Project Manager, Project Development

Commonwealth Fusion Systems•Devens, MA

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) is seeking a Project Manager for Project Development to play a critical role in managing the permitting process for the world's first grid-scale commercial fusion power plant. This role will support end-to-end siting, regulatory engagements, permitting strategies, and application processes across local, state, and federal levels. The Project Manager will be responsible for securing vital environmental permits, utility approvals, and land-use authorizations to ensure project milestones are achieved safely, compliantly, and on schedule. CFS is a rapidly growing company in the fusion energy sector, aiming to deliver the urgent transition to fusion energy and build commercially viable fusion power plants.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science, Environmental Engineering, Urban/Regional Planning, Public Policy, Law, or a related technical field.
5–8+ years of experience leading complex environmental permitting, regulatory compliance, or land-use approvals for utility-scale energy, thermal power generation, or large industrial infrastructure projects.
Technical expertise in federal and state environmental regulatory frameworks (e.g., Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, NEPA/state equivalents).
Exceptional project management skills and written/verbal communication skills.
Perform activities such as typing, standing, and sitting, for extended periods of time.
Willingness to occasionally travel or work required nights/weekends/on-call - this position will require up to 25% travel (day-trip & overnight).
Work in a facility that contains industrial hazards including heat, cold, noise, fumes, strong magnets, lead (Pb), high voltage, high current, pressure systems, and cryogenics.
Must comply with U.S. laws concerning the export of controlled or protected technologies or information.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree or advanced technical degree preferred.
Experience in state public utility commission filings.
PMP certification.
Proficiency with project scheduling software (MS Project, Primavera P6).
Proficiency with GIS applications.

Responsibilities

Perform comprehensive fatal flaw analyses and leverage GIS tools to evaluate potential project locations, assessing topography, generation and water availability, environmental constraints, and overall site viability.
Evaluate local land-use policies, zoning regulations, and tax structures to determine optimal development strategies and prioritize jurisdictions with supportive regulatory environments for novel energy facilities.
Support land acquisition negotiations and site control plans, partnering with legal advisors to structure options, land leases, and necessary rights-of-way with municipalities and landowners.
Conduct initial real property due diligence tasks, aligning title evaluations, ALTA surveys, Phase I ESAs, and preliminary geotechnical reviews.
Analyze localized transmission availability, sub-station capacity, and grid infrastructure for strategic off-take alignment.
Collaborate with multi-disciplinary project teams and manage external environmental consulting firms and contractors.
Oversee contractor work quality and completeness.
Lead proactive community outreach during early site identification to establish strong local relationships and resolve potential land-use issues ahead of regulatory filings.
Represent the company at public hearings, regulatory proceedings, and community forums.
Lead the strategy, drafting, submission, and execution of major environmental and regulatory permit applications, including Wetlands, Air Quality, NPDES, Storm Water, and CPCN filings.
Maintain productive relationships and technical proceedings with federal, state, and local regulatory bodies, public utility commissions, environmental agencies, and zoning authorities.
Coordinate cross-functionally with engineering, legal, project finance, origination, and external affairs teams to embed permitting requirements into schedules and design basis.
Oversee external environmental consultants, legal counsel, and engineering firms in performing environmental impact studies and technical permit preparation.
Monitor regulatory proceedings, policy updates, and utility dockets to identify risks and implement proactive mitigation strategies.
Establish and manage post-issuance compliance and turnover systems to ensure adherence to monitoring, reporting, and operational requirements during construction and commissioning.
Develop and track permitting schedules, establish recovery plans for schedule variances, and maintain the permitting risk registry.
Build a standardized permitting knowledge base and operational framework to enable multi-site scaling, utilizing AI and advanced digital tools where applicable.