Director of Engineering Operations

About Commonwealth Fusion Systems: 

Commonwealth Fusion Systems is on a mission to deliver the urgent transition to fusion energy.

Combining decades of research, top talent and new technologies, we’re designing and building commercially viable fusion power plants. And working with policymakers and suppliers to build the energy industry of the future. 

We’re in the best position to make it happen. Since 2018, we’ve raised over $2 billion in capital – more than any other fusion energy company in the U.S.

Now we’re looking for more thinkers, doers, builders, and makers to join us. People who’ll bring new perspectives, solve tough problems, and thrive as part of a team. 

If that’s you and this role fits, we want to hear from you.

CFS has built a world class Engineering team to design, build, and deliver our fusion power plants. We also need to build and optimize “the machine that engineers the machine” and we are hiring our first Director of Engineering Operations to own this effort.

As Director of Engineering Operations, you’ll set the strategy for what a world class engineering and product development process and tools should look like at CFS, and then you’ll execute that strategy. This is a high impact and high visibility role, reporting directly to the VP of Engineering, interacting regularly with the Executive team, and enabling CFS to meet its mission of decarbonizing the global electricity grid with clean, fusion energy.

This team member will:

• Build CFS’s product development process into a competitive advantage that is truly world class – the vision is for CFS to have an engineering process and capability that surpasses the best we’ve seen to date in any adjacent industries
• Design CFS’s end-to-end engineering and product development process, including conceptual requirements, design workflows and design reviews, engineering completion, EO process, EO review, BOMs, and to downstream systems to get parts made
• Map that process and the tools on which the processes run including PLM, CAD, and ERP, working closely with our Enterprise Information Systems group to deliver those tools
• Continuously improve these processes and tools. Define the metrics and data that matter most to the business and implement data-centric tracking and reporting of these metrics
• Bolster CFS’s safety culture and practices through robust engineering and workflows
• Work cross functionally to deliver the process and tool needs across R&D, engineering, PMO, and downstream to Supply Chain, Production, Assembly, Commissioning, and Operations

The ideal candidate will have most, if not all, of these requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in relevant field
• 15+ years of experience in relevant engineering process, product development, and operations roles
• Experience building relevant processes and tools from the ground up
• Experience working with products in similar size and scope to SPARC
• Experience working in a fast-paced environment where speed of progress is prioritized over perfection
• A deep understanding of engineering processes and the different product development methodologies and tools to deliver engineering products

Additional preferred experience and/or qualifications:

• Perform activities such as typing, standing, or sitting for extended periods of time
• Dedication to safety to mitigate hazards that may include heat, cold, noise, fumes, strong magnets, lead, high voltage, and cryogenics
• Willingness to travel or work required nights/weekends/on-call occasionally
• #LI-Onsite

At CFS, we excel in fast-paced environments, driven by our values of integrity, execution, impact, and self-critique. As we grow, we’re eager to bring on mission-driven folks who offer diverse perspectives and fresh ways to tackle challenges.

We value diversity deeply and are proud to be an equal opportunity employer by choice. We consider all qualified applicants equally, regardless of race, color, national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, protected veteran status, religion, physical or mental disability, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, or any other basis protected by law.