Fusion Program Controls Lead — IMS Master Scheduler

Hitachi, Ltd.; Kearny (NJ); On-site; USD 130,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

Employee equity options

PTO 20 days

Job summary

Thea Energy is seeking a Program Controls Lead to own the integrated master schedule for our fusion development program. This role turns evolving plans into a schedule leadership can trust and uses risk analysis to highlight critical paths and mitigation options.

This individual contributor position collaborates with engineering, procurement, manufacturing, and integration teams. You will flag deviations early and guide decisions in a fast-paced startup environment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Construction Management, or a related technical field.
• 5+ years leading building and owning integrated master schedules (IMS) for large, complex hardware or capital programs in fusion, nuclear, aerospace, defense, or large-scale construction.
• Expert-level proficiency in Smartsheet, Primavera P6, or Microsoft Project, including resource-loaded, logic-driven schedules, critical path analysis, and baseline and variance management.
• Demonstrated experience with schedule risk analysis (e.g., Monte Carlo) and turning results into mitigation options and clear recommendations.
• Ability to work deeply with technical teams (physics, magnet engineering, mechanical engineering, manufacturing, supply chain) to build credible logic and challenge durations and assumptions constructively.
• Experience scheduling first-of-a-kind or R&D-heavy work with uncertain durations, iterative design, and long-lead custom hardware, without forcing false precision.
• Working knowledge of program controls practices, including earned value management (EVM), cost and schedule integration, and change control.
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to distill complex schedules into clear drivers, risks, and decisions for leadership audiences.
• Comfortable operating in a fast-moving startup environment, with high ownership and ambiguity.

Responsibilities

• Build, maintain, and own the integrated master schedule across engineering, procurement, manufacturing, installation, and commissioning workstreams.
• Develop schedule logic, milestones, and interdependencies with technical leads, and challenge durations and assumptions constructively.
• Identify and communicate the critical path, near-critical paths, and key schedule drivers.
• Run schedule risk analyses and turn the results into mitigation options and decision-ready recommendations.
• Track progress, forecast completion, and report variances and trends to leadership and stakeholders on a regular cadence.
• Manage baselines and schedule change control, and integrate vendor and long-lead procurement schedules into the IMS.
• Partner with Program Managers and integrate cost control and risk management to keep schedule, budget, and risk data consistent across the program.

Skills

IMS ownership

Schedule management

Critical path analysis

Monte Carlo risk analysis

Leadership communication

Ambiguity tolerance

Cross-functional collaboration

Vendor coordination

EVM familiarity

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering or related field

Tools

Smartsheet

Primavera P6

Microsoft Project

Job description

Thea Energy is seeking a Program Controls Lead to own the integrated master schedule for our fusion development program. This role turns evolving plans into a schedule leadership can trust and uses risk analysis to highlight critical paths and mitigation options.

This individual contributor position collaborates with engineering, procurement, manufacturing, and integration teams. You will flag deviations early and guide decisions in a fast-paced startup environment.