R&D Engineer, Plasmas

Helion

100

Everett, WA, United States

Posted on: 2025-02-28

Category: renewables

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Employment type:

Full time

Experience required:

Intermediate

Salary

Salary not provided

About the company:

Helion is a fusion power company based in Everett, WA, with the mission to enable a future with unlimited clean energy. Our vision is a world with clean, reliable, and affordable electricity for everyone. Currently, we are scaling up our latest plasma accelerator prototype to make our vision a reality.

We’re hiring brilliant scientists, engineers, and builders passionate about developing world-changing technologies. If that sounds like you, check out our open positions.

About Helion

We are a fusion power company based in Everett, WA, with the mission to build the world's first fusion power plant, enabling a future with unlimited clean electricity. Our vision is a world with clean, reliable, and affordable energy for everyone.

Since Helion's founding in 2013, we have raised over $1 billion from long-time investors such as Sam Altman, Mithril, and Capricorn Investment Group and new investors SoftBank and Lightspeed to propel us forward. Our last prototype, Trenta, completed 10,000 high-power pulses and reached plasma temperatures of 100 million degrees Celsius (9 keV). Now, we're turning up operations for Polaris, working towards delivering the world's first fusion power plant.

More than ever, it's a pivotal time to join us and have the opportunity to solve real challenges to create a better energy future. You will see first-hand how we value urgency, rigor, ownership, and hard truths, knowing it will take each to do what no one has before. Joining us, you will push the boundaries of what's possible and transform humanity for the better - because the world can't wait.

What You Will Be Doing:

We are looking for an engineer with experience working with plasmas to join the Test Operations team. As an R&D Engineer, you will help design and operate experimental facilities focused on the development of plasma technologies to improve our FRC fusion performance. You will work in our FRC pre-ionization development area. You will report to our Fusion Test Lead at our Everett, WA office.

You Will:

Install and operate high density plasma generation systems (e.g. helicon, ECR, ringing theta)
Design, install, and operate experimental diagnostics, including plasma diagnostics
Provide design and test engineering support of vacuum systems, gaseous fuel systems, high-voltage power electronics, and data acquisition systems
Prepare experimental test plans and procedures, and present at test readiness reviews
Maintain experimental facilities and related support equipment such as vacuum systems, gas fueling systems, high-voltage power electronics, data acquisition systems, and diagnostics
Develop and validate technical specifications to comply with project requirements
Analyze diagnostic test data, write reports, and present results
Use critical reasoning to identify strengths and weaknesses of different technical solutions
Work with members of other teams to develop technical solutions

Required Skills:

B.S. or M.S in Aerospace engineering, physics, or related field of study and 3+ years of experience with experimental plasma physics in hands-on environment
Experience working with magnetized vacuum plasmas, e.g. thrusters, helicon sources, nuclear fusion experimental plasmas
Hands-on hardware experience with vacuum systems, high pressure gas flow systems, plasma diagnostics, HV pulsed power systems, and data acquisition systems
Experience in the design, build, and test approach of seeing a technical project through from conception to completion
Demonstrated ability and desire to rapidly learn new systems
Demonstrated experience taking on complex problems, defining and accomplishing challenging objectives with minimal guidance
Experience scripting data analysis routines in a common language (e.g. Matlab, Python, etc.)
Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively and communicate effectively as a member of a team

#LI-TM1 #LI-Onsite #LI-KL1

Compensation and Benefits

At Helion, we are committed to fostering a fair and equitable environment in every aspect of our operations, including compensation. We ensure all our roles are competitively benchmarked and our total compensation package includes a base salary, comprehensive benefits, and equity grants, giving you a true stake in Helion's success. Final compensation is determined through a holistic evaluation of your experience, qualifications, and our commitment to maintaining internal equity, ensuring fairness and transparency across our teams.

This is an exempt salaried role.

Annual Base Pay

$115,000—$170,000 USD

Benefits

Our total compensation package includes benefits, including but not limited to:

Medical, Dental, and Vision plans for employees and their families
31 Days of PTO (21 vacation days and 10 sick days)
10 Paid holidays, plus company-wide winter break
Up to 5% employer 401(k) match
Short term disability, long term disability, and life insurance
Paid parental leave and support (up to 16 weeks)
Annual wellness stipend

NOTE: Underrepresented people are less likely to apply unless they meet 100% of the job's requirements. We believe in hiring people, not checklists, and encourage you to apply even if you do not check all of the boxes. If this job isn't the one, we have many other openings that may be a fit.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran status, or genetic information. If we reach out to you to begin an interview process, we will also ask if you require any reasonable accommodation at that time.

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