---
title: 'Head of Design at Fuse'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/head-of-design-fuse-san-leandro-v3tvtdgtjhrs'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-11-10'
---

# Head of Design at Fuse

- **Company:** Fuse
- **Location:** San Leandro, CA
- **Compensation:** $180k–$230k
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-10-27
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-11-10
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/Fuse/bf2d23e3-9d13-46f0-95d9-13c8b544f447

## Job description

## ABOUT FUSE

We are building one of the most potentially consequential companies of the century. Our mission is to accelerate the world's transition to fusion energy while safeguarding humankind. This is not a normal company. This is not a normal job. We are committed for the long term to win.

## ABOUT THE ROLE

Fuse is hiring its first Head of Design: a hands-on design leader who reports to JC Btaiche, our CEO and Founder, owns how the world sees Fuse, and builds the team that makes it real. Fuse is at an inflection point. Investors, government partners, national labs and the engineers we want to hire are all forming a view of us right now. Design is how we earn their conviction and trust, and your job is to give it one owner, one standard and one voice. You will work as JC's creative thought partner and own the brand system everywhere it shows up: the website, decks, video, recruiting, events and the physical spaces we build. Communications reports into you. You will start by directing our in-house 3D artist and external creative partners, then grow a team. Over time the role expands into industrial design, UI/UX for our control systems, and the architecture of APEIRON.

## WHAT WE VALUE

- Obsess about the details — sloppy work costs us later, so do it right the first time.
- Care — pick up the trash. Do things no one asks you to do. Go the extra mile because you care.
- Act with urgency — every hour matters more than it feels like it does.
- Be responsible for the outcome, not just the task; if it is not working, it remains your problem until it is fixed.
- Assume good intent — disagree openly, then commit fully once a call is made.

## CORE RESPONSIBILITIES

- Set the brand: land Fuse's identity (logo, wordmark, type, color, layouts and guidelines), steer the external studio already working on it, then bring the system in-house and make it stick across every touchpoint.
- Hold the line on taste: keep the work clear and grounded, and let the machines, the people and the message carry it.
- Rebuild the front door: lead the website from audit to a new site and a public reveal campaign, then keep it relevant and fresh.
- Tell the APEIRON story: direct the investor deck, renders, floor plans and a launch film for our fusion plant campus, working with architects, render studios and video partners.
- Make content a habit: build a steady stream of photo, video and writing from inside the shop, so the world sees what Fusers build every week.
- Help us hire: make our careers page, job posts and employer content as compelling as the mission.
- Build the team: hire and lead designers, content producers and storytellers, direct our 3D artist, and decide when to use agencies and freelancers.
- Run the studio: set the approval flow with JC, a production rhythm with clear turnarounds, and a shared asset library everyone can use.

## MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

- 10+ years in visual, product or industrial design, with at least a few years leading teams or creative functions.
- Built a brand system and carried it across web, print, product, video and physical space.
- A portfolio that shows taste with restraint: clear, confident work.
- Directed photo and video, not just approved it, with enough knowledge of storytelling, shooting and editing to push a crew.
- Hired designers and producers, and managed agencies and freelancers without losing the soul of the work.
- Worked side by side with a founder or executive with strong opinions, and made the work better for it.
- Made complex hardware or deep technology understandable and exciting.

## PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

- Experience at a hardware company in energy, space, defense, automotive or robotics.
- Industrial design, UI/UX or architecture in your background.
- Strong writing: you can draft the headline, not just lay it out.
- Launched a product or company in public, from the site to the film to the event.

## ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS

- This is not a remote position and will require relocation if not already local to Fuse's San Leandro, CA facility.
- Occasional travel to other Fuse locations, events and partner sites.

## BENEFITS

- Medical, dental, and vision coverage.
- Relocation assistance for roles that require it.
- Flexible time off. Take what you need, no accrual tracking.
- 2 weeks of paid time off built into the end of each year (subject to team and business needs).
- Supportive leave of absence policies.
- Paid leave for new parents.

## ITAR REQUIREMENTS

To conform to U.S. Government technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

## EQUAL OPPORTUNITY

Fuse is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Fuse is governed on the basis of merit, competence, and qualifications and will not be influenced by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, ancestry, immigration status, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability, or any other legally protected status.

## About Fuse

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Fuse is a fusion energy and defense company developing magnetized-liner inertial fusion (MagLIF) technology to deliver clean, on-demand power while providing radiation testing services for national security customers.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Series A)
- **Headquarters**: San Leandro, California, United States (operates "Fuseville" facility)
- **Founded**: 2018 (per CB Insights) or 2019 (per Wikipedia); founder J.C. Btaiche started the company at age 19
- **Founders**: J.C. Btaiche

## Core Business
- **Primary industry/industries**: Fusion energy, defense, nuclear effects testing, pulsed power engineering
- **Target customers**: U.S. government (Air Force, NNSA, national labs), defense contractors, eventually commercial energy utilities
- **Mission or purpose statement**: "Accelerating the World’s Transition to Fusion Energy" — building the fastest practical path to abundant, clean, safe, on-demand energy

## Products & Services
- **TITAN**: A 1 TW Impedance-Matched Marx Generator (IMG) — the essential MagLIF pulser building block. World’s first high-energy, high-power IMG, demonstrated in 2024 with results published in *Nature Scientific Reports*.
- **Z-Star**: A 15 TW MagLIF generator designed to iterate on and solve system engineering challenges (targeting 2027).
- **Apeiron I**: A pilot fusion plant design aiming to demonstrate a MagLIF hybrid plant core (targeting 203x).
- **FAETON I**: Neutron-producing fusion generator (over 1 trillion neutrons generated).
- **Radiation Testing Services (HEART)**: Hardened Electronics And Radiation Testing — providing short-burst radiation testing for government and commercial hardware resilience.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation**: Over $200 million as of September 2024 (per Bloomberg News)
- **Total Funding**: $32 million raised (Series A)
- **Key Metric**: 100+ employees; 2 patents filed; 53 employees as of 2024 (Wikipedia)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Bracket Capital, Tamarack Global, Buckley Ventures. Government partners: U.S. Air Force, National Nuclear Security Administration, Sandia National Laboratories, Los Alamos National Laboratory.
- **Growth Signals**: Awarded USAF contract (Feb 2024); published in *Nature Scientific Reports* (July 2024); former NNSA Administrator Lisa Gordon-Hagerty joined board; building Z-Star and Apeiron I platforms; operating a radiation facility covered by *Wired*.

## Competitive Advantages
- **MagLIF approach**: Integrates proven fusion technologies (magnetic and inertial) — demonstrated feasible by Sandia National Lab (2018, 2022). Fuse’s focus on engineering efficiency and affordability aims to solve repetition rate and cost barriers.
- **Rapid iteration**: Delivered two neutron-producing fusion generators and the world’s first IMG pulser in under three years, on time and on a lean budget.
- **Dual-use revenue model**: Generates revenue now through nuclear effects testing for defense customers while developing long-term fusion power — de-risking the path to commercial fusion.
- **Deep government relationships**: Contracts with USAF, NNSA, and CRADAs with Sandia and Los Alamos. Advisory board includes former Under Secretary of Energy, former CIA COO, former NSA Deputy Director, and senior military officers.
- **Patents**: 2 filed patents protecting core technology.

## Strategic Focus
- **Immediate**: Scale the pulsed power driver technology (Z-Star) and continue delivering radiation testing services to defense and intelligence customers.
- **Medium-term**: Demonstrate a MagLIF hybrid plant core with Apeiron I.
- **Long-term**: Deploy commercial fusion power plants, achieving 90% energy efficiency and enabling clean, on-demand energy at scale.
- **Talent**: Aggressively hiring for plasma physics, electrical engineering, pulse power, mechanical engineering, and experimental physics roles.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: Described as "misfits, tinkerers, skeptics, doers" — drawn to impossible problems. Values include frugality, speed, hands-on experimentation, and deep technical conviction. "Fuse is not a comfortable environment" — no bean bag chairs; many live, eat, and work at the facility.
- **Work environment**: "Fuseville" — a shipping-container communal living facility adjacent to the lab. Bed-to-reactor commute under 60 seconds. Sleep pods available. You'll likely build your own desk. "We really skimp on furniture."
- **Compensation**: Low salaries — "you should be willing to work for free. While you will receive a minimum base so that you can survive, money and lifestyle is not the motivator." Significant stock option upside if fusion succeeds. "Fair wages. Long hours. High voltage. Success far from guaranteed."
- **Benefits**: Competitive healthcare plan. High-end computer setup and cloud computing resources. "Everyone on the team has skin in the game."
- **Who should apply**: Self-motivated, deeply internally driven, humble yet brilliant, fusion geeks who built Polywells in high school, boundary-pushers who "get shit done." Must be comfortable with deferred gratification and high risk.
- **Remote/hybrid policy**: Not explicitly stated, but the "Fuseville" on-site living model suggests heavy in-person presence is expected. "Commuting makes your blood boil" is a stated value.
- **Notable perks**: Working on one of humanity’s hardest problems alongside top 1% talent; national security impact; potential enormous financial reward via stock options; "glory in case of ignition."

## Sources
1. [f.energy](https://www.f.energy/)
2. [f.energy - About](https://www.f.energy/about-fuse-energy)
3. [f.energy - Join Us](https://www.f.energy/join-us)
4. [CB Insights](https://www.cbinsights.com/company/fuse-energy-technologies)
5. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuse_Energy_Technologies_Corporation)
6. [Jobs page](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/fuse)

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