Senior Software Quality Engineer

Back to jobsSenior Software Quality EngineerWashington, DCApply The Nuclear Company is the fastest growing AI tech-enabled startup in the nuclear and energy space, pioneering a fleet-scale approach to building the next generation of nuclear reactors. Through our design-once, build-many model, we're accelerating the deployment of safe, reliable, and affordable nuclear energy. We operate with an AI-first mindset. Every employee is expected to leverage AI, technology, and the Nuclear Operating System (NOS) as integral components of their role to improve the quality, speed, and impact of their work. We expect every team member to continuously identify opportunities to automate workflows, enhance decision-making, improve processes, and contribute to the ongoing evolution of NOS as a strategic operating capability that enables The Nuclear Company to scale with excellence. We hire people who are driven by purpose, thrive in ambiguity, and are energized by building what has never been built before. Our team combines intellectual curiosity with high agency, embraces candid feedback and continuous learning, and holds themselves and others to exceptional standards. Our values—Transparency, Responsibility, Unity, Scrappiness, and Tenacity—guide how we hire, collaborate, and make decisions every day. They are not words on a wall; they are the standard by which we operate. TRUST is the foundation of our safety culture, fostering intellectual honesty, accountability, and open communication, while our values challenge every team member to execute with urgency, humility, resilience, and an unwavering commitment to our mission. About the role The Nuclear Company is seeking a Senior Software Quality Engineer to help ensure the quality, reliability, traceability, and compliance of Nuclear Operating System (NOS), the software platform supporting one of the largest nuclear construction programs in the United States.  This role combines software engineering, test automation, verification and validation (V&V), and quality assurance in a highly regulated environment. You will work closely with software engineers, product teams, and compliance leaders to build automated testing capabilities, verify software requirements, support audit readiness, and ensure digital systems meet the standards required for nuclear deployment.  The ideal candidate is a strong engineer who enjoys building automation, improving quality processes, and working within rigorous compliance frameworks.  Responsibilities Test Automation & Quality Engineering  Design, develop, and maintain automated test frameworks for web, API, data, and backend services.  Build and execute automated unit, integration, regression, and end-to-end test suites.  Integrate testing into CI/CD pipelines and release processes.  Develop performance, load, and reliability testing capabilities.  Establish quality metrics and reporting dashboards.  Verification & Validation  Execute software verification and validation activities.  Validate software against documented requirements and acceptance criteria.  Ensure requirements are traceable through design, implementation, testing, and release.  Support release readiness reviews and quality gates.  Quality Assurance & Compliance  Perform quality reviews and audits of software systems and development processes.  Support compliance with ASME NQA-1 and other applicable quality standards.  Verify configuration management, change control, and records management practices.  Prepare audit-ready documentation and objective evidence packages.  Defect Management & Root Cause Analysis  Lead defect triage, investigation, verification, and closure activities.  Analyze quality trends and identify opportunities for process improvement.  Support root cause investigations and corrective action programs.  Reduce defect escape rates through improved automation and quality controls.   Collaboration & Continuous Improvement  Partner with software engineers to...