Principal Special Projects Manager

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:

We're looking for an experienced Principal Special Projects Manager to own and drive Helion's most critical cross-functional initiatives—efforts that don't fit neatly into existing teams but are vital to our mission. These projects are often ambiguous at the outset, technically complex, and time sensitive. You'll bring structure where none exists, align diverse stakeholders, and deliver tangible outcomes that enable Helion to scale.

You will operate at both the strategic and tactical level—partnering with senior leadership to define priorities, then leading execution in the field to ensure scope, schedule, and quality are met. This is an onsite role that reports directly to the Chief of Staff at our Everett, WA headquarters.

You Will:

- Lead high-visibility, cross-functional projects spanning engineering, operations, legal, procurement, construction, and safety

- Drive cross-functional alignment and execution across teams including engineering, operations, procurement, and construction

- Bring clarity to ambiguous problems—framing scope, defining requirements, and translating them into actionable plans

- Anticipate and manage critical path dependencies, proactively removing blockers to maintain momentum

- Balance technical depth with strategic perspective—quickly building acumen in new systems and translating complexity into clear decisions

- Drive execution and accountability across teams, ensuring final product meets both immediate needs and long-term goals

- Communicate priorities, tradeoffs, and recommendations clearly to stakeholders at all levels

Required Skills:

- Bachelor's degree in Engineering preferred, or direct experience with engineering (Mechanical, Electrical, Civil, Industrial, or related field)

- 10+ years of experience in technical project execution in high-growth environments (e.g., advanced energy, aerospace, capital projects, or industrial systems)

- Ability to operate seamlessly between field execution and executive discussions, ensuring alignment from concept through implementation

- Proven track record of delivering complex, multidisciplinary systems under tight constraints of time, resources, and ambiguity

- Strong engineering expertise with the ability to rapidly learn and evaluate technical systems outside your core background

- Demonstrated success aligning diverse stakeholders and driving accountability across senior-level teams

- Excellent communication skills with experience influencing, negotiating, and driving clarity across technical and executive stakeholders

#LI-Onsite #LI-MM1

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.