Back to jobs
New

Technical Program Manager - HERCULES

Everett, WA

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 over $1 billion from long-time investors such as Sam Altman, Mithril, and Capricorn Investment Group as well as new investors SoftBank and Lightspeed to propel us forward. Our last prototype, Trenta, completed 10,000 high-power pulses and reached plasma temperatures of 100 million degrees Celsius (9 keV). We are now operating Polaris, our next prototype on the path to the world's first fusion power plant. 

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

You will be the Technical Project Manager for projects on the Nuclear Science team, including HERCULES – the Helion External Research Collaboration for Universities, Labs, and Enterprise Scientists. Through HERCULES, Helion will fund impactful research at universities, national labs, and research companies, totaling over $20M over three years in a phased approach. As administrator for this program, you will review proposals, work with Helion's business teams and the awardee to go from proposal to funded project, then guide the technical work in partnership with internal PIs through the lifecycle of the project. Your superpower will be technical breadth, ensuring scientific alignment with Helion's objectives. This is an onsite role that reports directly to Director of Nuclear Science at our Everett, WA office.

You Will

  • Lead the HERCULES program, totaling over $20M over three years
  • Work on the cutting edge of research, contributing to the breadth of Helion's science and R&D spanning nuclear, materials, fuel, and pulsed power science. You will partner with internal PIs across all of Helion's technical teams
  • Evaluate proposal submissions, quickly navigate contracts, disperse funds to research partners, guide technical work, and ensure on-track deliverables
  • Communicate externally to potential partners to advertise the program, and internally to leaders and executives on progress and impact. You will be the bridge between Helion leadership, PIs, and business units, and those of our partners
  • Teach our partners how to move fast and accelerate. You will find their largest blockers – supply chain, legal, and technical and solve them
  • Jump in and ensure the delivery of internal Nuclear Science projects in parallel to external projects

Required Skills

  • Research Experience: you have a PhD in science or engineering, or equivalent experience delivering impactful research through the scientific lifecycle in an academic or national lab setting
  • Technical breadth: as the leader of this program, you have the technical skillset to understand projects spanning nuclear science, materials science, chemical engineering, experimental and computational plasma physics, and electrical engineering (pulsed power). This will be demonstrated by the delivery of multidisciplinary projects and/or publications spanning multiple discipline
  • Communication: you can talk to scientists and business executives. You can condense information into short memos, understand key information from technical reports, and communicate business value to leaders and executives. For any project, you can always explain the “why” and how it connects to the organization's mission. This will be demonstrated via presentations at program review meetings and/or program review reports
  • Project Management: you have experience managing multi-year budgets totaling over $1M, regularly reporting progress to stakeholders, driving schedule, and accelerating projects. You have managed multiple projects, keeping an eye on both the big picture and the details
  • Proven delivery: you have brought a product from technological readiness level (TRL) 3 to TRL 6 on an accelerated timeline

#LI-TM1 #LI-Onsite 

Total Compensation and Benefits

Helion's compensation package includes a competitively benchmarked base salary, meaningful equity grants, and comprehensive benefits. Final compensation is determined through a holistic evaluation of your experience, qualifications, and our commitment to internal equity - ensuring fairness and transparency across our teams. We are committed to fostering a fair and equitable environment in every aspect of our operations, including compensation.

This is an exempt salaried role.

Annual Base Pay

$154,000 - $198,000 USD

Benefits

Our total compensation package includes benefits, including but not limited to: 

•    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.

Create a Job Alert

Interested in building your career at Helion Energy? Get future opportunities sent straight to your email.

Apply for this job

*

indicates a required field

Resume/CV*

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

Cover Letter

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

Select...
Select...
Select...
Select...
Select...

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey. Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiring process or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in a confidential file.

As set forth in Helion Energy’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

Select...
Select...
Race & Ethnicity Definitions

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection. As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measure the effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categories is as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.

Select...

Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability

Form CC-305
Page 1 of 1
OMB Control Number 1250-0005
Expires 04/30/2026

Why are you being asked to complete this form?

We are a federal contractor or subcontractor. The law requires us to provide equal employment opportunity to qualified people with disabilities. We have a goal of having at least 7% of our workers as people with disabilities. The law says we must measure our progress towards this goal. To do this, we must ask applicants and employees if they have a disability or have ever had one. People can become disabled, so we need to ask this question at least every five years.

Completing this form is voluntary, and we hope that you will choose to do so. Your answer is confidential. No one who makes hiring decisions will see it. Your decision to complete the form and your answer will not harm you in any way. If you want to learn more about the law or this form, visit the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) website at www.dol.gov/ofccp.

How do you know if you have a disability?

A disability is a condition that substantially limits one or more of your “major life activities.” If you have or have ever had such a condition, you are a person with a disability. Disabilities include, but are not limited to:

  • Alcohol or other substance use disorder (not currently using drugs illegally)
  • Autoimmune disorder, for example, lupus, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV/AIDS
  • Blind or low vision
  • Cancer (past or present)
  • Cardiovascular or heart disease
  • Celiac disease
  • Cerebral palsy
  • Deaf or serious difficulty hearing
  • Diabetes
  • Disfigurement, for example, disfigurement caused by burns, wounds, accidents, or congenital disorders
  • Epilepsy or other seizure disorder
  • Gastrointestinal disorders, for example, Crohn's Disease, irritable bowel syndrome
  • Intellectual or developmental disability
  • Mental health conditions, for example, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, PTSD
  • Missing limbs or partially missing limbs
  • Mobility impairment, benefiting from the use of a wheelchair, scooter, walker, leg brace(s) and/or other supports
  • Nervous system condition, for example, migraine headaches, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis (MS)
  • Neurodivergence, for example, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, dyspraxia, other learning disabilities
  • Partial or complete paralysis (any cause)
  • Pulmonary or respiratory conditions, for example, tuberculosis, asthma, emphysema
  • Short stature (dwarfism)
  • Traumatic brain injury
Select...

PUBLIC BURDEN STATEMENT: According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. This survey should take about 5 minutes to complete.