Lead R&D Technician

About Us

At Antares, our long-term mission is to make clean energy abundant from Earth to the Asteroid Belt. We’re fueled by the belief that advanced nuclear energy can strengthen our military, solve the climate crisis, elevate global living standards, and expand humanity's presence in outer space. To achieve our mission, we’re building mass-producible, inherently safe, deployable microreactors that can be used terrestrially, underwater, and in space.

Formed in 2023, the Antares team hails from SpaceX, The White House, MIT, Rigetti Computing, The Air Force, General Atomics, Relativity Space, Ursa Major, Ultra Safe Nuclear, and Los Alamos National Laboratory. Antares has raised over $39M in venture capital from top-tier investors and has over $4M in government funding. 

About the Team

As our first Lead Technician, you will be at the forefront of our R&D manufacturing operations, building a team of skilled technicians in a fast-paced, innovative environment. At first, you will have a hands-on role through prototype builds over the next year. As we begin to expand the team, you will take ownership of prototyping, machining, assembly, and fabrication operations, ensuring attention to detail and proper documentation as we develop next-generation nuclear systems.

Roles and Responsibilities:

• Build, lead, and mentor a team of ambitious, quality-focused technicians, fostering a culture of technical excellence, teamwork, and accountability.

• Perform and oversee manufacturing, machining, and assembly operations, ensuring adherence to specifications, quality standards, and safety protocols.

• Optimize processes for rapid iteration, working closely with R&D engineers to refine manufacturing techniques.

• Participate in design reviews, providing input on manufacturability, available resources, and process improvements.

• Help spec, source, and commission critical equipment to enable our rapid development while maintaining high quality.

• Develop and document best practices for machining, assembly, and quality inspection.

• Identify and resolve technical challenges, implementing corrective actions and continuous improvement initiatives.

• Support critical testing and validation efforts, ensuring products meet performance and reliability requirements.  Some of these efforts will require off-site travel.

• Train and upskill technicians on new processes, tools, and industry best practices.

• Performs other related duties, as assigned, for the purpose of ensuring an efficient and effective work environment.

Basic Qualifications:

• 5+ years of experience leading a team of skilled technicians in a high-performance manufacturing or R&D environment.

• Deep understanding of aerospace-grade production/quality standards and a demonstrated track record of enforcing them.

• Experience interpreting engineering drawings and technical specifications & processes.

Preferred Skills & Experience:

• Experience building a team from scratch, sizing the team based on company needs and available resources 

• Experience in aerospace, nuclear, defense, or advanced manufacturing industries.

• Knowledge of materials science, precision machining, and quality inspection techniques.

• Hands-on experience with fluid, gas, or high-voltage systems.

• Experience with automation, robotics, and advanced manufacturing techniques.

• Background in process optimization and lean manufacturing principles.

• Familiarity with PLM, ERP, and manufacturing planning systems.

• Strong problem-solving skills with a hands-on approach to technical challenges.

• Excellent communication and leadership skills, with the ability to motivate and develop a high-performing team.

Additional Requirements:

• Ability to work long hours and weekends as necessary to support critical milestones.

• The job may require frequently lifting up to 50 lbs and performing physically demanding tasks as needed.

Culture

At Antares, we like to specifically tie each role to our founding document’s set of values–here are the top five cultural values we think you should believe at your core to be successful:

• Think in Systems - Energy and Defense are complex ecosystems with numerous stakeholders with competing priorities, conflicting policies, perverse incentives, and emergent and path-dependent properties. First principles thinking alone is insufficient. Think probabilistically and then take action. “