Senior Technical Project Manager

Realta Fusion Inc; Madison (WI); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity stock options

Health, dental, and vision insurance

401(k)

Flexible paid time off (PTO)

Live in Madison, Wisconsin

Job summary

Realta Fusion Inc in Madison, WI seeks a Senior Technical Project Manager to lead and deliver complex engineering and research projects, guiding multidisciplinary teams from concept to commissioning. This role requires strong technical background, urgency, and excellent organizational skills to align projects with milestones and investor commitments.

The position emphasizes stakeholder management, risk mitigation, and clear executive communication, with the opportunity to shape a fast-growing

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in engineering, physics, or related technical discipline; advanced degree preferred.
• 7+ years of project management experience in a highly technical, hardware-intensive environment (energy, R&D, or engineering preferred).
• Demonstrated track record managing projects exceeding $1M in budget
• Proven experience leading multidisciplinary teams and managing complex technical deliverables.
• Strong understanding of engineering design lifecycles, systems integration, and technical documentation.
• Excellent organizational and communication skills; ability to simplify complex technical topics for diverse audiences.
• Proficiency with project management tools (e.g., MS Project, Jira, Asana, or equivalent).
• PMP or similar certification is a plus.
• Proven ability to operate with limited oversight in fast-paced environments. Experience in startup or research environments is highly desirable.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end delivery of complex engineering and research projects from concept through commissioning, leading multidisciplinary teams.
• Make autonomous decisions on scope changes, resource allocation, and schedule adjustments; expedite strategic decisions with clear recommendations.
• Drive critical path management and resolve bottlenecks threatening milestones or investor commitments.
• Partner with VP-level leadership to align project portfolio with business objectives, technical roadmap, and fundraising milestones.
• Serve as primary interface with external partners including national labs, universities, DOE programs, and strategic vendors.
• Manage multi-million-dollar vendor contracts, ensuring alignment with specifications and timelines.
• Provide executive updates to leadership and investors, translating technical progress into business impact.
• Lead rapid response to technical setbacks, equipment failures, or experimental anomalies; make real-time trade-offs under pressure.
• Develop comprehensive project documentation including integrated schedules, risk registers, budget tracking, and progress reports.
• Lead technical design reviews and facilitate critical decisions, ensuring documentation and effective communication.
• Conduct quantitative risk assessments and execute mitigation strategies protecting milestones; establish KPIs for delivery.

Skills

Leadership

Stakeholder management

Risk management

Technical communication

Documentation

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering/physics or related technical field

Advanced degree preferred

Tools

MS Project

Jira

Asana

Job description

Drive the execution of high-impact, first-of-a-kind projects, leading multidisciplinary teams to turn ambitious technical vision into delivered results. The Senior Technical Project Manager willdrive successful delivery ofmultidisciplinary engineering and research projects.This role requires an innate sense of urgency, astrong technical background, exceptional organizational skills, and the ability toleadteams of physicists, engineers, and external partners. The Sr. Technical Project Manager will ensureprojectalignmentwithcompany milestones whilemaintaininga culture of accountability, credibility,and collaboration.

* exacttitle is TBD and dependent upon successful candidate’s experience

Realta Fusion is a rapidly growing start-up developing compact magnetic mirror fusion energy systems to address the biggest challenge of our time – tackling global climate change while ensuring a sufficient energy supply for at least ten billion people on (and off) earth. We are building a team with diverse talents dedicated to making fusion energy aareal solution to humanity’s most pressing problem.

Key Responsibilities

Project Leadership & Execution

• Own end-to-end delivery of complex engineering and research projects ($1M-$50M) from concept through commissioning, leading teams of contributors across plasma physics, mechanical, electrical,nuclear, systems,and controls
• Make autonomous decisions on scope changes, resource allocation, and schedule adjustments; expedite strategic decisions with clear recommendations
• Drive critical path management and resolve bottlenecks threatening company milestones or investor commitments

Strategic Planning & Stakeholder Management

• Partner with VP-level leadership to align project portfolio with business objectives, technical roadmap, and fundraising milestones
• Serve as primary interface with external partners including national labs, universities, DOE programs, and strategic vendors
• Manage multi-million-dollarvendor contracts, ensuring alignment with technical specifications and project timelines
• Provide executive-level updates to leadership and investors, translating technical progress into business impact
• Lead rapid response to technical setbacks, equipment failures, or experimental anomalies
• Make real-time trade-off decisions under pressure

Technical Excellence & Risk Management

• Develop comprehensive project documentation including integrated schedules, risk registers, budget tracking, and progress reports
• Lead technical design reviews andfacilitatecritical decisions, ensuring documentation and effective communication
• Conduct quantitative risk assessments and execute mitigation strategies protecting critical milestones
• Establish KPIs for project delivery and implement corrective actions tomaintainschedule and budget discipline

Organizational Development

• Build and scale projectmanagement standards and best practices for fast-growing startup environment
• Mentor junior project managers and develop PM capabilities as organization scales

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in engineering,physics, ora relatedtechnical discipline; advanced degree preferred.
• 7+ years of experience in project management within a highly technical, hardware-intensiveenvironment(energy, R&D, or engineering preferred).
• Demonstratedtrack recordmanaging projects exceeding $1M in budget
• Proven experience leading multidisciplinary teams and managing complex technical deliverables.
• Strong understanding of engineering design lifecycles, systems integration, and technical documentation.
• Excellent organizational and communication skills; ability to simplify complex technical topics for diverse audiences.
• Proficiencywith project management tools (e.g., MS Project, Jira, Asana, or equivalent).
• PMP or similar certification is a plus.
• Proven ability tooperatewith limited oversight in fast-paced environments.Experience in startup or research environments is highly desirable.

Applicants who do not meet the entire job specification are encouraged to apply.

Compensation & Benefits

What we are working on is hard… and hugely important. Realta Fusion is assembling a talented team bound together by a passion to solve humanity’s biggest challenge with first-of-a-kind technology. Additionally, Realta offers:

• Competitive compensation package, including equity stock options
• Comprehensive benefits including health, dental, and vision insurance, plus a 401(k)
• Flexible paid time off (PTO) to support work-life balance
• Work and live in Madison, Wisconsin — one of America’s most livable and vibrant cities

We value diversity as a critical factor in innovation and believe a diverse team is necessary to solve the toughest problems. We aim to create an inclusive environment that unleashes the full creativity of our team members from a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences. We provide equal employment opportunities to all individuals based on merit and without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other protected status under applicable laws.