Vice President of Human Resources

About Xcimer Energy

Xcimer Energy integrates decades of research in Inertial Fusion Energy (IFE) with innovative laser technology to advance fusion power plants aimed at achieving global decarbonization swiftly. The company gathers experts in tough tech, fusion science, and manufacturing with proven rapid execution capabilities and strong investor backing. Their goal is to provide unlimited, clean fusion energy to fight climate change.

Position Summary

The Vice President of Human Resources will design and lead the People strategy for one of the most pioneering engineering organizations worldwide. This key executive role includes serving as a trusted advisor responsible for developing organizational capacity, leadership systems, culture, and HR infrastructure, enabling Xcimer to evolve from a fast-growing deep tech company to the global frontrunner in laser fusion energy.

Key Responsibilities

• Act as a strategic advisor to the Executive Leadership Team on organizational strategy, leadership effectiveness, workforce planning, succession, and culture development.
• Collaborate with executive leadership to define and reinforce cultural principles and leadership expectations tailored for the company’s growth phase.
• Formulate and implement a long-term People strategy supporting Xcimer’s expansion from R&D through commercialization and multi-location growth.
• Recruit, guide, and lead a top-tier HR organization comprising Business Partners, Total Rewards, HR Operations, Learning & Development, and Employee Experience.
• Support organizational design, executive coaching, leadership development, and succession planning alongside company executives.
• Create a leadership framework that fosters accountability, collaboration, respectful debate, and decision-making across engineering, scientific, and manufacturing teams.
• Oversee compensation, equity plans, executive pay, performance management, promotions, and career growth ensuring competitiveness and equity.
• Develop scalable systems, policies, and routines that support high performance and maintain the company’s entrepreneurial spirit.
• Implement cultural mechanisms such as onboarding, feedback and recognition programs, manager effectiveness processes, and leadership rituals to unify sites and functions.
• Lead workforce planning to attract, develop, and retain exceptional technical and business talent.
• Promote organizational health via employee engagement, leadership effectiveness, performance management, and continuous feedback.
• Utilize engagement data, management metrics, retention rates, and qualitative insights to monitor culture, preempt drift, and mitigate risks.
• Design programs that enhance desired cultural behaviors, address gaps, and improve managerial capability, leadership, and inter-team collaboration.
• Handle complex employee relations cases, investigations, risk management, and compliance in close cooperation with Legal and leadership.
• Implement governance to uphold cultural standards, manage misaligned leadership conduct, and ensure organizational consistency during growth and diversification.
• Supervise HR technology, analytics, reporting, and workforce insights to facilitate data-driven decisions across the enterprise.
• Scale programs for onboarding, leadership and manager development, learning initiatives, internal mobility, and succession.
• Ensure legal compliance with all employment laws and establish leading governance and operational HR practices.
• Prepare and manage annual personnel budgets, headcount models, and organizational investment plans aligned with company goals.
• Champion a culture emphasizing accountability, respectful discussion, operational excellence, innovation, and continual improvement.
• Contribute as a leadership team member to enterprise strategy, organizational scaling, capital planning, and overall company performance.
• Serve as a visible culture champion reinforcing Xcimer’s mission and values.
• Strategize and support geographic expansion initiatives.

Qualifications

• A Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Organizational Psychology, or related discipline is required; Master’s degree or MBA is preferred.
• At least 15 years of progressive leadership experience in Human Resources, including executive roles within high-growth technology, aerospace, advanced manufacturing, energy, defense, or similarly complex engineering sectors.
• Proven ability to scale organizations through rapid growth phases by implementing modern HR systems, leadership development, and organizational design.
• Experienced in partnering with executive teams on organizational strategy and decision-making.
• Expertise in organizational design, leadership development, employee relations, compensation, performance management, HR operations, compliance, and workforce planning.
• Track record of building and leading successful HR teams.
• Skill in cultivating culture through leadership and organizational design techniques and effective performance systems.
• Strong business insight with the ability to link people strategies to organizational performance.
• Excellent executive communication, influence, and change management skills with success in enterprise transformation initiatives.
• Capability to assess and improve cultural health and manage culture-related risks.
• Experience in leveraging HR technology and analytics to boost organizational effectiveness.
• Must be a U.S. citizen, permanent resident, or legally admitted as refugee or asylum seeker.

Preferred Experience

• Supporting organizations scaling from under 200 to over 1,000 employees.
• Experience with engineering, scientific research, hardware development, manufacturing, or deep-tech entities.
• Designing executive compensation and equity structures for venture-backed firms.
• Leading commercialization, manufacturing scale-up, or international expansion efforts.
• Knowledge of government contracts, export controls, security-clearance processes, or regulated industries.
• Implementation of enterprise HRIS, talent management, and people analytics systems.
• Success in building high-performance cultures in mission-driven environments.
• Managing culture during rapid growth and expansion in multi-site, technical organizations.

Diversity and Equal Opportunity

Xcimer Energy is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer dedicated to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace. Employment decisions are based on qualifications, performance, and abilities without discrimination relating to race, color, religion, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, age, military status, or any other legally protected characteristic. Criminal history is considered in compliance with applicable laws.

Benefits

• Comprehensive package covering medical, dental, vision, basic and supplemental life insurance, short- and long-term disability.
• Paid parental leave for birth or adoption events.
• 401(k) plan with company match up to 6%.
• Eligible employees receive equity ownership opportunities.
• Flexible paid time off (ATO) policy emphasizing trust and responsibility.
• Paid sick leave, 13 company holidays, and an annual company shutdown.
• Benefits vary by employment category including part-time and fixed-term employees.

Additional Information

AI technologies may be used to assist with hiring processes such as resume review and response analysis, but final hiring decisions remain human-led. Salary details will be individualized and follow applicable equal pay laws in Colorado and California.