CFS is seeking an experienced, pragmatic, and highly strategic Assistant General Counsel – Commercial & Corporate to serve as a foundational leader on our legal team. This is a rare opportunity to shape how legal operates at a company building an entirely new industry from the ground up.
This role is a true n of 1: you will be the company's dedicated commercial and corporate legal lead, operating as both a hands-on individual contributor on CFS's most complex, mission-critical transactions and the architect of the legal infrastructure that will support the company's next phase of growth. As CFS scales, you will be expected to build and lead a team in commercial and corporate legal, making this as much a leadership opportunity as a technical legal one.
Reporting directly to the Chief Legal Officer, you will partner with executive leaders across commercial and business development, corporate development, strategic partnerships, supply chain, finance, and engineering — giving you direct visibility into, and influence over, the company's most consequential strategic decisions
Why This Role Matters:
CFS is at an inflection point, moving from R&D to commercial execution. The deals, structures, and legal foundation this person builds now will directly shape how CFS contracts, partners, and scales for years to come. This is not a maintenance role — it is a builder role, for someone who wants outsized ownership over both the substance of high-stakes deals and the systems that make the whole commercial legal function work.
What You'll Do
Build & Scale the Commercial Legal Function Serve as the architect of CFS's commercial legal capability — building on and improving existing processes to create scalable contract workflows, tools, standard templates, negotiation playbooks, and training that empower business teams and accelerate deal velocity. Lay the groundwork for, and ultimately recruit and lead, a team as the function grows
Lead High-Stakes Commercial and Partnership Negotiations Structure, draft, and negotiate complex, high-value commercial and partnership agreements, including key customer, supplier, and vendor deals, long-term procurement contracts, joint developments, strategic alliances, and partnerships
Drive Corporate Development & Strategic Partnerships Serve as a core legal partner on corporate development initiatives — strategic partnerships, joint ventures, strategic investments, technology transfers, licensing, and other complex transactions central to scaling commercial fusion. Partner closely with corporate development and open innovation teams to structure and close deals that advance CFS's strategic position
Support Core Corporate Legal Matters Provide legal support on corporate, subsidiary and entity management, and corporate transactions as they relate to corporate development, strategic partnership, or commercial transactions, serving as a trusted resource to the CLO, CFO, and CCO on corporate-adjacent legal needs beyond commercial deal work
Advise Supply Chain & Operations Serve as the primary legal advisor to procurement and global supply chain teams, mitigating risk across complex, multi-tiered international supply chains for advanced hardware, specialized materials, and manufacturing
Drive Pragmatic Risk Management Provide business-minded, creative, and actionable legal guidance that balances risk mitigation with the urgency and agility required to hit CFS's commercial milestones
Cross-Functional Leadership & Collaboration Partner closely with commercial, corporate development, supply chain, engineering, global affairs, finance, and compliance teams to ensure alignment and seamless execution across all commercial and corporate development activity — and act as a visible legal leader within the broader organization
What You'll Bring
Must-have requirements:
- Dedication to safety to mitigate hazards that may include heat, cold, noise, fumes, strong magnets, lead, high voltage, and cryogenics
- Willingness to occasionally travel or work required nights/weekends/on-call
At CFS, you won't just be managing contracts — you will be laying the legal and commercial operational foundation for an entirely new global industry, with the opportunity to build and eventually lead the team that carries it forward. We offer competitive compensation, comprehensive health and wellness benefits, a collaborative environment, and the opportunity to work alongside world-class experts dedicated to solving one of humanity's greatest challenges.
Skills Required
- J.D. from an accredited law school
- Active bar admission in good standing in at least one U.S. jurisdiction
- Eligible for Massachusetts in-house counsel registration
- 12+ years of legal experience
- Experience drafting and negotiating complex commercial contracts
- Experience with strategic partnerships, global supply chain agreements, and corporate development transactions
- Experience with joint ventures, strategic investments, licensing, or technology transfers
- Familiarity with corporate governance, entity structuring, and corporate transaction support
- Track record creating or improving commercial legal systems, CLM tools, and negotiation playbooks
- Experience mentoring, managing, or building legal teams, or readiness to do so
- Exceptional business judgment and ability to provide actionable advice to non-lawyers
- Comfort advising senior leadership and executive stakeholders
- Ability to work in a fast-changing, high-ambiguity environment
- Passion for clean energy, deep technology, science-based commercialization, and fusion energy
- Dedication to workplace safety
- Willingness to occasionally travel or work nights, weekends, or on-call shifts
- Compliance with U.S. export control laws
What We Do
Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) has the fastest, lowest cost path to commercial fusion energy. CFS is collaborating with MIT to leverage decades of research combined with new groundbreaking high-temperature superconducting (HTS) magnet technology. HTS magnets will enable compact fusion power plants that can be constructed faster and at lower cost. CFS is now building SPARC, the world's first commercially relevant, net energy fusion demonstration device. SPARC will pave the way for the first fusion power plant, ARC, that will produce power on the grid. The ultimate mission is to deploy fusion power plants to meet global decarbonization goals as fast as possible. CFS has assembled a team of leaders in tough tech, fusion science, and manufacturing with a track record of rapid execution. Supported by the world’s leading investors, CFS is uniquely positioned to deliver limitless, clean, fusion power to combat climate change. If you are interested in joining our team, check out cfs.energy/careers for more information.
