Chief Legal Officer
Commonwealth Fusion Systems
Legal
Devens, MA, USA
Posted on Thursday, July 25, 2024
Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) has the fastest, lowest cost path to commercial fusion energy.
CFS collaborates with MIT to leverage decades of research combined with groundbreaking new high-temperature superconducting (HTS) magnet technology. HTS magnets will enable compact fusion power plants that can be constructed faster and at lower cost. Our mission is to deploy these power plants to meet global decarbonization goals as fast as possible. To that end, CFS has assembled a team of leaders in tough tech, fusion science, and manufacturing with a track record of rapid execution. Supported by the world’s leading investors, CFS is uniquely positioned to deliver limitless, clean, fusion power to combat climate change. To implement this plan, we are looking to add dedicated people to the team who treat people well, improve our work by adding multifaceted perspectives and new ways of solving problems, have achieved outstanding results through a range of pursuits, and have skills and experience related to this role.
CFS is now a 1,000+ person, multi-billion dollar effort. As we prepare for our next phase of power project deals, continued corporate growth, and global expansion, we are hiring the company’s first Chief Legal Officer, responsible for setting the vision for CFS’s Legal capabilities into the future and executing that vision. This role will report directly to the CEO and be a key member of the Executive Leadership Team.
This team member will:
- Be the trusted advisor to the CEO, supporting a broad set of legal-related corporate, investor relations, compliance, IP, open innovation partnerships, commercial, and other matters
- Set the vision for CFS’s Legal Department, seeking to build a world class legal team and operation that accelerates the company, empowers decision-making throughout the company, and amplifies its abilities
- Build a right-sized and streamlined legal operation for systematic support of a very large quantity of routine deals like supplier contracts, export control determinations, and employment matters, while at the same time providing high-touch support for a smaller quantity of company-defining deals and a growing pipeline of key commercial deals
- Risk-optimize the company’s legal decision-making, prioritizing the risks that are most important to the company and streamlining and decentralizing decision-making for lower risks
- Build new legal capabilities while managing our existing internal and external legal teams
- Centralize and manage the company’s legal expenses
- Instill a service mindset throughout the legal team of “what must be true to get us to yes?”, emphasizing creativity and tenacity and protecting our interests while becoming a trusted accelerant for business development and partnerships
The ideal candidate will have most, if not all, of these requirements:
- Juris Doctorate (JD) required along with the necessary licenses to practice
- Additional education in engineering, physics, or other relevant energy fields is a plus
- 20+ years of experience in relevant legal roles. Deep legal and business intuition to become a trusted advisor to the CEO
- Experience designing, building, and running inhouse legal departments
- Experience in power development, having seen many deals relevant to power development and company growth.
- Experience building and running high-functioning, data-driven legal operations
- Experience working in a fast-paced environment where speed is prioritized over perfection
Additional preferred experience and/or qualifications:
- Perform activities such as typing, standing, or sitting for extended periods of time
- Dedication to safety to mitigate hazards that may include heat, cold, noise, fumes, strong magnets, lead, high voltage, and cryogenics
- Willingness to travel or work required nights/weekends/on-call occasionally
- #LI-Onsite
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.