life while protecting the environment through the commercialization of the fluoride-salt-cooled, high-temperature reactor (FHR) with safety, affordable costs, and flexible operation.

Job Title: Director of Product Cost

This role leads the development and execution of the company’s product cost architecture and forecasting systems. The director owns methodologies, tools, and processes that enable estimation and forecasting of the cost of reactor systems, fuel, salt, and supporting infrastructure with accuracy, transparency, and consistency. Insights inform corporate forecasting, pricing, contracting, and investment decisions as Kairos Power moves from demonstration to commercial deployment.

Reporting to the Director of Strategic Initiatives, the Director of Product Cost will collaborate with the Director of FP&A, Cost Accounting Manager, and technical leaders across Engineering, Manufacturing, and Supply Chain. The role requires exceptional cross-functional coordination and the ability to bridge technical, financial, and operational disciplines. The successful candidate will combine strong analytical capability with practical understanding of engineered systems and manufacturing economics to drive cost maturity and competitiveness across Kairos Power’s programs. This is an onsite role in Alameda, CA or Alburequeue, NM.

Responsibilities

• Forecasting and Methodology: develop an enterprise-wide cost forecasting framework that integrates engineering, manufacturing, and financial data to inform planning, pricing, and contracting decisions.
• Develop and maintain parameterized cost models across major domains (salt, fuel, reactor hardware, construction, shared infrastructure) with transparent assumptions and traceability.
• Define and document cost estimation methodologies, inputs, and governance aligned with corporate forecasting and investor-facing financial models.
• Establish and manage a regular forecasting cadence synchronized with planning cycles to support data-driven decisions.
• Collaborate with Engineering and cost owners to ensure assumptions are well-documented, realistic, and consistently applied.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: work with Finance, Accounting, and FP&A to ensure forecasts inform budgeting, scenario analysis, and long-range planning.
• Reconcile forecasts to actuals with the Cost Accounting Manager, perform root-cause analyses, and refine assumptions.
• Identify and track cost drivers with Engineering, Supply Chain, and Manufacturing; inform design and sourcing decisions.
• Coordinate with Strategy and FP&A to align product cost models with pro forma, techno-economic, and investor-facing analyses.
• Foster communication and data-sharing practices to ensure a unified understanding of cost structure, risk, and opportunity.
• Insights and Decision Support: develop learning-curve and scaling frameworks; conduct sensitivity and scenario analyses; analyze cost trends and anomalies.
• Provide data-driven recommendations to reduce cost, improve operational efficiency, and enhance market competitiveness.
• Support internal pricing and contracting discussions by validating cost targets and financial assumptions and quantifying impacts when misaligned.
• Reporting and Communication: create tools to communicate forecasts, trends, and drivers to executive leadership; translate analyses into actionable insights.
• Prepare presentations and visualizations; maintain cost transparency in internal and customer-facing reports, including cost-plus and open-book contracting support.
• Collaborate with FP&A, Accounting, and Strategy to maintain consistent cost narratives across communications.
• Team Leadership: build and lead a small team for product cost forecasting and analysis; foster rigor, transparency, and continuous improvement.
• Establish development paths for team members as cost forecasting expands to support deployment; encourage cross-functional problem-solving.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, finance, economics, or a related field.
• At least ten years of experience in cost forecasting, cost engineering, or manufacturing finance, including at least five years in a leadership role.
• Experience at a manufacturer or hardware developer within the past five years.
• Proven track record of developing and managing cost forecasting systems for complex engineered products or large-scale manufacturing programs.
• Strong analytical skills and proficiency in detailed cost and financial modeling; ability to integrate technical, operational, and financial data for decision-making.
• Excellent communication skills for presenting to executive stakeholders.
• Familiarity with ERP systems (e.g., NetSuite, Oracle) and advanced Excel modeling; ability to operate in a fast-paced, cross-functional environment.
• Advanced degree in business, engineering, data science, economics, or related field preferred.
• Experience leading cross-functional cost management initiatives; preference for those who have built or scaled cost forecasting functions in complex manufacturing or capital projects.
• Experience in clean energy, aerospace, or other capital-intensive environments is highly valued.
• Knowledge of cost accounting, variance analysis, and cost-plus/open-book contracting is preferred.
• Knowledge of learning-curve modeling, sensitivity analysis, and cost scaling is an advantage.
• Proficiency with data analysis/visualization tools (Python, Power BI, Tableau) desirable.
• Proven track record collaborating with cross-functional teams and influencing decision-making in dynamic environments.

Other Requirements

• Onsite work required in Alameda, CA headquarters.
• Travel up to 10% may be required.
• Occasional weekends, schedule flexibility, and extended hours to support launch and critical projects.

Compensation and Benefits

The salary range is $209,400 to $261,800 for onsite employees in Alameda, CA. The posted range reflects typical starting rates in California and factors such as education, experience, and location. Benefits include competitive compensation, medical/dental/vision, paid vacation, 401(k), pre-tax health insurance and dependent care, and commuter benefits. Kairos Power is an equal opportunity employer and participates in E-Verify.

Legal and Compliance

Note: This position is in a facility handling information subject to export control by the Department of Energy under 10 CFR Part 810. Authorization is required to access Part 810 information. Foreign nationals from countries not on the DOE general authorization list are not permitted to work unless the DOE issues an export control license.

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