Austin, TX is working to expand access to advanced manufacturing careers to ensure that all students, regardless of background, have opportunities to pursue high-wage, high-growth jobs in an emerging sector. The FUSE Executive Fellow will strengthen coordination among city agencies, Austin Community College (ACC), workforce boards, employers, and community organizations to align education, workforce, and wraparound support systems. Ultimately, this will help Austin build a unified workforce ecosystem that supports student success and advances economic mobility across the region. The Fellow will focus on strengthening linkages between Austin Community College, local employers, and city workforce systems to ensure students not only access these pathways but also complete postsecondary credentials that lead to advanced manufacturing careers.

Fellowship Dates: April 27, 2026 – April 23, 2027

Salary: Executive Fellows are FUSE employees and receive an annual base salary of $95,000. Fellows can also access various health, dental, and vision insurance benefits. Compensation for this year of public service is not intended to represent market-rate compensation for the experienced professionals in our program.

ABOUT THE FUSE EXECUTIVE FELLOWSHIP

FUSE is a national nonprofit working to expand social and economic opportunities, particularly for communities that have been limited by a history of systemic and institutionalized racism. FUSE partners with local governments and communities to more effectively address pressing challenges by placing experienced professionals within city and county agencies. These FUSE Executive Fellows lead strategic projects designed to advance racial equity and accelerate systems change. Since 2012, FUSE has led over 250 projects in 40 governments across 20 states, impacting the lives of 25 million people.

When designing each fellowship project, FUSE works closely with government partners and local stakeholders to define a scope of work that will achieve substantive progress toward regional priorities. FUSE then conducts an individualized search for each project to ensure that the selected candidate has at least 15 years of professional experience, the required competencies for the role, and deep connections to the communities being served. They are data-driven and results-oriented and able to effectively manage complex projects by developing actionable roadmaps and monitoring progress to completion.

Executive Fellows are hired as FUSE employees and embedded in government agencies for at least one year of full-time work. Throughout their fellowships, they receive training, coaching, and professional support from FUSE to help achieve their project goals. FUSE Executive Fellows bring diverse perspectives and new approaches to their projects. They build strong relationships with diverse arrays of stakeholders, foster alignment within.

PROJECT CONTEXT

Expanding career pathways into emerging sectors that don’t require four-year college degrees, such as advanced manufacturing, is essential to ensuring equal access to opportunity and strengthening economic resilience. These careers span semiconductors, aerospace, defense, and life sciences and offer high wages and long-term stability. However, students from historically underserved communities, particularly those from lower-income households, often lack early exposure, clear pathways, and the support systems needed to pursue these careers. Without targeted intervention, students risk being excluded from evolving economic opportunities that are more dependent on advanced manufacturing careers, widening gaps in income and opportunity.

In Austin, TX, local employers and educational institutions have launched promising efforts to address these gaps. The Austin Regional Manufacturers Association (ARMA) has partnered with the City and Austin Community College (ACC) to support dual-credit training programs that allow students to earn technical credentials before high school graduation. These initiatives have led to a sixfold increase in ACC’s advanced manufacturing enrollment in five years. Additionally, the City is investing in an Infrastructure Academy and collaborating with regional organizations like E3 Alliance to align workforce development with industry needs. Still, challenges persist; school districts face capacity limitations, stigma around manufacturing careers remains strong, and coordination between education systems and employers is not yet fully optimized.

The City of Austin will partner with FUSE to strengthen system-wide coordination across the education, workforce, and human services sectors, expanding access to advanced manufacturing and related pathways. A key focus of this effort will be aligning the city’s workforce initiatives with postsecondary education pathways — particularly through deeper integration between Austin Community College and industry partners — to reduce barriers to credential completion and strengthen transitions into high-wage manufacturing jobs. The FUSE Executive Fellow will: conduct a comprehensive landscape analysis and stakeholder listening tour, leveraging the E3 Alliance’s recent workforce readiness study; design strategic interventions to align education, city, and industry systems; recommend scalable wraparound supports that address nonacademic barriers; and co-design a communication and awareness strategy that rebrands manufacturing as a high-tech, purpose-driven field. Together, these actions will build a more coordinated, comprehensive, and future-ready workforce ecosystem for Austin

PROJECT SUMMARY

Beginning in April 2026, the FUSE Executive Fellow will work with the City of Austin’s Economic Development Department, school districts, employers, and other community partners to develop and implement strategic recommendations to expand advanced manufacturing career pathways for local students.

The fellow will begin by conducting a comprehensive listening tour involving key stakeholders such as the Austin Independent School District (AISD), Del Valle ISD, Austin Regional Manufacturers Association (ARMA), Austin Community College (ACC), E3 Alliance, local employers, and community-based organizations. The listening tour will identify critical barriers to participation in dual-credit, CTE, and credentialing programs, as well as the structural and personal factors, such as affordability, transportation, and childcare, that affect student completion. The fellow will also engage city departments involved in youth workforce and wraparound support initiatives, such as the Infrastructure Academy. Throughout this process, the fellow will seek to include a diverse range of perspectives to ensure the strategy reflects the needs of students from lower-income households and historically underserved communities. Building on these insights, the Fellow will identify critical gaps in the connection between high school, community college, and industry pathways — mapping where students and systems fall off and where alignment can be strengthened.

The fellow will build upon the E3 Alliance’s comprehensive landscape analysis of workforce initiatives (conducted from March to July 2025). Leveraging this analysis and incorporating data from E3’s new AI-powered job pathway mapping tool, the fellow will identify disconnects and strategic coordination opportunities across sectors and systems. Throughout this process, the fellow will seek to include a wide range of perspectives to ensure the strategy reflects the needs of all students. The fellow will also research promising practices from other cities that have successfully rebranded manufacturing careers and expanded school district engagement in technical education. Drawing from this analysis and community input, the fellow will develop a set of specific project goals and deliverables for the remainder of the fellowship for review and approval by the Economic Development Department and its partners.

The Fellow will design and pilot strategies to strengthen institutional linkages between school districts, Austin Community College, and employers — ensuring that students can successfully complete dual-credit, credentialing, and work-based learning programs that lead to sustainable employment. This will include identifying effective partnership models between school districts and employers, designing interventions to support dual-credit and credentialing programs, and recommending tools to increase early outreach and student recruitment. The fellow will also design and pilot a public messaging and awareness campaign, developed in coordination with ACC, E3 Alliance, and local industry partners, to help students, families, and counselors better understand the value and accessibility of high-tech manufacturing careers.

The fellow will assess the availability of wraparound supports such as transportation, housing, or mentorship and make recommendations to enhance these supports to improve student success and program completion. The fellow will convene stakeholders to establish a shared vision and accountability structure for workforce alignment across city, education, and employer systems.

The fellow will also develop replicable models for the workforce pipeline that can be applied to other industries, including healthcare, technology, and cybersecurity. This will include identifying potential “workforce intermediaries” for different industry sectors. The fellow will define long-term implementation goals, milestones, and responsible partners to ensure the work continues beyond the fellowship period. In partnership with E3 Alliance and other data stakeholders, the fellow will recommend mechanisms to track enrollment and outcomes over time, ensuring ongoing monitoring and responsiveness to student and industry needs. Ultimately, this effort will support Austin’s long-term economic resilience, strengthen regional talent pipelines, and increase access to high-wage, future-ready jobs for students who do not pursue four-year college degrees.

PROJECT DELIVERABLES

By Spring 2027, the Executive Fellow will have produced the following:

  • Comprehensive Advanced Manufacturing and Workforce Coordination Strategy – A citywide strategic framework that integrates education (including Austin Community College and ISDs), workforce, and human services systems, linking the Infrastructure Academy, ACC, and employers to expand and support credential completion and career pathways in advanced manufacturing. Includes wraparound support models (childcare, transportation, housing) and coordination mechanisms across departments.
  • Public Awareness and Wraparound Support Campaign Plan – A marketing and communications strategy developed with partners to increase awareness of advanced manufacturing careers among students, counselors, and families, and to highlight available supports and pathways.
  • Industry Partnerships Framework for Workforce Development – A tested and adaptable pilot model, launched through advanced manufacturing and scalable to sectors such as healthcare, technology, and cybersecurity. The framework will codify shared goals, roles, and data-sharing structures among city, education, and employer partners.
  • Implementation Resource and Data Package – A toolkit including: (a) data and ROI measurement framework for tracking enrollment, credential completion, and employment outcomes; (b) shared accountability dashboard for partner agencies; and (c) outreach materials that rebrand manufacturing careers and communicate opportunities across Austin’s workforce ecosystem.

KEY STAKEHOLDERS

  • Executive Sponsor – Dr. Eric Johnson, Assistant City Manager
  • Project Supervisor – Anthony Segura, Director, Economic Development Department

QUALIFICATIONS

  • Synthesizes complex information into clear and concise recommendations and action-oriented implementation plans.
  • Develops and effectively implements both strategic and operational project management plans.
  • Generates innovative, data-driven, and result-oriented solutions to complex challenges.
  • Respond quickly to changing ideas, responsibilities, expectations, trends, strategies, and other processes.
  • Communicates effectively verbally and in writing and excels in active listening and conversing.
  • Fosters collaboration across multiple constituencies to support more effective decision-making.
  • Establishes and maintains strong relationships with diverse stakeholders, both inside and outside of government, particularly community-based relationships.
  • Embraces differing viewpoints and implements strategies to find common ground.
  • Demonstrates confidence and professional diplomacy while effectively interacting with individuals at all levels of various organizations.

FUSE is an equal-opportunity employer with core values of diversity, equity, and inclusion. We encourage candidates from all backgrounds to apply for this position.