Magnet Business Team Lead

CFS’ mission is to enable world-wide clean energy for everyone, creating a sustainable environment for current and future generations. We’ve created a credible path to an operating fusion power plant in 15 years which leverages our novel collaboration with MIT and funding from strategic and financial investors who share our vision. This begins by developing a new class of high-field superconducting magnets that will enable the SPARC tokamak to demonstrate net energy from fusion for the first time. To execute this plan, we are now looking to add talented people to the team who are mission-driven and treat people well; improve our team by adding diverse perspectives & new ways of solving problems; have demonstrated exceptional results through a range of different pursuits; and have skillsets and experience that relate to this role.
En route to achieving CFS’s mission of deploying 10,000 fusion power plants in time to make a difference for climate change, we are becoming world leaders in superconducting magnet technologies that have many applications in fusion, cleantech, and other industries. Now, we’re building a business to make full use of these technologies while also complementing and building capabilities for our fusion mission. Our Magnet Business Team Leader will be responsible for organizing and driving the team that will determine our tech-to-market product strategy and for executing our plan to achieve these goals. This is a creative and entrepreneurial role that will report directly to the COO and coordinate activities across multiple functions in the organization.

This team member will:

• Organize and drive the ‘startup within the startup’ in an open space of technology and market opportunities
• Take a tactical, listening, and customer-focused approach at product strategy. Quickly and effectively speak to many potential customers. Solicit voice of the customer feedback on pain points, unmet needs, and value propositions of new technologies. Synthesize that feedback into project proposals
• Work closely with our R&D and engineering teams to understand and evaluate the capabilities of our technologies for different applications

Bring together what you’ve learned about the technology and the markets to propose a comprehensive business plan to build our Magnet Business. This plan will include:

• Product concept: a description of the product, the customer, and the value proposition to that customer
• Market analysis: a deep understanding of the size of the opportunity, value chain, market players, profitability, competing technologies, and growth trajectory of the market
• Pro-forma financial model to quantify the potential future of the business
• Go-to-market strategy: timeline, partners, and customers for prototypes, pilot opportunities, offtakes and future products
• Operations strategy: plan to ensure all supply chain, manufacturing capabilities, and other operational needs are met to ensure success for both CFS’s Magnet Business and Fusion Business

Execute this plan. After the first few months of product scoping, this role is 95% execution and 5% strategy:

• You will organize and drive the plan to successfully deliver our chosen applications
• You’ll build and align our internal capabilities and negotiate for resources to ensure project successes
• You’ll project manage the daily activities across many different functions in the organization, including R&D, procurement, manufacturing, sales, and finance
• You’ll regularly communicate status and milestones to all stakeholders and drive the delivery of needs from all outside parties
• You’ll ensure that all prototypes and pilot projects are delivered on time, on spec, and on budget

The ideal candidate will have most, if not all, of these requirements:

• Entrepreneurial experience in deeply scientific and technology-focused contexts. Experience as a CEO and/or COO of a comparable startup is preferred
• An intuitive understanding of the potential of various product opportunities with a bias for speaking to potential customers to calibrate that intuition
• A demonstrated ability of creating opportunities and closing deals for first-of-a-kind technology applications
• Superconducting cable and magnet experience are plusses
• A demonstrated ability to lead projects and manage cross-functional teams by influence to deliver projects on time, on spec, and within budget
• Candidates with a combination of technical and business backgrounds are strongly preferred
• A degree in engineering, science, or comparable experience
• An MBA or comparable experience

CFS team members thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic environment and have demonstrated exceptional results through a range of different pursuits. We all tightly align with our company values of integrity, execution, impact and self-critique. As we grow, we are looking to add talented people who are mission driven and bring diverse perspectives and new ways of solving problems.
At CFS, we deeply value diversity and are an equal opportunity employer by choice. We consider all qualified applicants equally for employment. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, protected veteran status, religion, physical or mental disability, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, or any other basis protected by law, ordinance, or regulation.