Head of Production

Fusion Energy Base; San Leandro (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and vision coverage

Relocation assistance

Flexible time off

Take what you need, no accrual

2 weeks of paid time off at year end

Supportive leave of absence policies

Paid leave for new parents

Job summary

Fuse is seeking a production operations leader to scale manufacturing of high‑voltage pulsed power hardware on our San Leandro, CA floor. You will build a production team, design scalable processes, and partner with design and manufacturing engineering to resolve bottlenecks while preserving speed and quality.

You will drive safety, cost, and throughput, manage vendor relationships, and lead CapEx planning for growth in a fast-moving environment. Relocation may be required.

Qualifications

• Experience building and scaling manufacturing or production operations in hardware, from low to high volume.
• Strong understanding of manufacturing processes, quality systems, and production planning.
• Comfortable operating autonomously in a fast-moving, resource-constrained environment.
• Hands-on approach: on the floor, not just from a dashboard.

Responsibilities

• Take responsibility for production operations across Fuse's manufacturing floor, from fabrication to final assembly and test.
• Build and scale a production team, hiring and developing leads, technicians, and engineers as volume grows.
• Design and implement production processes, work instructions, and quality systems for scalable output.
• Partner with design and manufacturing engineering to resolve manufacturability issues and feed data back to design decisions.
• Manage production schedules and throughput targets; remove bottlenecks on the floor.
• Drive continuous improvement across safety, quality, cost, and cycle time.
• Manage vendor and supplier relationships that support production: materials, tooling, contract manufacturing.
• Develop CapEx planning and cost modeling with Finance for scale.
• Report on production performance, cost, risk, and capacity to leadership.

Skills

Manufacturing operations

Production planning

Quality systems

Autonomy

On-floor leadership

Tools

Lean manufacturing

ISO 9001 familiarity

Job description

About Fuse

We are building one of the most potentially consequential companies of the century. Our mission is to accelerate the world's transition to fusion energy while safeguarding humankind. This is not a normal company. This is not a normal job. We are committed for the long term to win.

About the Role

You'll lead Fuse's transition from prototypes to building generators at scale. Today, small teams build complex, and low-volume pulsed power hardware by hand. Your job is to build the factory that build the generators. Turn prototypes into repeatable production without losing the speed or quality that got us here.

What We Value

Obsess about the details - sloppy work costs us later, so do it right the first time. Care - pick up the trash. Do things no one asks you to do. Go the extra mile because you care. Act with urgency - every hour matters more than it feels like it does. Be responsible for the outcome, not just the task; if it is not working, it remains your problem until it is fixed. Assume good intent - disagree openly, then commit fully once a call is made.

Core Responsibilities

• Take responsibility for production operations across Fuse's manufacturing floor, from component fabrication through final assembly and test.
• Build and scale a production team, hiring and developing manufacturing leads, technicians, and production engineers as volume grows.
• Design and implement production processes, work instructions, and quality systems that hold up as output scales from one-off builds to repeatable runs.
• Partner directly with design and manufacturing engineering to resolve manufacturability issues and feed real production data back into design decisions.
• Be responsible for production schedules and throughput targets; identify and remove bottlenecks across the floor.
• Drive continuous improvement across safety, quality, cost, and cycle time.
• Manage vendor and supplier relationships that support production: materials, tooling, contract manufacturing where needed.
• Develop CapEx planning and cost modeling in conjunction with finance for production scale.
• Report on production performance, cost, risk, and capacity directly to leadership.

Minimum Qualifications

• A demonstrated track record of building and scaling manufacturing or production operations at a hardware company, from low-volume (0 to 10) to higher-volume (1000 to 100,000) output.
• Strong understanding of manufacturing processes, quality systems, and production planning.
• Comfortable operating with a high degree of autonomy in a fast-moving, resource-constrained environment.
• Hands-on approach: willing to be on the floor, naturally get your hands dirty, and not just managing from a dashboard.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in high-voltage, pulsed power, aerospace, or other complex hardware manufacturing.
• Background scaling production at a company known for aggressive build timelines (e.g., SpaceX, Tesla, or similar).
• Experience building quality systems (e.g., ISO 9001) from the ground up.
• Familiarity with lean manufacturing or continuous improvement methodologies.

Additional Requirements

This is not a remote position and will require relocation if not already local to Fuse's San Leandro, CA facility.

Position requires the ability to work extended hours and weekends when needed.

Position may require some business travel to other Fuse facilities.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision coverage.
• Relocation assistance for roles that require it.
• Flexible time off.
• Take what you need, no accrual tracking.
• 2 weeks of paid time off built into the end of each year (subject to team and business needs).
• Supportive leave of absence policies.
• Paid leave for new parents.

ITAR Requirements

To conform to U.S. Government technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

Equal Opportunity

Fuse is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Fuse is governed on the basis of merit, competence, and qualifications and will not be influenced by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, ancestry, immigration status, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability, or any other legally protected status.