IT Manager

Location: Houston, TX

Employment Type: Full-Time

About Us

We are a next-generation nuclear technology startup pioneering the commercialization of High-Temperature Gas-cooled Reactors (HTGRs) — a proven, safe, and transformative technology for delivering ultra-high-temperature heat and enabling a carbon-neutral future. Our mission is to deploy the world’s first global fleet of Advanced Modular Reactors, redefining how clean energy powers industries, communities, and economies. As a fast-growing company in its early stage, every team member — whether in engineering, program management, partnerships, operations, or business development — plays a direct role in shaping our technology, culture, and impact. You’ll join a collaborative, mission-driven team of internationally recognized experts and innovators working together to bring advanced nuclear energy to the world.

The Role

ZettaJoule is seeking an IT Manager to own our cloud implementation and serve as the single accountable person for IT operations across the U.S. organization, with oversight of tooling used by our Japan subsidiary. This is a founding IT role in a pre-Series A nuclear energy startup: you'll design and build infrastructure from the ground up, make consequential architectural decisions with limited oversight, and operate in a highly regulated environment where clean, documented, reproducible infrastructure is not optional. Initially, you'll also perform hands-on as our Cloud Infrastructure Engineer — owning multi-region architecture, connectivity between Houston and Japan, infrastructure-as-code, DevOps pipelines, and day-to-day reliability. As the team grows, you'll build and lead a small IT organization. This is not primarily a managerial role today — we need someone who is still an engineer.

Key Responsibilities

• Design and implement multi-region cloud architecture on AWS supporting engineering workloads in Houston and Japan.
• Architect VPC environments and secure network connectivity between Houston headquarters and Japanese engineering facilities.
• Deploy and manage all infrastructure using infrastructure-as-code for reproducible, auditable environments.
• Deploy and operate cloud-hosted engineering platforms, including CAD/simulation environments, PLM/PDM systems, and HPC/batch compute.
• Build and maintain CI/CD pipelines; define and deliver on SLOs/SLAs; own disaster recovery and business continuity planning.
• Serve as primary technical liaison to cloud service providers and coordinate with ZettaJoule KK's Japan-based IT team.
• Own endpoint management, IT support operations, and identity/access provisioning across the U.S. organization.
• As the team grows, contribute to hiring, onboarding, and mentoring of junior infrastructure engineers.

What You Bring

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Electrical Engineering, or related field, or equivalent professional experience.
• Minimum of 8 years of hands-on cloud infrastructure engineering experience on AWS.
• Demonstrated experience designing and operating cloud environments in a regulated or compliance-driven industry (nuclear, defense, aerospace, energy, or government IT).
• Proficiency with infrastructure-as-code tools such as Terraform, CloudFormation, Pulumi, or CDK.
• Strong understanding of cloud networking: VPCs, VPNs, routing, DNS, load balancing, and inter-region connectivity.
• Experience deploying and supporting engineering software platforms in cloud environments.

Certifications

Professional-level cloud certification strongly preferred (e.g., AWS Solutions Architect Professional).

Citizenship

U.S. citizenship or U.S. permanent resident status is required. Access to EAR-controlled and 10 CFR 810-governed nuclear technology requires authorization consistent with U.S. export control law.

Even Better

• Direct experience in the nuclear energy sector, including familiarity with NRC or DOE IT and cybersecurity requirements.
• Experience with AWS GovCloud deployments for DOE-sensitive workloads.
• Experience deploying or supporting PLM/PDM platforms such as Teamcenter or Windchill.
• Familiarity with Japanese cloud regulatory requirements (e.g., ISMAP) and experience working within a Japanese corporate environment.
• Professional proficiency in Japanese.

Why Work for Us

• The opportunity to architect cloud infrastructure from the ground up for a company at the forefront of advanced nuclear energy, with direct visibility to executive leadership.
• A founding-team culture where your architectural decisions shape the organization's digital infrastructure for years to come.
• Competitive base salary commensurate with experience, plus equity participation in a high-growth energy startup.
• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision coverage.Support for professional development, certification costs, and conference attendance.
• International working experience with ZettaJoule's Japan team and exposure to global nuclear energy markets.
• Be part of a mission-driven team advancing clean, safe nuclear energy for a carbon-neutral world.