The posting
Company Description
Kyoto Fusioneering (KF) is the world’s premier fusion technology and integrated systems provider, delivering critical-path technologies required for commercial fusion power. We specialize in plasma heating, breeding blanket, thermal management, and fuel cycle systems for fusion energy and alternative applications. The company supports many of the world’s most advanced private and public fusion programs, collaborating with leading research institutions and industry partners. KF operates globally, with subsidiaries in the U.S., UK, and EU, and a joint venture in Canada, providing team members with an international, highly collaborative work environment.
Role Description
This Engineering Manager role is with Kyoto Fusioneering America's (KFA), KF's U.S. subsidiary. It is KFA's primary engineering delivery leader in the United States. In the near term, this role is focused on the design, delivery, and commissioning of UNITY-3, an accelerator-based deuterium-tritium fusion neutron source for breeding blanket testing. Over time, the role will expand to encompass other KFA engineering delivery programs, ranging from breeding blanket demonstrators to other first-of-a-kind (FOAK) engineered systems.
Across all programs, the Engineering Manager owns four essential execution functions: design coordination and code compliance; engineering process governance and configuration management; schedule awareness and mitigation; and cost awareness. This position reports functionally to the Head of Engineering and operates within a matrixed project structure, interfacing directly with the relevant technical area leads, project lead(s), and Project Director on each assigned program. An Engineering Manager may be assigned to one or more programs concurrently, with program-specific scope, deliverables, and time allocation defined at assignment. The role requires regular collaboration with KF's Japanese staff, U.S. National Laboratories, and other domestic and international project partners.
Principal Responsibilities
1. Design, Engineering Compliance & Technical Authority
- Own design coordination across engineering disciplines, ensuring a coherent, integrated design basis is established, verified, and maintained from concept through commissioning.
- Ensure all engineering work meets applicable codes, standards, and facility requirements (for UNITY-3: DOE O 430.1C, ASME BPVC, NEC, NFPA, and site specific safety, electrical, mechanical, structural, environmental rules).
- Own the code-compliant design package handoff to construction teams and verify field execution matches approved design. Establish and enforce engineering workflows, governance structures, design authority frameworks, formal change control processes, and configuration baseline management across all projects.
2. Schedule & Cost Management
- Maintain visibility of project schedules, critical path, and resource planning. Detect delays early, escalate promptly, and drive corrective actions to keep programs on track. Track engineering cost and resource labor-hours performance against budget; identify and communicate cost impacts from design changes, delays, or scope variations; drive cost-conscious decision-making within technical constraints.
3. Quality Assurance & Team Leadership
- Own quality of all engineering deliverables and ensure compliance with QA protocols, site-specific safety requirements, and DOE quality assurance standards.
- Build and lead multidisciplinary engineering teams; manage subcontractors, vendors, and cross-organizational partners.
- Serve as primary KFA interface with partner’s chief engineers, represent KFA in governance meetings, and support business development for future programs.
Knowledge, Skills & Experience
Required
- Bachelor's degree or higher in Engineering (Mechanical, Nuclear, Systems, or a closely related discipline).
- 10+ years of experience delivering complex, safety-critical engineered systems in nuclear, aerospace, DOE, or other highly regulated environments.
- Demonstrated experience leading multidisciplinary engineering and project teams, including management of subcontractors and cross-organizational partners.
- Strong command of engineering design, fabrication, test and validation, and commissioning processes for large-scale technical systems.
- Experience establishing and enforcing engineering workflows, governance structures, and design authority frameworks in a regulated project environment.
- Demonstrated experience with formal engineering change control: change request documentation, impact assessment, approval routing, and baseline traceability.
- Experience tracking cost and schedule performance against a budget or estimate; ability to identify and communicate impacts and drive mitigation decisions.
- Exceptional leadership, communication, negotiation, and stakeholder management skills, including the ability to work effectively across organizational and cultural boundaries.
- Ability to make clear, sound decisions under uncertainty and pressure in a mission-critical environment.
Desired
- Experience with accelerator systems, high-voltage power systems, vacuum systems, or nuclear and/or radiological facility construction.
- Familiarity with tritium or radioactive material handling requirements, including DOE radiological control standards.
- Knowledge of relevant U.S. and international engineering standards: ASME BPVC, NFPA, NEC, IEEE, and DOE nuclear safety order series.
- Experience with EPC.
- Licensed Professional Engineer (PE) in the United States or eligibility within one year.
- Experience structuring or operating within public-private partnership projects at national laboratories.
- Experience managing FOAK projects with significant integration complexity and schedule pressure.
- Experience working within DOE national laboratory environments and/or under DOE project management frameworks (DOE O 430.1C).
- Prior exposure to international fusion research programs.
Additional Information & Benefits
- Medical, Dental, and Vision plans for employees and their families
- This is a full-time, permanent position
- Up to 26 Days of PTO (20 vacation days and 6 sick days) annually
- 12 paid company holidays
- Paid sick leave available for all employees. Covered paid time off is also provided for bereavement, voting, and up to 10 days for jury or witness duty.
- Unpaid, job-protected leave options for medical needs, pregnancy disability, and military service.
- Retirement savings plan (401k) with company matching contributions.
- Potential stock options.
- Some domestic and international travel is required.
- Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States. Additional eligibility requirements, which may include U.S. person status, may apply.
Kyoto Fusioneering America is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.
