Director of Engineering Operations

Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) has the fastest, lowest cost path to commercial fusion energy.

CFS collaborates with MIT to leverage decades of research combined with groundbreaking new high-temperature superconducting (HTS) magnet technology. HTS magnets will enable compact fusion power plants that can be constructed faster and at lower cost. Our mission is to deploy these power plants to meet global decarbonization goals as fast as possible. To that end, 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. To implement this plan, we are looking to add dedicated people to the team who treat people well, improve our work by adding multifaceted perspectives and new ways of solving problems, have achieved outstanding results through a range of pursuits, and have skills and experience related to this role.

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

CFS team members thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic environment and have demonstrated exceptional results through a range of different pursuits. We all tightly align with our company values of integrity, execution, impact and self-critique. As we grow, we are looking to add talented people who are mission driven and bring diverse perspectives and new ways of solving problems.

At CFS, we deeply value diversity and are an equal opportunity employer by choice. We consider all qualified applicants equally for employment. We do not discriminate on the basis 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, ordinance, or regulation.