Senior Director of Operations

Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) is on a mission to deliver clean fusion energy to the planet fast enough to matter for humanity’s biggest challenges.

It’s urgent. The gap between the energy we need and the energy we have is widening every day. Fusion is a critical part of the energy transition away from fossil fuels, a new chapter for the world’s energy supply.

We’re committing to delivering fusion power plants and a full-fledged fusion energy industry as we’ve delivered on other promises. Like the world’s strongest high-temperature superconducting magnet, the game-changing technology that’s making commercial fusion energy a reality.

We’ve raised over $2 billion in capital — more than any other fusion energy company — and attracted top talent to design, build, and deliver commercial  fusion power plants. And we’re working with policymakers and suppliers to make fusion energy available globally.

As we push toward the fusion-energy future, we’ll keep setting and meeting milestones, sharing and validating our progress, and encouraging others to do the same.

 

Are you an experienced operational leader who leads by example and genuinely thrives on the manufacturing floor? We are seeking a dynamic, hands-on Senior Director of Operations to own our manufacturing execution. In this role, you will be the driving force on the floor, building magnets for a First-of-a-Kind (FOAK) fusion facility. If you are energized by solving unprecedented technical challenges, establishing brand-new operational standards, and translating rapid engineering iterations into crisp, confident execution, this is your next milestone.

 

 

Operational Leadership & High-Velocity Execution:

Active Floor Presence: Maintain a highly visible, hands-on presence across our 24x7 manufacturing operations to support teams and ensure seamless daily execution

Strategic Leadership Buffer: Act as a steadying force for the plant and advocate for team needs

Execution Driver: Anchor operations in a deeply embedded safety culture. Actively help team remove roadblocks and move faster

Leadership Multiplication & Team Development:

Executive Coaching: Manage, mentor, and empower a team of Production Directors

Talent Architecture: Design and oversee technical and leadership development frameworks to ensure shift supervisors, line leads, and engineers can operate in a fast-paced environment with high uncertainty

Culture of Psychological Safety: Cultivate an environment that balances high accountability with the psychological safety required to surface and solve first-time failures collectively

Cross-Functional Strategy & Project Management:

Strategic Alignment: Partner closely with peers in Engineering, Supply Chain, Quality, and EHSS to ensure rapid execution

Project Lifecycle Mastery: Scope, plan, and execute new manufacturing initiatives, managing them from inception through commissioning to timely completion within budget constraints

Continuous Improvement & Quality Excellence:

Iterative Lean Culture: Implement lean manufacturing principles to rapidly map new value streams, optimize process flows, improve efficiency, and reduce operational costs

Rigorous Quality Assurance: Oversee all manufacturing operations to guarantee that every output meets or exceeds the company's stringent quality standards and customer requirements

Extensive experience in a senior operations or production executive role (e.g., Senior Director of Production, Director of Operations) managing multi-layered teams

Proven success leading operations through commissioning, qualification, and hyper-growth ramp-up phases

Exceptional emotional intelligence with a demonstrated ability to transition a team through high-stress, ambiguous operational phases using supportive, clear coaching frameworks

Outstanding root-cause analysis skills

Ability to diagnose and solve unprecedented technical and mechanical issues from scratch

A track record of keeping teams motivated, focused, and safe during the inevitable trial-and-error phases of launching a novel technology

Deep practical knowledge of Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, Total Productive Maintenance (TPM), or other asset-reliability frameworks

Exceptional interpersonal skills to collaborate cross-functionally and present operational performance metrics effectively to executive stakeholders