Program Director, Plant Control Systems

Xcimer-Energy; Denver (CO); On-site; USD 241,000 - 284,000; Full time

Job summary

Xcimer Energy in Denver seeks a Program Director for Plant Control Systems to own program-level control system integration, manage interfaces across Laser, Chamber, and Power systems, and align with safety and operational requirements.

This role demands 12+ years in large-scale technical programs, strong leadership without direct authority, and the ability to drive cross-functional teams from concept to commissioning.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in engineering, physics, systems engineering, or equivalent; advanced degree preferred.
• 12+ years in large, complex technical programs involving safety-critical systems.
• Experience coordinating multi-disciplinary technical teams and managing cross-system interfaces.

Responsibilities

• Own and drive Plant Control System integration across the Fusion Plant architecture.
• Coordinate with architects, SMEs, and subsystem owners to ensure alignment with requirements and interfaces.
• Lead program reviews, risk management, and verification activities across multiple systems.

Skills

Systems engineering

Program management

Cross-functional leadership

Industrial automation

Education

Engineering/Physics degree

Tools

SCADA systems

Historians

Distributed data access

Job description

Xcimer Energy leverages decades of research on Inertial Fusion Energy (IFE) combined with groundbreaking new laser architecture. Our mission is to deploy fusion power plants to meet global decarbonization goals as fast as possible. Xcimer has assembled a team of leaders in tough tech, fusion science, and manufacturing with a track record of rapid execution. Supportedby leading investors, Xcimer is uniquely positioned to deliver limitless, clean, fusion power to combat climate change.Join us in powering a better world with inertial fusion!

This is a full-time, onsite role based at our headquarters in Denver, CO.

As the Program Director, Plant Control Systems, you will serve as the program-level owner for the Plant Control System within Xcimer’s IFE Fusion Plant architecture. In this role, you will provide program leadership, integration direction, requirement ownership, and cross-functional coordination to ensure that all Plant Control System sub-elements, and all other Fusion Plant elements, work together coherently within a unified control framework.

You will partner closely with technical architects and Subject Matter Experts, subsystem engineers, and other Program Directors to ensure alignment to top-level requirements, interfaces, safety expectations, operational needs, and program milestones. This role requires exceptional systems thinking, cross-element collaboration, and the ability to guide teams without direct line authority.

Responsibilities

Program Ownership & Integration

• Serve as the program owner for the Plant Control System within the greater IFE program, ensuring all systems maintain alignment with top-level functional, safety, cyber, and operational requirements.
• Coordinate cross-functional work across systems including Laser, Chamber, Fusion Power Systems, Fuel Processing, Hot Maintenance, Implosion, Facilities, and Power Conversion Systems to ensure proper integration of their subsystem controls into the plant-wide architecture.
• Maintain a program-level understanding of all control system interfaces across the Fusion Plant and ensure they remain synchronized with evolving designs.
• Manage project budgets, resource allocation, and schedules, implementing proactive risk mitigation and reporting on performance metrics.

Requirement Stewardship

• Own and steward top-level requirements, constraints, ICDs, and verification flows for the Plant Control System.
• Ensure subsystem owners and architects correctly interpret and implement plant-wide requirements, pushing necessary updates across other systems when architecture or system needs evolve.

Technical Coordination

• Coordinate with technical architects and SMEs who design the Plant Control System itself, ensuring program direction, priorities, and interfaces remain consistent.
• Facilitate technical decisions when multiple systems interact, ensuring cross-plant integrity without being the sole technical decision-maker.
• Manage the transition from conceptual design to detailed design, fabrication, construction, assembly, and commissioning.

Risk, Schedule, and Cross-System Alignment

• Identify integration risks early, especially those spanning multiple plant systems or critical timing/safety paths, and drive resolution through collaborative planning.
• Work with program management to reflect control system dependencies, integration timelines, and verification needs in the broader IFE schedule.
• Lead key reviews involving plant-wide control readiness, integration checkpoints, and V&V status at the program level.

Communication & Leadership

• Act as the primary interface between Plant Control Systems and the rest of the program organization.
• Communicate priorities, risks, and architectural decisions to Program Directors and Sub‑System Owners.
• Collaborate with senior leadership and stakeholders, communicating program status, risks, and opportunities for continuous improvement.
• Influence outcomes without formal people management by aligning stakeholders to shared program goals and system-level reasoning.
• Direct procurement activities and vendor management for long-lead, critical-path fusion system components.

Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor's degree in engineering, physics, systems engineering, or equivalent; advanced degree preferred.
• Experience: 12+ years of experience in large, complex technical programs involving:
  • Industrial automation or plant-wide control systems
  • Nuclear, fusion, or high-energy physics environments
  • Safety-critical or high-reliability systems
  • Precision timing or data acquisition systems
• Demonstrated experience in program management or systems leadership roles coordinating multi-disciplinary technical teams.
• Strong understanding of system integration, interface control, requirements flow down, and cross-functional technical decision-making.
• Experience in fusion, nuclear energy, pulsed-power facilities, or industrial control systems at scale.
• Experience in distributed control systems, historians, and SCADA systems and architectures
• Electrical power management systems.
• Ability to lead and influence without direct people management authority.
• Must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. permanent resident (current Green Card holder), or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee of granted asylum.

Desired

• Familiarity with systems engineering frameworks, ICD management, and V&V planning.
• Experience with ML and predictive maintenance based on data and system telemetry.
• Experience developing and building data repositories and distributed data access
• Exposure to cybersecurity practices for industrial/scientific systems.
• Experience in matrixed R&D environments with complex hardware-software integration.

$241,000 - $284,000 a year

Equal Employment Opportunity

Xcimer Energy is proud to be an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer and is committed to attracting, retaining, and developing a highly qualified, diverse, and dedicated work force. Xcimer Energy hires and promotes people on the basis of their qualifications, performance, and abilities. We support the establishment and maintenance of a workplace that fosters trust, equality, and teamwork, in which all employees recognize and appreciate the diversity of individual team members. We provide all qualified applicants for employment and employees with equal opportunities for hire, promotion, and other terms and conditions of employment, regardless of their race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin/ethnicity, age, physical or mental disability, genetic factors, military/veteran status, or any other status or characteristic protected by federal, state, and/or local law. Xcimer Energy will consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with applicable federal, state, and local laws. For more information on “EEO Is the Law,” please see here and here.

Benefits

Xcimer offers a comprehensive benefits package designed to support employee health, well-being, and long-term success. Benefits include medical, dental, and vision coverage; basic and supplemental life insurance; short- and long-term disability; paid parental leave for employees at the time of birth or adoption; and a 401(k) with a company match of up to 6%. Eligible employees also receive equity, allowing them to share in the company’s long-term success.

Xcimer operates under a flexible Paid Time Off (ATO) approach. Rather than a fixed number of vacation days, employees are trusted to take the time they need to rest and recharge while meeting the expectations of their role and team. In addition, employees receive paid sick time, 13 company-paid holidays, and an annual paid company shutdown. Benefits are available to regular employees, including part-time and fixed-term roles, as well as interns, with eligibility varying by benefit.