Vice President of Engineering
Commonwealth Fusion Systems
Software Engineering
Devens, MA, USA
Posted on Wednesday, April 24, 2024
CFS seeks an outstanding engineering leader for our CFS Engineering team. The vice president of engineering is a senior role that manages the engineering teams and is responsible for planning, executing and overseeing engineering strategies, procedures, management, and goals for the company. This person supervises the engineering department which includes managing engineers, managers and directors. They also prepare budgets, maintain quality standards, and ensure projects are delivered on-time.
The CFS VP of Engineering is a critical linkage between the Engineering and Operations team at CFS. This person will play a critical role in the evolution of engineering process in support of the business operations, ERP implementation, high quality engineering deliverables, manufacturing success, supplier development and implementation, and development and tracking of key engineering metrics that show ongoing improvement.
Some of the direct reports to this leader include Systems Engineering, Nuclear Engineering, Program Management, Quality, Structural Engineering, CAD Design, and Document Control/Records Management. Excellent interpersonal and communication skills are critical to excel in this role.
The ideal candidate for this role will have an expert understanding of design and engineering practices on projects at the scale of SPARC, a multi-hundred person and $1+ billion program spanning 5+ years of development and 10 years of operations. They will have led engineering teams, tackled the toughest design trades, seen projects from development through operations, and instituted engineering practices and processes in a lightweight manner at a growing company.
This team member will:
- Primary owner of many processes at the core of CFS engineering – change control, risks, requirements management, Engineering Order, Engineering Change Request, etc
- Central player in the toughest engineering decisions and technical trades
- Represent engineering recommendations and processes to senior leadership
- Connect engineering vision and goals to the company’s vision and goals and communicate them widely
- Reorganize and effectively manage change as needed to best fit with the business needs
- Plan and build the team’s capabilities
- Innovate and experiment to optimize team output
- Collaborate with other department heads
- Collaborate with Chief People Officer on compensation and employee rewards
- Communicate plans, challenges, and updates to other functional heads
- Represent the Engineering team as a member of the Operating Team
- Lead recruiting efforts to add world-class engineering talent to the team
- Responsible for hiring, managing, developing, and retaining engineering talent
- Achieve results and hold teams accountable to deliver on their own goals
- Develop the capabilities and leadership skills of the people in the Engineering organization
- Provide mentorship and guidance to members of the Engineering team
The ideal candidate will have most, if not all, of these requirements:
- B.S. in engineering field, or equivalent experience
- 5+ years experience in major engineering projects at the scale of SPARC
- Numerous trade studies and key decisions
- Ability to lead major technical decisions through leadership, influence, and relationships
- Demonstrated success and expertise in at least one engineering discipline – mechanical, electrical, I&C, fluids, integration/commissioning, operations
Additional preferred experience and/or qualifications:
- 10+ years experience leading engineering teams at the director level
- Experience owning and delivering hardware products
- Experience developing and deploying engineering processes and tools
- Experience as a member of the executive management team
- Experience reporting to CEO is a plus
- Perform activities such as typing, standing, or sitting for extended periods of timeWork in a facility that contains industrial hazards including heat, cold, noise, fumes, strong magnets, lead (Pb), high voltage, high current, pressure systems, and cryogenics
- Willingness to travel or work required nights/weekends/on-call occasionally
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