Head of PMO

Xcimer Energy•Denver, CO

2d•Onsite

About The Position

Xcimer Energy is hiring a full-time, onsite Head of PMO at its Denver, Colorado headquarters. As the company expands from a single program into an enterprise portfolio anchored by its Inertial Fusion Energy program and a growing Defense program, this role will own the vision, mandate, and operating model for the enterprise Program Management Office. The PMO is designed as a hub-and-spoke function: the Head of PMO is directly accountable for the enterprise Hub, while coordinating through dotted-line relationships with program managers embedded in Fusion and Defense. The Fusion and Defense Program Leads retain end-to-end ownership of their programs and report to executives. The Head of PMO will establish the governance, standards, tools, reporting, and talent needed to support disciplined program delivery across current and future programs without becoming a bottleneck. The role calls for a collaborative, execution-focused leader who can build trust across program, functional, and executive leadership; introduce practical governance that improves speed and accountability; and build a PMO function from the ground up. Xcimer Energy’s mission is to deploy inertial fusion power plants to support global decarbonization goals. The position requires 15 or more years of program, portfolio, or PMO leadership experience, including building, transforming, or resetting a PMO or portfolio function. The successful candidate will bring experience with large, complex programs in engineering-intensive environments, matrixed organizations, and hub-and-spoke PMO models, along with strong business and financial acumen and executive communication skills. Candidates must meet the stated U.S. citizenship, nationality, permanent residency, refugee, or asylum status requirement.

Requirements

15 or more years of experience in program, portfolio, or PMO leadership.
Demonstrated success building, transforming, or resetting a PMO or portfolio management function, including establishing its mandate, operating model, governance routines, standards, and adoption roadmap.
Experience leading large, complex programs; billion-dollar scale is preferred.
Experience in an engineering-intensive environment such as semiconductor, laser, nuclear, space and defense, or a similar field.
Experience operating in a matrixed organization and influencing program leaders, functional leaders, and executives without relying on direct authority.
Experience working in ambiguous environments and building order and clarity from loosely defined problems.
Experience leading or supporting a hub-and-spoke PMO model, with direct accountability for a central function and dotted-line relationships to embedded or divisional program managers.
Strong business and financial acumen, including the ability to connect strategy, execution, financial outcomes, capacity planning, investment choices, and measurable value.
Exceptional executive presence and communication skills, including the ability to simplify complex portfolio information and facilitate tradeoff decisions with senior leadership.
Ability to introduce governance and standards in an engineering, science, or hardware-intensive environment without slowing technical teams down.
Must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. permanent resident (current Green Card holder), or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum.

Nice To Haves

Demonstrated proficiency in one or more core engineering disciplines, such as Nuclear, Aerospace, Laser, Optics, Electrical, or Mechanical.
Experience with the design and construction of a one-of-a-kind prototype system.
Experience in a national laboratory, aerospace, defense, energy, or another engineering/science-intensive, regulated, or export-controlled environment.
Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. government security clearance; U.S. citizenship is required for clearance eligibility.

Responsibilities

Define the PMO’s vision, mandate, operating model, and multi-year roadmap in partnership with department leadership.
Establish the PMO as a hub-and-spoke function, with direct accountability for the enterprise Hub and a dotted-line coordination model for program managers embedded in the business.
Define roles, decision rights, engagement models, and escalation paths across the hub-and-spoke model.
Establish company-wide program management standards, playbooks, templates, and minimum controls, including common definitions for scope, milestones, financials, resources, risks, issues, dependencies, and value realization.
Determine the appropriate mix of agile, hybrid, and traditional delivery practices based on each initiative’s complexity, risk, and business need.
Lead independent health reviews and recovery planning for strategically important initiatives requiring additional support or intervention.
Hire, manage, and mentor the PMO core team; set departmental budgets and performance targets; and establish career paths.
Coordinate with program managers matrixed into Fusion and Defense to foster a shared practice and community without directing their day-to-day work.
Build enterprise program management capability through assessment, coaching, communities of practice, and talent development for PMO staff and embedded program managers.