Mechanical Engineering Manager - Knoxville - Fusion Energy Base

Description

Mechanical Engineering Manager

Join us in our mission to commercialize fusion energy

About Type One Energy

Type One Energy Group is mission‑driven to provide sustainable, affordable fusion power to the world. Established in 2019 and venture‑backed in 2023, the company is led by a team of globally recognized fusion scientists with a strong track record of building state‑of‑the‑art stellarator fusion machines, together with veteran business leaders experienced in scaling companies and commercializing energy technologies. If you are searching for the best new ideas and share our vision, join us as a "Mechanical Engineering Manager". This is what you need to know:

Location: Knoxville, TN

Salary: Highly Competitive Plus Benefits

Contract: Permanent, full time

Reporting to: Senior Director of Engineering

Your role in the mission:

Type One Energy is seeking an Mechanical Engineering Manager to oversee, coordinate, and optimize the deployment of engineering resources across multiple technically complex programs. This role is critical to ensuring that engineering talent is effectively aligned with project priorities, schedules, and technical requirements while maintaining the highest standards of engineering quality.

The role operates within a matrixed engineering organization, working closely with Engineering Directors, Technical Leads, Project Managers, HR, and cross‑functional stakeholders. The role combines people leadership, resource and capacity planning, and hands‑on technical oversight.

In addition to resource management responsibilities, the Engineering Resource Manager will act as a Senior Design Engineer, contributing to technical work as appropriate, participating in design reviews, and ensuring the quality and integrity of engineering models, analyses, and drawings.

Engineering Resource Planning & Allocation

• Assign engineers to projects based on technical skill sets, experience level, and project priorities.
• Balance workloads across teams to ensure efficient utilization while avoiding burnout or skill misalignment.
• Continuously monitor resource capacity and utilization across ongoing and planned projects.
• Forecast future engineering resource requirements based on the project pipeline, program schedules, and business objectives.
• Work closely with the Senior Director of Engineering to resolve resource conflicts and competing priorities across programs.

People Leadership & Performance Management

• Provide direct people leadership to assigned engineers, scientists, and technical staff.
• Support employee needs and serve as a point of escalation, representing team concerns and issues to HR and leadership.
• Facilitate performance management processes, including goal setting, feedback, performance reviews, and development planning.
• Ensure engineers are delivering effectively on assigned tasks and proactively address performance or engagement issues.

Capability Development & Workforce Growth

• Maintain a deep understanding of the technical skills, strengths, and development areas of the engineering team.
• Identify missing, underrepresented, or critical skill sets required to meet current and future program needs.
• Partner with HR and Engineering leadership to support recruiting and onboarding of new engineers.
• Work with individual engineers to identify training and professional development needs and support their growth.
• Establish and maintain teams of excellence (e.g., simulation, CAD, drawing, analysis teams) to strengthen core engineering capabilities.

Engineering Quality & Technical Oversight

• Actively mentor junior and mid‑career engineers to grow technical depth, rigor, and engineering judgment.
• Ensure that sound engineering practices, standards, and documentation requirements are consistently followed.
• Participate in technical and design reviews to ensure quality, completeness, and integration of engineering work.
• Review and provide oversight on engineering models, analyses, and drawings to maintain technical excellence.
• Promote continuous improvement in engineering processes, tools, and workflows.

What you'll need

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Engineering Physics, or a closely related discipline.
• 10+ years of experience in engineering design within complex technical environments.
• Minimum of 5 years of experience leading multidisciplinary engineering teams.
• Demonstrated experience developing and deploying new or first‑of‑a‑kind technologies.
• Strong organizational, communication, and interpersonal skills.
• Analytical mindset with the ability to forecast resource needs, manage capacity, and balance competing priorities.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience serving as a resource manager in a matrixed engineering organization.
• Familiarity with task scheduling and work management tools such as Jira or Microsoft Teams.
• Experience working in the fusion energy sector or other advanced energy, nuclear, or high‑reliability industries.
• Proficiency with Siemens NX.
• Experience working with Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) systems.
• Demonstrated ability to operate in fast‑paced environments with aggressive schedules and evolving priorities.

We offer

• Stock and share options
• Relocation allowance
• Insurance plans
• 401k retirement options
• And many more great voluntary benefits

Type One Energy is committed to community engagement in the development and deployment of its clean energy technology. For more information, visit / follow us on LinkedIn.

Equal Opportunity Statement

Type One Energy is an equal opportunity employer. We value diversity, searching for the best new ideas and remaining open to unique perspectives. Therefore, all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment independent of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or veteran status, age, or any other characteristics protected by applicable federal, state, or local laws. All qualified individuals are encouraged to apply.