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Breakthrough Energy Ventures Portfolio Company Career Opportunities

Senior Methods Development Engineer

Commonwealth Fusion Systems

Commonwealth Fusion Systems

Devens, MA, USA
Posted 6+ months ago
Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) has the fastest, lowest cost path to commercial fusion energy.
CFS collaborates with MIT to leverage decades of research combined with groundbreaking new high-temperature superconducting (HTS) magnet technology. HTS magnets will enable compact fusion power plants that can be constructed faster and at lower cost. Our mission is to deploy these power plants to meet global decarbonization goals as fast as possible. To that end, 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 implement this plan, we are looking to add dedicated people to the team who treat people well, improve our work by adding multifaceted perspectives and new ways of solving problems, have achieved outstanding results through a range of pursuits, and have skills and experience related to this role.
Generating net energy plasmas in the SPARC tokamak will involve a skilled team of physicists and engineers designing, building, and operating the tokamak and its many systems. The Nuclear Engineer Team tracks, studies, and models the cascade of high energy neutrons, photons, and charged particles generated from DD and DT fusion. The Thermal Fluids Engineering team resolves the cooling needs of systems ranging from plasma-facing components to cryogenically cooled superconducting magnets. The Senior Methods Development Engineer will support these endeavors through the development of workflows and methods for neutronics analysis and various thermal-hydraulic modeling approaches.
The Senior Method Development Engineer is responsible for developing cutting-edge solutions for complex neutronics modeling and thermal analysis problems, including software development, workflow standup and testing. Discovery of issues and energetic pursuit of solutions is expected from each team member.
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.

This team member will:

  • Standup and test workflows for neutronics analysis, including developing automation software
  • Work closely with CFS IT Infrastructures as a super-user for the HPC clusters
  • Be accountable for the QA and use of best practices in software development
  • Conduct simulations and analyses to verify and optimize radiation transport models
  • Provide technical support and expertise to internal team members and external stakeholders
  • Provide prompt feedback when a task encounters issues that preclude its timely completion
  • Comply with CFS design control processes, including but not limited to: *Documenting analyses in written files *Arranging for check and review of analysis files through submission to M-Files *Upholding high standards of good-faith collaboration and teamwork

The ideal candidate will have most, if not all, of these requirements:

  • Bachelor’s degree in Engineering with minimum of 10 years of relevant experience, MS with minimum of 8 years of experience or PhD with minimum of 5 years or experience preferred, in Nuclear Engineering, Mechanical Engineering or another relevant field
  • Experience in radiation transport methods development and software development
  • Experience with finite element meshing of CAD-based modeling workflows
  • Strong background in Deterministic Radiation Transport Methods, Monte Carlo Radiation Transport Methods and Variance Reduction for coupled neutron/photon transport
  • Experience in Computational Fluid Dynamics methods and analysis workflows, including optimizing for accuracy, stability, and speed
  • Experience with High Performance Computing and Cloud-based Computing
  • Strong general analytical skills with fundamental understanding of the first principles of transport methods and nuclear data
  • Experience with the following: Python, FORTRAN, C++, Linux
  • Experience with common nuclear engineering software, such as MCNP, OpenMC, FISPACT, ATTILA, SCALE, ORIGEN, etc.
  • Knowledge of various nuclear codes and standards
  • Strong interpersonal and technical communication skills and the ability to work effectively with a wide range of constituencies in a diverse community as well as foster a cooperative work environment

Additional experience and/or qualifications:

  • Perform activities such as typing or sitting for extended periods of time
  • Willingness to travel or work required nights/weekends/on-call occasionally
  • Dedication to safety to mitigate industrial hazards that may include heat, cold, noise, fumes, strong magnets, lead (Pb), high voltage, and cryogenics
  • #LI-Hybrid
CFS team members thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic environment and have demonstrated exceptional results through a range of different pursuits. We all tightly align with our company values of integrity, execution, impact and self-critique. As we grow, we are looking to add talented people who are mission driven and bring diverse perspectives and new ways of solving problems.
At CFS, we deeply value diversity and are an equal opportunity employer by choice. We consider all qualified applicants equally for employment. We do not discriminate on the basis 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, ordinance, or regulation.