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Plant Manager

General Matter · Paducah, KY

Level
Manager
Team
Production
Base pay
$220k–$280k
Degree
Required
Experience asked
15+ years
Industry
Industrial
Posted
30+ days ago

The role in 30 seconds

A management production role at General Matter (industrial) in Paducah, KY. As Plant Manager, you'll build and lead General Matter's Paducah site from the ground up — standing up the plant, staffing and training the organization, and then running full site operations once the facility is live.

They ask for
15+ years · degree required
Tools it names
Lean, DOE, EHS / safety
Base pay
$220k–$280k

Read from the posting. The full description is below.

From the plant jobs report · week of October 19, 2026

Production Engineer roles in Kentucky: typical posted base $143k–$280k. This one lists $220k–$280k.

Median of the low and high ends of 4 live postings that list pay, out of 18 production engineer openings in Kentucky, read from manufacturers' own careers sites.

Kentucky plant jobs report →Pay by team and state →What moves pay →

How this role compares

Against 17 other live production postings in Kentucky.

Experience asked
More than usual (15+ vs 7+)

Similar roles usually ask 7+ years.

Skills these teams ask for most

  • Team leadership 72%
  • ✓ EHS / safety 50%
  • Root cause 39%
  • ✓ Lean 33%
  • Automation 33%
  • Kaizen 28%

✓ = this posting asks for it too. % = share of similar postings that mention it.

Stands out: this posting asks for DOE, which few similar roles mention. If you have it, lead with it.

It asks for 15+ years. If you're close, apply anyway: requirements are a wish list. Talk to someone doing this work there first.

At a glance

Pulled from the posting text. If it's not listed here, the posting didn't say.

How to get in at this plant

Five moves over a week or two. The first one takes ten minutes.

  1. 1

    Pick 2–3 people on the Production team at General Matter

    Engineers who joined in the last year or two reply the most. Use the team search on this page to find them.

  2. 2

    Send a short, curious note

    One real question about their work. No favors yet. Each person gets a different note, written for this role.

  3. 3

    Turn a reply into a short call

    Questions worth asking about this team:

    • What does a normal week look like on your team?
    • How did you land the job? What stood out in your interviews?
  4. 4

    Apply with someone vouching for you

    If the call went well, ask whether they’d pass your résumé to the hiring manager. Send your résumé link, apply that day, and let them know.

  5. 5

    Bring proof to the interview

    One page of before-and-after numbers from projects you led: scrap, OEE, cycle time, cost. Plant managers hire on results.

Full description from General MatterAs posted on their careers site.Show

Responsibilities

  • ◆Lead site readiness efforts to bring the Paducah plant online, including staffing, training, and organizational build-out
  • ◆Build, develop, and manage the site leadership team and broader plant workforce, including effective on-going talent management and development strategies.
  • ◆Set the site's operational culture, establishing sustainable standards of excellence for safety, accountability, and performance through effective team leadership, team alignment, workforce engagement and on-going performance monitoring activities
  • ◆Ensure effective transition from construction through execution of commissioning and acceptance activities and Operational Readiness Reviews to support authorization for operations from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
  • ◆Oversee day-to-day operations, maintenance, engineering, regulatory, and business functions once the plant is running
  • ◆Ensure the plant operates safely and in compliance with all applicable NRC, DOE, OSHA and other required regulatory

requirements

  • ✓Establish business strategies and plans that achieve site performance targets for production, safety, quality and financial performance.
  • ✓Establish and maintain effective working relationships and proactive communication strategies with external stakeholders, including regulators, customers, community stakeholders, and site visitors as needed
  • ✓Serve as the primary point of contact between the Paducah site and corporate leadership, ensuring alignment on priorities, resourcing, and performance

Basic

Qualifications

  • ✓BS/BA in science, engineering, or a technical field
  • ✓15+ years of overall experience, including significant experience in senior plant leadership (e.g., Plant Manager, Site Vice President or Director, Operations Director, or equivalent)
  • ✓5 years of management experience in the nuclear industry and/or a nuclear-related field or 10 years in other highly regulated industrial environments (e.g., semiconductor, chemical/refining, defense manufacturing) also considered
  • ✓Demonstrated ability to build and lead teams and set organizational culture at scale
  • ✓Strong track record of interfacing effectively with workers, regulators, customers, local community stakeholders and corporate/executive leadership
  • ✓Ability to obtain and maintain required security clearance and access authorization
  • ✓Excellent communication skills, with the ability to operate across technical, regulatory, and business audiences

Preferred Skills and Experience

  • ✓Prior nuclear industry experience, particularly at an enrichment, fuel fabrication, or other NRC/DOE-licensed facility
  • ✓Experience standing up a new facility or bringing a plant from construction/startup into operations
  • ✓Experience operating in a fast-paced, resource-constrained, or startup environment
  • ✓Advanced degree in engineering, business, or a related field

Additional

Requirements

Ability to work extended hours and weekends as necessary.

qualifications

and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.

Show full description ↓

About the Company

General Matter is enriching uranium in America.

Our goal is to design, build, and operate the world’s lowest-cost enrichment services in the United States.

Our mission is to restore America’s ability to produce nuclear fuel—fuel that will power AI, advanced manufacturing, critical industries, and the next generation of nuclear reactors.

Ultimately, our work will help power national ambitions and enable a high-energy society.

We were incubated by Founders Fund, like Anduril and Palantir before us, and are backed by top-tier investors. Our lean, world-class team of engineers and operators is applying a first-principles approach to solving the problem of nuclear fuel production.

We are a mission-driven company with a culture of urgency, accountability, and transparency.

Help us build a high-energy society by making the cleanest, safest form of baseload energy the most affordable.

About This Role

As Plant Manager, you'll build and lead General Matter's Paducah site from the ground up — standing up the plant, staffing and training the organization, and then running full site operations once the facility is live. You'll oversee commissioning and acceptance, operations, maintenance, engineering, regulatory, and business functions at the site, report directly to the Head of Nuclear Operations, and serve as the primary interface between Paducah and corporate leadership.

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