Senior Chemical Engineer

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 Senior Chemical Engineer

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. To execute this plan, we are looking to add talented people to the team who are mission-driven and treat people well, improve our team by adding diverse perspectives and new ways of solving problems, have demonstrated exceptional results through a range of different pursuits, and have skill sets and experience that relate to this role.

ARC will be the first machine to produce electricity from fusion energy, serving as the cornerstone to a new industry. ARC will strongly leverage the work that’s been done for SPARC in developing HTS magnets and other key tokamak systems. However, because of its mission to deliver power to the grid, the ARC tokamak has a few systems not included on SPARC, such as the Blanket System, which uses FLiBe to breed tritium and capture heat. The Blanket System group within R&D is a growing team that is delivering key scientific and engineering results to push the technical readiness level of these new enabling technologies higher.

The Blanket System team will undertake multiple campaigns to irradiate flibe salt to understand its chemical behavior in fusion-power-plant-like environments. These campaigns require a set of targeted experimental setups that can precisely diagnose salt chemistry and quantify important aspects of hydrogen behavior. The Blanket System team is looking for a Senior Chemical Engineer to drive the design, operation, and subsequent learning cycles of these tests. This engineer will need to work collaboratively with internal teams at CFS as well as with key external partners to facilitate these projects.

The Blanket System team has a strong practice of carrying engineering risk where appropriate while attentively and aggressively managing safety risk, and we are looking for an engineer who will actively contribute to this culture.

This role requires compliance with U.S. laws concerning the export of controlled or protected technologies or information (collectively, “Export Control Laws"). Any offer of employment will be contingent on the need for compliance with such Export Control Laws.

What you'll do:

• Lead the design and build of multiple new experimental test articles to test tritium chemistry and salt behavior under irradiation
• Work hands-on to lead the commissioning of test articles, including developing and executing install and commissioning plans and procedures, managing install contractors and supporting teams
• Lead the operation of new experiments, including the collection and analysis of data, implementing necessary improvements, and safe decommissioning
• Work with external facilities and groups to coordinate seamless hazard management plans between CFS and outside groups
• Travel as necessary to outside research facilities, vendors, and other academic and industrial partners
• Coordinate the development in-house of new diagnostics and salt handling systems with their use at outside facilities
• Work closely with other CFS teams including:
• - safety team to manage chemical hazards (including beryllium) in existing and new experimental facilities
• - Nuclear and thermal-hydraulics modeling teams to develop new test articles
• - Other R&D functions including Mechanical, I&C, test engineering etc
• - Supply chain team
• - Open Innovation to manage partnerships at external facilities

What we’re looking for:

• BS or higher in Chemical, Mechanical, or Nuclear Engineering or a related field
• 5+ years of experience in the engineering of integrated thermofluid and chemical processing systems
• Experience designing novel experimental setups and test articles
• Ability to work effectively in a multidisciplinary team of engineers, scientists, technical staff and others
• Ability to clearly express and critique ideas
• Great communication and organizational skills
• Strong problem solving skills, ability to approach new problems with creativity

Bonus points:

• Experience with high temperature systems
• Experience with gaseous extraction systems
• Experience with vacuum systems
• Experience with safety systems for hazardous chemicals
• Experience managing multi-disciplinary projects from conception to execution
• Experience with molten salt systems
• Experience with radiochemistry or irradiation environments

Essential Requirements:

• 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
• Willingness to travel or work required nights/weekends/on-call occasionally
• #LI-Onsite