Installation Manager

xLight Inc.; United States; Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Life insurance

401(k) with match

Paid time off and holidays

Winter break

Job summary

xLight Inc. is seeking an experienced Installation Manager to own end-to-end installation of its Free Electron Laser System, including accelerators, FEL and photon systems.

You will lead a dedicated team, interface with engineering and project management, and ensure safety, quality, and timely handover to commissioning. The role requires 15+ years of hands-on accelerator installation, strong expertise in SRF/cryomodule work, and the ability to manage complex field operations with strict

Qualifications

• 15+ years hands-on accelerator installation experience.
• Experience on major greenfield accelerator projects (LCLS-II, APS-U, NSLS-II, FRIB) preferred.
• Written/executed formal work-control documents (WADs, Travelers, ITPs) at high-rigor facilities.

Responsibilities

• Develop master Installation Plan covering sequence, phasing, resources, tooling, and interfaces.
• Author and maintain WADs, Travelers, and ITPs for all installation activities.
• Drive work-planning: pre-job briefings, hold points, QA sign-offs, post-job reviews.
• Maintain installation schedule; identify risks and lead recovery planning.
• Manage installation configuration baseline and ECO interface.
• Oversee installation of cryomodule strings and cryogenic distribution systems.
• Coordinate fiducialization and pre-alignment with survey/alignment team.
• Coordinate beam instrumentation installation and cable routing.

Skills

Installation planning

DOE high-rigor facilities

WADs & ITPs drafting

Project controls coordination

Cryomodule and SRF experience

Team leadership

Tools

WADs

Job description

xLight is building the world's most powerful laser to revolutionize semiconductor lithography, metrology, and other critical applications. Our approach is to harness the power of free-electron lasers by building on accelerator technology currently used at scientific facilities around the world. In extending this technology, we are developing industrial-grade light sources, engineered for continuous operation to meet the sophisticated demands of next-generation patterning, metrology, and inspection applications. Join us in this new revolution!

At xLight, we hire exceptional talent and exceptional means more than a strong résumé. How we achieve results is just as important as the results themselves, which is why attitude and character matter as much as technical skill. We believe great talent is widely distributed and not confined to a particular school or background. We seek individuals who demonstrate ownership, a spirit of collaboration, technical curiosity, and a genuine willingness to learn and grow - guided by our core values of Respect, Integrity, Creativity, and Engineering Excellence. We don't just hire what someone can do today; we hire for who they are and who they are becoming.

What We Need — and Why It Matters

The Installation Manager will own end-to-end installation of xLight's Free Electron Laser System, including Accelerator, FEL and Photon Systems. This will include from the time it hits to dock at the installation site through successful handover to the commissioning team. This person has been in the tunnel on projects like LCLS-II, APS Upgrade, NSLS-II, or FRIB, and knows what it takes to install SRF cryomodules, precision magnets, large vacuum systems, and beam instrumentation safely, on schedule, and to tolerance.

Reporting to the SVP of Product Delivery, the Installation Manager will build xLight's installation team, establish work-planning processes, and serve as the primary interface between engineering, project management, survey/alignment, and on-site installation crews. This role is as much about process architecture as it is about hands-on technical leadership.

What You’ll Do

• Develop the master Installation Plan covering sequence, phasing, resource loading, tooling, and interface with civil/conventional facilities — analogous to LCLS-II or APS-U installation basis documents
• Author and maintain Work Authorization Documents (WADs), Travelers, and Inspection & Test Plans (ITPs) for all installation activities
• Drive the work-planning process: pre-job briefings, hold points, QA sign-offs, and post-job reviews.
• Maintain the installation schedule in coordination with the project controls team; identify critical path risks and lead recovery planning
• Manage the installation configuration baseline: as-installed records, deviation requests, and interface with the engineering change order (ECO) process
• Must be familiar with the installation of cryomodule strings, including cleanroom-compliant field assembly, handling with custom tooling and transport carts, and integration with cryogenic distribution systems — experience with LCLS-II HE, FRIB, or similar SRF linacs strongly preferred
• Develop processes for precision magnet installation: dipoles, quadrupoles, sextupoles, and correctors; coordinate fiducialization and pre-alignment with the survey/alignment team to meet specified tolerances (typically ±100 µm transverse)
• Coordination of the installation of beam instrumentation: BPMs, profile monitors, Faraday cups, beam loss monitors — ensuring cable routing, grounding, and accessibility for maintenance

Workforce & Contractor Management

• Build and manage xLight's installation workforce: a mix of direct-hire technicians and specialty subcontractors (millwrights, riggers, electricians, pipe fitters)
• Conduct installer qualification and training — including cleanroom protocols, radiation work, high-voltage awareness, and cryogenic hazard awareness
• Enforce xLight's construction and lab safety standards in the tunnel and gallery; partner with the ES&H team on radiation work permits, LOTO, and confined space entry
• Manage the transition from installation to operations: turnover documentation, as-built drawings, spare parts inventory, and maintenance access plans
• Contribute to Lessons Learned capture and feed improvements back into installation procedures for future production units

What We Are Looking For

• 15+ years of hands-on accelerator installation experience, with at least one major greenfield accelerator project from installation start to beam operations — projects such as LCLS-II, APS Upgrade (APS-U), NSLS-II, FRIB, CEBAF upgrade, or comparable DOE/international facility strongly preferred
• Deep technical fluency in at least three of: SRF cryomodule installation, precision magnet installation and alignment, large UHV system installation, undulator installation, or beam instrumentation installation
• Demonstrated experience writing and executing formal work-control documents (WADs, Travelers, ITPs) at a DOE or equivalent high-rigor facility

And If You Bring This — Even Better

• Direct installation experience on a superconducting RF (SRF) linac: LCLS-II, FRIB, SNS, or an ILC/CLIC prototype facility
• Experience managing undulator installation including magnetic measurement, phase shim optimization, and gap verification campaigns
• Prior experience with commercial or industrial accelerator installations (medical, semiconductor, industrial) in addition to national lab work

What You Can Expect from Us

• 100% Company-funded health insurance for employee
• Company funded Life Insurance and disability insurance
• 401k contribution. 100% up to 3% of compensation, plus 50% match between 3% and 5%. Immediately vested.
• Flexible Paid Time-Off, Sick leave and Company Holidays
• Company Paid Two-weeks Winter Break
• Flexible Hybrid Work Model

EEO Statement

xLight Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Our policy is clear: there shall be no discrimination on the basis of age, disability, sex, race, religion or belief, gender reassignment, marriage/civil partnership, pregnancy/maternity, or sexual orientation. We are an inclusive organization and actively promote equality of opportunity for all with the right mix of talent, skills and potential. We welcome all applications from a wide range of candidates. Selection for roles will be based on individual merit alone.