Senior Salt Operations 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 Salt Operations 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 at CFS is looking to grow the team as we expand our operations into larger-scale, FLiBe-based test loops and test articles. The salt team is looking for a salt Operations engineer to lead practical, hands-on operations of flibe test systems. This engineer will develop best practices for safely and effectively commissioning, operating, debugging, maintaining, upgrading, and decommissioning salt systems. The operations framework needs to be flexible enough to grow with both the physical size of the test setups and the size of the team.

The Blanket System team has a strong practice of carrying engineering risk where appropriate while attentively and aggressively managing safety risk, and is 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 operations of upcoming salt test loops at CFS, including developing end-to-end operations procedures from conception to decommissioning of a project
• Develop workflows with safety in mind from the beginning. Lead hazard assessments and safety reviews for key operations to rigorously identify and manage safety risks
• Ensure that operability is taken strongly into consideration over the entire design and engineering process. This includes providing operability reviews at key points in loop and test article development and synthesizing lessons learned from each test improve the next design
• Develop workflows to record and communicate operations and performance data
• Train operators on best practices, SOPs, etc
• Act as a technical expert on safe salt handling practices to internal and external stakeholders
• Work closely with other CFS teams including:
• Safety team to manage chemical hazards (including beryllium) in existing and new experimental facilities
• Other R&D functions including Mechanical, I&C etc
• ARC Design Team

What we’re looking for:

• BS in Chemical, Mechanical, or Nuclear Engineering or a related field
• 7+ years of experience working with novel, hazardous, high-temperature test articles
• Experience with molten salt systems
• Experience developing operating procedures and plans
• Experience with first-of-a-kind, R&D, or pilot system development
• 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 (required)
• Strong problem solving skills, ability to approach new problems with creativity

Bonus points:

• Experience with flibe or other fluoride salts
• Experience leading safety reviews
• Experience scaling up low TRL systems
• Experience with instrumentation and control systems in extreme environments
• Experience with vacuum systems, hazardous gas systems, or work in irradiation environments
• Experience with electrochemistry or analytical chemistry

Essential Requirements:

• Ability to occasionally lift up to 50 lbs
• Perform activities such as typing, standing, and sitting, for extended periods of time
• 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
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