Chief Operating & Strategy Officer

Background

Fusion energy promises clean, abundant power by recreating the process that fuels the sun. The science is maturing, and the bottleneck is now building the machines: thousands of precision components that only a few suppliers worldwide can make.

Our client is an early, well-funded fusion startup built to close that gap. It connects global fusion developers with world-class manufacturers as a single point of contact, while expanding into adjacent businesses such as fusion AI, superconducting materials and fuel supply.

The Chief Operating & Strategy Officer will join as the CEO's closest counterpart, building Finance, HR and Legal to scale ahead of the business while shaping strategy on partnerships, M&A and capital allocation.

Key Responsibilities

Back Office Leadership

• Lead and integrate Finance, HR and Legal operations, building scalable processes, systems and governance that support rapid growth.
• Partner with the CFO on budgeting, financial planning and operational controls, ensuring the back office enables rather than slows the business.
• Build the talent strategy, organization design and culture needed to scale the team, including senior hiring and leadership development.
• Oversee contracts, corporate legal matters, compliance and risk management across multiple jurisdictions.

Corporate and Business Strategy

• Define and drive company strategy together with the CEO, including market and segment prioritization, long-term planning and annual objectives.
• Lead strategic partnerships, alliances and evaluation of M&A or strategic investment opportunities.
• Develop business model analysis and unit economics to guide where the company invests and how it scales.
• Run the company operating rhythm, including OKRs, performance reviews and cross-functional execution of strategic initiatives.
• Tech Sales Strategy Support
• Build the sales operations foundation for the commercial team, including deal approval processes, contract structures, forecasting and sales enablement.
• Provide pricing guidance from a margin and unit economics perspective, working closely with the Chief Commercial Officer, who retains ownership of pricing decisions, customer relationships and revenue delivery.
• Support the strategic narrative and strategy content used in investor communications, in close coordination with the Chief Commercial Officer.

Key Qualifications

• 15 or more years of progressive experience in operations, strategy, general management or a comparable senior leadership role, with a proven record of running multiple corporate functions.
• Experience as COO, Head of Strategy, Chief of Staff to a CEO, or business unit head at a high-growth technology company, or equivalent experience at a top-tier strategy consulting firm followed by an operating role.
• Hands-on experience overseeing or closely partnering with Finance, HR and Legal functions in a scaling organization.
• Strong understanding of technology or B2B enterprise sales cycles, with the ability to build sales operations and strategy without owning client-facing selling.
• Demonstrated ability to translate vision into measurable plans and drive cross-functional execution at the executive level.
• Business fluency in English and Korean, with comfort working in a global environment.
• Experience in M&A, strategic partnerships or investment evaluation. (Preferred)
• Experience taking a company through a major growth stage such as global expansion, a funding round or IPO preparation. (Preferred)
• MBA or an equivalent advanced degree. (Preferred)

Originally posted on Himalayas