Real Time Controls Engineer

Commonwealth Fusion Systems

190

Devens, MA, United States

Posted on: 2025-02-06

Category: renewables

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Employment type:

Full time

Experience required:

Intermediate

Salary

Salary not provided

About the company:

Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) has the fastest, lowest cost path to commercial fusion energy.

CFS is collaborating with MIT to leverage decades of research combined with new groundbreaking high-temperature superconducting (HTS) magnet technology. HTS magnets will enable compact fusion power plants that can be constructed faster and at lower cost.

The mission is to deploy fusion power plants to meet global decarbonization goals as fast as possible. CFS has assembled a team of leaders in tough tech, fusion science, and manufacturing with a track record of rapid execution. Supported by the world’s leading investors, CFS is uniquely positioned to deliver limitless, clean, fusion power to combat climate change.

If you are interested in joining our team, check out cfs.energy/careers for more information.

About Commonwealth Fusion Systems:

Commonwealth Fusion Systems is on a mission to deliver the urgent transition to fusion energy.

Combining decades of research, top talent and new technologies, we’re designing and building commercially viable fusion power plants. And working with policymakers and suppliers to build the energy industry of the future.

We’re in the best position to make it happen. Since 2018, we’ve raised over $2 billion in capital – more than any other fusion energy company in the U.S.

Now we’re looking for more thinkers, doers, builders, and makers to join us. People who’ll bring new perspectives, solve tough problems, and thrive as part of a team.

If that’s you and this role fits, we want to hear from you.

Join the power movement as a Real Time Controls Engineer

The Real Time Controls Engineer position will develop, test, and evaluate the real-time control algorithms for the SPARC tokamak control system, pioneering control solutions for a new industry of clean fusion power. This position will develop control algorithms and architectures to control a 100 million degree plasma using powerful superconducting magnets, megawatts of radio frequency heating, and fuel injection systems with measurements from thousands of individual sensors, balancing the goals of high fusion power with protecting the machine from damage. They will work alongside software engineers, physicists, and instrumentation teams to address this multidisciplinary challenge involving cutting edge control theory, simulation, plasma physics, software, and hardware. We encourage candidates who have worked on similarly difficult problems in aerospace, aviation, automotive, and robotics to apply.

#LI-Hybrid

At CFS, we excel in fast-paced environments, driven by our values of integrity, execution, impact, and self-critique. As we grow, we’re eager to bring on mission-driven folks who offer diverse perspectives and fresh ways to tackle challenges.

We value diversity deeply and are proud to be an equal opportunity employer by choice. We consider all qualified applicants equally, regardless of race, color, national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, protected veteran status, religion, physical or mental disability, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, or any other basis protected by law.

What you'll do:

Design, simulate, implement, debug, and test control algorithms for magnets, fueling, heating and other actuators on the SPARC tokamak

Develop control-oriented models of the SPARC tokamak in collaboration with the physics team, tokamak operators, and the engineering design team

Work with software engineers to implement, test, and calibrate control algorithms in simulation and in the tokamak

Develop tools to evaluate the performance of the implemented control algorithms

What we’re looking for:

A bachelor’s degree in engineering or a closely related field

Experience developing low-latency, high-reliability, fast (1kHz+) control systems

Experience in linear systems analysis, stability, and classical controller design

Experience with MIMO/state space control, optimal control, and state machines

Experience developing control-oriented models for complex systems

Comfortable working in a cutting-edge engineering space

Strong communication and teamwork skills

Experience with C/C++

Experience with Python

Bonus points for:

Experience in developing control using high-dimensional sensor data or computer vision (e.g. 3D or 2D reconstructions from images, point clouds, or fluid dynamics)

Experience with Kalman filters and/or model predictive control

Experience in motion planning and trajectory optimization

Must-have Requirements:

Perform extended activities such as typing, standing, sitting, etc.

Willingness to travel or work required nights/weekends/on-call regularly

Work in a facility that contains industrial hazards including heat, cold, noise, fumes, strong magnets, lead (Pb), high voltage, high current, pressure systems, and cryogenics

Full time

Commonwealth Fusion Systems

190

Full time

Renewables