Head of Instrumentation and Controls

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.
SPARC has a variety of instrumentation and control (I&C) systems across the tokamak and supporting plant systems. SPARC seeks a high performing I&C leader to manage the I&C team. Interfacing systems include cryogenics, ultra-high vacuum pumping, tritium processing, gas distribution, high-power radio frequency sources, and a flywheel motor generator.
As Head of I&C your team responsibilities include control system architecture and development, electrical instrumentation development, printed circuit board design, and process/fluid system instrumentation and control. Your team will support I&C design and control narrative development for all plant systems. You will also need to develop custom instrumentation for targeted tokamak applications. Finally, you will integrate your I&C system to all plant and tokamak systems and support commissioning of these systems.
The ideal candidate for this role will have both strong experience in I&C design for power, chemical, or other industrial plants and a mature team management approach.

This team member will:

• Grow, lead, and manage the SPARC I&C team
• I&C system architecture
• Hardware selection, procurement, build, test, and delivery
• Instrumentation support to all plant and tokamak systems
• Custom instrumentation development
• Printed circuit board design
• Cabling design
• Hire and manage I&C teams including control system engineering, instrumentation development, and safety system engineering
• We expect the SPARC I&C team will grow to ~20 engineers

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

• 7+ years in the architecture, development, and deployment of plant I&C systems or equivalent
• Design at the appropriate scale:
• Processing of 10,000+ I/O points
• Management of many hundreds of interfaces
• Thorough knowledge of hardware and software interactions
• Strong understanding of safety risks of industrial systems
• Demonstrated experience leading teams of engineers in a demanding yet exhilarating work environment
• Knowledge of PLC systems

Additional experience and/or qualifications:

• Cabinet and cabling installation
• System commissioning and startup
• Perform activities such as typing for extended periods of time
• Willingness to occasionally travel or work required nights/weekends/on-call
• #LI-Hybrid

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.