Senior Manager of Internal Communications

Helion; Everett (WA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

PTO 31 days

Holidays and winter break

401(k) match

Disability insurance

Life insurance

Parental leave

Wellness stipend

Job summary

Helion, a fusion power company based in Everett, WA, is seeking a Senior Manager of Internal Communications to lead and scale Helion's internal communications function. You will shape how a fast-growing team stays informed and aligned with the mission, guiding major moments and everyday updates in a fast-moving, engineering-driven culture.

This onsite role reports to the Director of Communications in Everett, WA, and requires strategic thinking with hands-on execution to build robust systems

Qualifications

• 10+ years in internal or corporate communications, ideally with distributed teams.
• Experience coaching communicators and helping them grow.
• Clear judgment on messaging for technical topics to employees.
• Trusted by executives to navigate high-stakes moments and change.
• Excellent writing and editing across formats; collaboration with leadership.
• Familiarity with Confluence, Slack, and digital signage platforms.

Responsibilities

• Set the overall internal communications strategy and metrics.
• Advise company leaders during major moments and leadership transitions.
• Align internal and external storytelling with the Director of Communications.
• Partner with executives and People Ops on priorities and initiatives.
• Own budget, tools, and vendor relationships to support growth.
• Directly handle high-stakes messages while empowering the team.
• Coach and grow the internal comms team, setting priorities.

Skills

Leadership

Executive communication

Technical communication

Writing & editing

Collaboration

People coaching

Tools

Confluence

Slack

Digital signage

Job description

About Helion

We are a fusion power company based in Everett, WA, with the mission to build the world's first fusion power plant, enabling a future with unlimited clean electricity. Our vision is a world with clean, reliable, and affordable energy for everyone.

Since Helion's founding in 2013, we have raised $1.5 billion from long-time investors such as Sam Altman, Mithril, and Capricorn Investment Group as well as new investors including Thrive Capital, LightSpeed Venture Capital, SoftBank, and others to propel us forward. Our current prototype, Polaris, has reached record-breaking plasma temperatures of 150 million degrees Celsius (13 keV). Helion is continuing to iterate and is on the path to the world's first fusion power plant, Orion.

This is a pivotal time to join Helion. You will tackle real-world challenges with a team that prizes urgency, rigor, ownership, and a commitment to delivering hard truths – values essential to achieving what no one has before. Together, we will change the future of energy, because the world can't wait.

What You Will Be Doing

As Senior Manager of Internal Communications, you will lead and grow Helion's internal communications function as the company continues to rapidly scale. You'll shape how we keep a fast-growing team of builders aligned, informed, and connected to our mission. You'll set the strategy that guides how Helion communicates through major moments, organizational change, and everyday updates, and you'll be a trusted voice for senior leaders navigating those moments. This role needs someone who can think strategically and still roll up their sleeves, building good systems without slowing the team down, in a fast-moving, technical, engineering-driven culture. This is an onsite role that reports directly to our Director of Communications at our Everett, WA office.

You Will

• Set the overall internal communications strategy for Helion, including what we prioritize and how we measure and report success.
• Be the senior internal communications advisor to company leaders in major moments, like org announcements, leadership transitions, and company-wide strategic shifts.
• Partner closely with the Director of Communications to keep our internal and external stories consistent.
• Represent internal comms in conversations with executive leadership, People Ops leadership, and other senior stakeholders on org-wide priorities and initiatives.
• Own the budget, tools, and vendor relationships that support internal communications as the function grows.
• Step in directly on the highest-stakes moments, writing or editing key messages yourself, while trusting your team to run day-to-day execution.
• Manage, coach, and grow the internal comms team, setting priorities and raising the bar on the team's work.

Required Skills

• 10+ years in internal or corporate communications, ideally with distributed or shift-based teams.
• Prior experience managing people, with experience coaching communicators and helping them grow.
• Strong judgment on what to say, what to leave out, and how to make technical or complex topics clear to employees. Experience in a technical or scientific organization is a big plus.
• A track record of being trusted by executives to help them communicate through complex or high-stakes moments, including major organizational change.
• Excellent writing and editing, with range across formats, from a company-wide email to talking points for an exec. Familiarity with tools like Confluence, Slack, and digital signage platforms is a plus.
• A collaborative style, with real experience partnering with executive leadership, People Ops, and other senior stakeholders to get things done together.

Benefits

• Medical, Dental, and Vision plans for employees and their families
• 31 Days of PTO (21 vacation days and 10 sick days)
• 10 Paid holidays, plus company-wide winter break
• Up to 5% employer 401(k) match
• Short term disability, long term disability, and life insurance
• Paid parental leave and support (up to 16 weeks)
• Annual wellness stipend

Helion is an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. If you need assistance or an accommodation during the interview process, please let us know.