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Xcimer Energy is developing inertial fusion energy (IFE) technology to deploy fusion power plants for global decarbonization. The company combines decades of fusion research with groundbreaking laser architecture and has assembled a team of leaders in tough tech, fusion science, and manufacturing.
As Program Director for Plant Control Systems, you will own the program-level strategy and execution for the Plant Control System within Xcimer's IFE Fusion Plant architecture. This is a full-time, onsite role based in Denver, CO.
You will serve as the primary integration point between the Plant Control System and all other fusion plant elements (Laser, Chamber, Fusion Power Systems, Fuel Processing, Hot Maintenance, Implosion, Facilities, Power Conversion). Your responsibilities span program ownership, requirement stewardship, technical coordination, and cross-system alignment.
Key responsibilities include:
- Serve as program owner for Plant Control System, ensuring alignment with top-level functional, safety, cyber, and operational requirements
- Coordinate cross-functional work across multiple subsystems to ensure proper integration into plant-wide control architecture
- Maintain program-level understanding of all control system interfaces and keep them synchronized with evolving designs
- Manage project budgets, resource allocation, schedules, and implement proactive risk mitigation
- Own and steward top-level requirements, constraints, interface control documents (ICDs), and verification flows
- Ensure subsystem owners correctly interpret and implement plant-wide requirements
- Coordinate with technical architects and subject matter experts on design priorities and interfaces
- Facilitate technical decisions when multiple systems interact
- Manage transition from conceptual design through detailed design, fabrication, construction, assembly, and commissioning
- Identify integration risks early, especially those spanning multiple systems or critical timing/safety paths
- Work with program management to reflect control system dependencies and integration timelines in the broader IFE schedule
- Lead key reviews on plant-wide control readiness, integration checkpoints, and verification status
- Act as primary interface between Plant Control Systems and rest of program organization
- Communicate priorities, risks, and architectural decisions to other Program Directors and subsystem owners
- Collaborate with senior leadership on program status, risks, and improvement opportunities
- Influence outcomes and align stakeholders to shared program goals without formal direct reports
- Direct procurement activities and vendor management for long-lead, critical-path fusion system components
This role requires exceptional systems thinking, cross-element collaboration, and the ability to guide teams and drive decisions without direct line authority.
REQUIREMENTS:
- Bachelor's degree in engineering, physics, systems engineering, or equivalent; advanced degree preferred
- 12+ years of experience in large, complex technical programs involving:
* Industrial automation or plant-wide control systems
* Nuclear, fusion, or high-energy physics environments
* Safety-critical or high-reliability systems
* Precision timing or data acquisition systems
- Demonstrated experience in program management or systems leadership roles coordinating multi-disciplinary technical teams
- Strong understanding of system integration, interface control, requirements flow down, and cross-functional technical decision-making
- Experience in fusion, nuclear energy, pulsed-power facilities, or industrial control systems at scale
- Experience in distributed control systems, historians, and SCADA systems and architectures
- Experience with electrical power management systems
- Ability to lead and influence without direct people management authority
- Must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. permanent resident (current Green Card holder), or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum
DESIRED:
- Familiarity with systems engineering frameworks, ICD management, and V&V planning
- Experience with ML and predictive maintenance based on data and system telemetry
- Experience developing and building data repositories and distributed data access
- Exposure to cybersecurity practices for industrial/scientific systems
- Experience in matrixed R&D environments with complex hardware-software integration
