Risk and Opportunity Manager

Risk & Opportunity Manager
Location: Knoxville, TN
Role: Permanent, full time
Salary: Highly competitive plus bonus and benefits

ORAU is conducting the search on behalf of Type One Energy for a permanent, fulltime Risk & Opportunity Manager in Knoxville, TN.

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 Risk and Opportunity Manager. This is what you need to know:

Your role in the mission:

The Risk & Opportunity Manager will serve as a key organizational leader responsible for defining, implementing, and maturing the enterprise-wide and program-level risk and opportunity management framework for Type One Energy. Operating as a central function within the Program Management Office (PMO), this individual will architect and manage the processes, systems, and governance structures that enable the company to effectively identify, assess, quantify, prioritize, track, and mitigate risks across all major programs-including Fusion Direct, Infinity1, and Infinity2. This includes leading cross-functional efforts to capture both threats and opportunities spanning technical design, manufacturing readiness, supply chain, regulatory, integration, cost, schedule, and external dependencies.

The Risk & Opportunity Manager will work closely with engineering, program management, finance, procurement, and executive leadership to ensure that risk and opportunity considerations are embedded into program planning, baseline development, EVM performance assessments, and decision-making processes. This individual will drive activities such as structured risk identification workshops, qualitative and quantitative assessments, root-cause analysis, and mitigation strategy development. They will ensure each program maintains a robust, traceable, and continuously updated risk register, and will support scenario modeling to understand how risk exposure translates into expected cost and schedule outcomes.

Risk & Opportunity Framework Development

Develop, implement, and maintain Type One Energy's integrated risk and opportunity management process, aligned with industry best practices (e.g., DOE O 413.3B, ISO 31000).
• Establish standardized tools, templates, taxonomies, and reporting mechanisms for program and enterprise risk.
• Oversee the risk workflow including identification, analysis, quantification (qualitative and quantitative), prioritization, mitigation planning, and closure.

Program-Level Risk Management

• Facilitate working sessions with engineering, procurement, manufacturing, and operations teams to identify technical, schedule, cost, and integration risks.
• Develop risk registers for major programs, ensuring clear traceability to program baselines and milestones.
• Support Earned Value Management (EVM) performance analysis by correlating risk exposure with cost/schedule performance.
• Conduct periodic risk reviews, readiness assessments, and risk health checks with program leadership.

Quantitative Analysis & Modeling

• Lead the development and execution of quantitative risk analyses (QRA) including Monte Carlo simulations for schedule and cost impacts.
• Integrate results into baseline development, Estimate at Completion (EAC) models, and decision-making processes.
• Provide data-backed recommendations to inform mitigation strategies and management reserves.

Opportunity Management

• Establish a structured opportunity management process to identify potential improvements in cost, schedule, performance, or design.
• Work with engineering and operations leadership to evaluate opportunity feasibility, value, and implementation paths.
• Track opportunity benefit realization and incorporate outcomes into program plans and performance reporting.

Reporting & Communication

• Produce clear, executive-level dashboards and reports summarizing risk exposure, trends, and mitigation status.
• Present risk posture and key insights to executive leadership, PMO leadership, and program steering committees.
• Ensure consistent communication of risk impacts across cross-functional stakeholders.

Governance, Compliance & Continuous Improvement

• Maintain risk governance processes aligned with contract, regulatory, and quality requirements.
• Support major phase gate reviews, baseline reviews, and independent project assessments.
• Drive continuous improvement of risk and opportunity management processes, tools, and cultural adoption across the company.

• Bachelor's degree in engineering, physics, business, finance, or related field.
• 5-10+ years of experience in risk management within complex engineering, R&D, aerospace, defense, or energy environments.
• Demonstrated experience developing and managing risk registers, QRAs, and mitigation planning.
• Strong understanding of project management, EVM, baselining, and systems engineering concepts.
• Excellent communication, facilitation, and stakeholder management skills.
• Strong analytical skills with proficiency in risk analysis tools (e.g., @RISK, Primavera Risk Analysis, Safran Risk).

Preferred

• Experience in fusion energy, nuclear, or advanced energy systems.
• Experience supporting PMO maturity efforts or process development.
• Familiarity with DOE project management structures and risk requirements.
• Certification in risk management (RMP, PMI-RMP) or project management (PMP)