Director, Project Management Office
TerraPower · Everett · $195,825–$261,100 (stated in the posting)
The TerraPower Isotopes® (TPI™) division has been established to pursue medical isotopes development--advancing nuclear science for significant human health benefits. We seek to support revolutionary radiotherapies for treatments of various cancers through the supply of radioisotopes. TerraPower currently has unique access to a supply of thorium for the long-term production of actinium-225 in the growing alpha therapy market and intends to expand into other nuclear related medical treatments.
The TerraPower Isotopes program is an integral part of the Washington State based TerraPower team, a company working to raise living standards globally. In 2006, the company originated with Bill Gates and a group of like-minded visionaries who evaluated the fundamental challenges to raising living standards around the world. TerraPower’s mission is to be a world leader in new nuclear technologies, while developing innovators and future leaders in the nuclear field.
TPI is seeking to hire highly motivated and forward-thinking professionals who are interested in focusing on advanced radiopharmaceutical applications and influencing change within nuclear medicine. TerraPower is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate in hiring on the basis of sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, religious creed, national origin, physical or mental disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.
Director, Project Management Office
The Director of the Project Management Office, reporting to the Senior Vice President of Strategy, will lead the TPI Project Office as it matures from a build-stage function into an established discipline governing how work is planned, resourced, measured, and delivered across the enterprise. The portfolio spans engineering, technology, and R&D delivery alongside capital projects execution. The successful candidate will have built and run a project management office or project controls function inside a fast-moving, capital-intensive organization.
Responsibilities
Project Office Leadership
- Own the design, governance, and continuous improvement of the TPI Project Office framework, spanning project controls, risk management, and program management.
- Author and maintain Project Office policies, procedures, and templates, and drive the training and adoption that make them hold across the organization.
- Grow, lead, and develop a team of project managers, including hiring, coaching, workload allocation, and performance management.
- Lead portfolio intake and categorization so new and in-flight work is classified consistently and planned to an appropriate level of fidelity, employing a graded approach that scales with project size and resources.
Portfolio Delivery
- Hold accountability for project delivery across engineering, technology, and R&D functions, with direct reports embedded as project managers within individual functions.
- Oversee development of work breakdown structures, resource-loaded schedules, and baseline management across the portfolio.
- Own scheduling governance, including resource loading and leveling, integration of external engineering and vendor schedules, and the update and reporting cadence.
- Direct performance measurement through milestone and earned value tracking, variance analysis, and portfolio dashboards, and deliver leadership-level reporting on portfolio health.
- Own the project change request process at portfolio level, keeping change logs and risk registers current and resolved in a timely manner.
Capital Project Delivery
- Hold Project Office accountability for capital delivery of production facility expansions covering schedule integration, cost and commitment tracking, and change control.
- Integrate EPC, design-build, and specialty equipment vendor schedules into the TPI master schedule, and hold partners to agreed reporting standards.
- Track capital spend against approved budget and forecast, and surface variance and trend to leadership in time to act.
- Sequence delivery milestones against licensing, commissioning, qualification, and production start-up requirements.
Tooling and Systems
- Own the selection, configuration, and governance of project management tooling across enterprise scheduling, time tracking, and portfolio reporting, keeping validated-quality systems and project tooling appropriately separated.
- Set standards for use of Atlassian tooling (Confluence and Jira) and enterprise scheduling and reporting platforms across the Project Office.
Cross-Functional and Vendor Leadership
- Serve as the Project Office’s senior point of contact for engineering, technology, R&D, operations, and commercial leadership on delivery status, risk, and resourcing.
- Own portfolio-level interfaces with contracted engineering partners and specialized equipment vendors, holding scope, schedule, and deliverable expectations to agreed standards.
- Collaborate with quality, operations, engineering, and R&D leadership to keep delivery aligned with safety, compliance, and regulatory requirements.
Regulatory and Compliance
- Ensure Project Office governance, controls, and tooling meet the requirements of a cGMP, nuclear, or comparable safety-critical environment.
- Maintain awareness of regulatory expectations affecting project execution and reporting in a radiopharmaceutical and radiological setting.
- Ensure project activities and documentation comply with export control requirements governing TPI technology and information.
Key Qualifications and Skills
- B.S. in Engineering, Chemistry, Physics, or a related discipline from an accredited university; advanced degree a plus.
- Minimum of 12 years of project management experience with deep expertise in project controls covering scheduling, cost, earned value, and change control, including experience managing a team of project managers.
- Demonstrated track record of building and leading a project management office, project controls function, or comparable delivery framework, ideally within a startup, scale-up, or other fast-growth environment.
- Experience delivering capital construction projects, including management of EPC or design-build partners and specialized equipment vendors.
- Strong proficiency with Atlassian tooling (Confluence and Jira) and enterprise scheduling tools such as Primavera P6, with experience directing how such tools are configured and governed.
- Solid understanding of supply chain processes, contract administration, SCR review, and procurement change control.
- Familiarity with integrated master scheduling and milestone governance across complex, multi-year programs.
- Significant experience delivering projects in a regulated or high-compliance environment such as cGMP/pharmaceutical, nuclear, aerospace, or other safety-critical industry.
- Proven people-leadership experience, with the ability to build, coach, and retain a high-performing project management team.
- Strong executive-level stakeholder management, with the ability to represent the Project Office to senior leadership and drive alignment across engineering, R&D, quality, operations, and commercial teams.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to produce clear governance documentation and concise leadership-level reporting.
- PMP, PMI-SP, or equivalent certification preferred.
- Prior experience in a radiopharmaceutical, nuclear, or radiological environment strongly preferred.
- The successful candidate will possess a high degree of trust and integrity, communicate openly, and display respect and a desire to foster teamwork.
- Must be able to travel to TerraPower Isotopes facilities and project sites with regularity.
Job Functions:
Job Functions are physical actions and/or working conditions associated with the position. These functions may also constitute essential functions for the job which the employee must be able to fulfill, with or without accommodation. Information provided below is to help describe the job so that the applicant has a reasonable understanding of the job duties/expectations. An applicant's ability to perform and/or tolerate these actions and conditions will be discussed and workplace accommodations may be made on a case-by-case basis following an individualized assessment of the applicant and other considerations, including but not limited to any governing safety standards.
- Motor Abilities: Sitting for extended periods, bending/stooping, grasping/gripping, fine motor control (hands)
- Physical exertion and/or requirements: Minimal, with ability to safely lift up to 25 pounds.
- Repetitive work: Prolonged
- Special Senses: Visual and audio focused work
- Work Conditions: Stairs, typing/keyboard, standard and/or sitting working environment of >8 hours/day
- Travel required 0-10%
TerraPower Isotopes' technology is controlled for export by various agencies of the U.S. Government. TerraPower Isotopes must evaluate applicants who are foreign nationals (other than asylees, refugees, or lawful permanent residents) in accordance with U.S. Government export control requirements. To facilitate TerraPower's export control reviews, you will be asked as part of the application process to identify whether you are a U.S. Citizen or national, asylee, refugee, or lawful permanent resident of the United States. Government export authorization approval times vary. Based on the business needs for a particular position, TerraPower Isotopes may not consider a foreign national from a country if it is impracticable to obtain timely Government export approval.
Job Details:
Salary Range: $195,825 - $261,100
Any salary offered within the posted salary band is based on market data and commensurate with the selected candidate’s qualifications and experience. This range is specific to WA State.
Benefits:
- Competitive Compensation
- Salary, eligible to participate in discretionary short-term incentive payments
- Comprehensive Medical and Wellness Benefits
- Medical
- Vision
- Dental
- Life and Disability
- Gender Affirmation Benefits
- Parental Leave
- 401k Plan
- Generous Paid Time Off (PTO)
- 21 days of annually accrued PTO
- Generous Holiday Schedule
- 10 paid holidays
- Relocation Assistance
- Professional and Educational Support Opportunities
TerraPower Career and Benefits information: https://www.terrapower.com/careers/