Microsoft is hoping to find a "principal program manager for nuclear technology" to lead their technical assessment for incorporating small modular nuclear reactors and microreactors with the intention of powering the servers supporting Microsoft Cloud and AI. This job entails sourcing energy from nuclear fission, which is the liberation of energy from an atom when it is split. Microsoft's job posting also suggests the company is interested in microreactors, typically smaller than small modular reactors, which can potentially be used as a source of energy for data centers.
Microsoft is looking for ways to fuel the computing power necessary for Artificial Intelligence with small nuclear reactors. To that end, they have posted a job opening seeking an expert to expand their use of Small Modular Reactors (SMR) and microreactors as a source of energy for the Microsoft Cloud and AI services. The position is listed as "principal program manager for nuclear technology" and the successful candidate will be in charge of maturing and executing a strategy for these reactors. Fission will be used to generate the energy, which is the process of splitting atoms and unleashing the energy within them.
In January, Microsoft invested heavily in OpenAI, while Bill Gates, Microsoft's co-founder, is chairman of the board of TerraPower, a company working on various types of small nuclear reactors. At this time there are no agreements for TerraPower to sell any reactors to Microsoft. Additionally, Microsoft has made a commitment to pursue nuclear energy from fusion sources, and earlier this year signed a Power Purchase Agreement with Helion, a fusion startup with Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, as one of their investors.
Nuclear energy is becoming more popular due to its clean energy production and lack of carbon dioxide emissions. Although the majority of nuclear reactors in the US were built between 1970 and 1990, they still provide up to 18% of the total electricity in the US and 47% of carbon-free electricity. Microsoft's interest in small and microreactors is based on the possibility of them being a more efficient, cheaper, and faster-to-construct option than traditional reactors.
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