We are looking for a Senior Vice President (SVP) for Fusion-enabling Technologies to coordinate and lead four technical areas of paramount importance for Renaissance Fusion. Two such areas are the fusion-enabling technologies of (1) High Temperature Superconductor (HTS) Film Deposition and (2) Liquid Metal Walls. The other two departments are (3) Engineering Services and (4) Academic Programs. The latter are “transversal” to the whole company and support all other technical departments by, respectively, technical services (vacuum technology, assembly, electrical engineering, automation etc.) and activities to disseminate, yet protect, the scientific production of Renaissance Fusion (publications, presentations, patents etc.).

As a SVP, you will report to the CTO, work very closely with him and with another SVP in charge of four other technical departments (Fusion Science; Magnets and Cryogenics; Stellarator Design, Construction and Integration; Heating and Diagnostics), and manage directly the department Heads. You will also take part in quarterly and yearly discussions with the CEO and CFO on budget allocation and the strategic directions of the company.

Your main responsibilities

Hereafter, for brevity, “each department” refers to “each technical department under the supervision of this SVP”.

• Set yearly objectives for each technical department, subject to validation by the CTO/CFO.
• Advise on yearly budget allocations for each department, subject to validation by the CTO/CFO.
• In collaboration or consultation with the CTO, with the other SVP and the supervised department Heads, but with the highest level of responsibility:
  • Technical leadership, internal discussions
    • Regularly meet with the supervised technical Heads, both in 1-on-1’s and in groups. Offer technical and project advice to accelerate their progress. Harmonize and coordinate efforts from different departments.
    • Discuss technical roadblocks for each department. Propose creative solutions, promote brainstorming.
    • Consolidate, prioritize and summarize reports from the Heads into executive summaries or small presentations for the CEO and CTO.
  • External dissemination
    • Represent Renaissance Fusion and give technical presentations at international conferences, university seminars, etc.
    • Occasionally represent Renaissance Fusion at other events such as job fairs, business events, tours of our facilities, media interviews, podcasts, etc.
    • Contribute brief, digestible technical content to newsletters and updates for the investors and other external stakeholders.
  • Governance
    • Act as an interim for the department Heads when not on-site for professional or personal reasons.
  • Resource allocation
    • Based on fluctuating needs, allocate more resources (people, equipment, collaborations etc.) to departments as needed, or facilitate their internal mobility within the company.
    • Identify and foster opportunities for resource-sharing and technical collaborations among departments (R&D projects, characterization of materials, construction projects etc.).
  • Performance monitoring, technical project delivery
    • In collaborations with Project management officers (PMOs) and other project specialists, lay out, update and monitor detailed execution plans to attain the yearly objectives proposed to and validated by the CTO.
    • Regularly monitor (e.g. week-to-week, or biweekly) the attainment of yearly objectives by each technical department. Anticipate risks and bottlenecks. Propose, discuss and effectuate solutions or mitigation plans. Organize a mid-year checkpoint, and adjust objectives as needed.

Requirements

Do not hesitate to apply if you don’t meet all the requirements. Superheroes don’t exist, but people with talent and passion do!

* Education and professional experience :

• PhD in physics, engineering, material science, chemistry or closely related field
• At least 15 years of work experience in the academia, national or international lab(s), or in the industry (preferably deep-tech start-ups and scale-ups), of which
  • at least 5 years in research positions
  • at least 5 years managing or leading -directly or indirectly- teams of at least 20 researchers, engineers and technicians
• At least 5 years of experience -as a researcher and/or manager in one of the following areas:
• Film deposition or coating, e.g. for the semiconductor or superconductor indust