Director / Senior Director, Federal Government Affairs

Job description

About the Role Aalo is seeking a Washington, DC-based Director or Senior Director of Federal Government Affairs to lead day-to-day engagement with the executive branch and legislative branch. This individual will report to the Senior Vice President of Government Affairs and serve as a key representative of Aalo with Congress, congressional staff, the White House, the Department of Energy, the National Nuclear Security Administration, the Department of Defense, national laboratories, federal agencies, industry organizations, and other federal stakeholders. The role is responsible for advancing federal policy, legislative, appropriations, regulatory, and partnership opportunities that support Aalo’s business and deployment objectives. The ideal candidate will bring strong relationships across Capitol Hill and the executive branch, deep familiarity with energy, defense, appropriations, nuclear, and national security policy, and the judgment to operate effectively in a fast-moving advanced nuclear company. This position is based in Washington, DC and requires regular in-person engagement with federal stakeholders. Key Responsibilities Federal Executive Branch Engagement Lead Aalo’s day-to-day engagement with key executive branch stakeholders, including DOE , DOD, national laboratories, and other relevant federal agencies. Identify and advance federal programs, partnerships, policy initiatives, and funding opportunities aligned with Aalo’s reactor deployment, manufacturing, defense, energy security, and commercialization objectives. Support company engagement on federal matters involving advanced nuclear deployment, resilient power, strategic infrastructure, national security, and government applications. Track, interpret, and communicate federal agency priorities, rulemakings, program opportunities, budget developments, and policy changes relevant to Aalo. Prepare company leadership for meetings with senior federal officials, agency staff, national laboratory leaders, and public-sector partners. Legislative Branch Engagement Lead Aalo’s day-to-day engagement with Members of Congress, congressional staff, authorizing committees, appropriations committees, and relevant caucuses. Advance legislative, policy, appropriations, oversight, and coalition strategies that support Aalo’s growth and deployment priorities. Monitor congressional developments related to advanced nuclear energy, energy security, defense energy resilience, permitting, licensing, appropriations, supply chain, and national security. Draft and support policy materials, legislative proposals, briefing papers, testimony, hearing preparation, congressional correspondence, and advocacy materials. Build bipartisan relationships that strengthen Aalo’s position as a trusted advanced nuclear company and public-sector partner. Appropriations, Funding & Public-Sector Partnerships Support Aalo’s non-dilutive funding strategy by identifying and pursuing federal funding opportunities across civilian, defense, energy, and national security channels. Work with internal teams to align federal funding opportunities with technical, commercial, deployment, licensing, and operational priorities. Help shape appropriations and authorization strategies that support advanced nuclear deployment and Aalo-specific objectives. Coordinate with external lobbyists, consultants, trade associations, and coalition partners to advance Aalo’s federal priorities. Cross-Functional Strategy & Internal Coordination Partner closely with legal, regulatory, commercial, communications, engineering, deployment, and executive teams to ensure federal government strategy supports company execution. Provide timely analysis to the SVP of Government Affairs and executive leadership on federal policy developments, stakeholder risks, political dynamics, and public-sector growth opportunities. Translate complex technical, regulatory, and policy issues into clear, persuasive materials for policymakers and external stakeholders. Represent Aalo in federal policy forums, trade association meetings, coalition discussions, conferences, and strategic external engagements. Qualifications Significant experience in federal government affairs, public policy, congressional affairs, executive branch engagement, appropriations, energy policy, defense policy, nuclear policy, or a related field. Strong working knowledge of Congress, congressional committees, federal agencies, the budget and appropriations process, and executive branch decision-making. Demonstrated relationships with congressional offices, committees, DOE , DOD, national laboratories, or other relevant federal stakeholders. Experience working on energy, nuclear, defense, national security, infrastructure, manufacturing, technology, or other complex regulated sectors. Ability to operate effectively in Washington, DC with senior policymakers, agency officials, congressional staff, industry partners, and internal executives. Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to prepare briefing materials, policy memos, legislative language, talking points, and executive-level updates. Strong political judgment, discretion, and ability to handle sensitive government, defense, or national security-related matters. Ability to work cross-functionally with technical, commercial, legal, regulatory, communications, and executive teams. Active or previously held security clearance is preferred; ability to obtain and maintain required clearances may be required depending on the nature of the work. Preferred Experience Prior service on Capitol Hill, in the executive branch, at DOE , DOD, a national laboratory, or in a senior federal affairs role. Experience with advanced nuclear energy, nuclear fuel cycle policy, energy resilience, defense energy programs, or federal clean energy deployment programs. Familiarity with federal funding mechanisms, cooperative agreements, OTAs, grants, contracts, appropriations, and public-private partnership structures. Experience managing or coordinating external lobbyists, consultants, trade associations, or policy coalitions. Expected Outcomes Stronger federal relationships across Congress, DOE , DOD, national laboratories, and other relevant agencies. Improved visibility and positioning for Aalo in federal advanced nuclear, energy security, defense energy, and public policy ecosystems. Increased access to federal funding, appropriations, and public-sector partnership opportunities. Effective support for Aalo’s licensing, deployment, siting, manufacturing, and commercialization objectives. Timely internal insight into federal policy, budget, regulatory, and political developments affecting Aalo. Proactive management of federal stakeholder risks and opportunities. What We Offer Competitive salary and meaningful equity. Comprehensive health, dental, and vision benefits. 401(k) matching and flexible PTO. The opportunity to help shape the federal policy and public-sector partnership strategy for the next generation of clean energy. Requirements: Based in the United States Willing to work on-site in Washington, DC What We Offer: Competitive salary based on technical level Health, Dental, and Vision Insurance Paid Time Off Corporate Gym Membership Candidates only. No recruiters or agencies, please. Additional Information: Aalo Atomics provides a collaborative and supportive work environment, opportunities for professional growth, intellectually challenging careers, and competitive compensation. Aalo Atomics is an equal opportunity employer and considers all employment decisions without regard to race, color, religion, national or ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Applicants must be U.S. Citizens or U.S. Persons in compliance with 10 CFR Part 810 and may not hold non-compliant foreign citizenships. Direct applicants only. No recruiters or staffing agencies, please. About Aalo Atomics Aalo Atomics is pioneering a new era in clean energy with factory-fabricated microreactors designed to deliver affordable, scalable, and reliable nuclear power. Our mission is to make nuclear energy globally accessible, starting with the Aalo-1, a 10 MWe reactor leveraging cutting-edge safety, modularity, and efficiency. Based in Austin, TX, we’re rapidly growing as we work to deploy the world’s first fleet of advanced microreactors. Join us and help revolutionize energy for a sustainable future. As Aalo grows, effective engagement with the federal government will be central to advancing our reactor development, licensing, deployment, siting, manufacturing, defense, and commercialization objectives.