R&D Engineer - DevOps

Job Overview

Helion is 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 as well as 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). We are now operating Polaris, our next prototype on the path to the world's first fusion power plant.

This is a pivotal time to join Helion. You will tackle real-world challenges with a team that prizes urgency, rigor, ownership, and a commitment to delivering hard truths – values essential to achieving what no one has before. Together, we will change the future of energy, because the world can't wait.

Key Responsibilities

You will help bring the most powerful, controlled pulsed-fusion device ever constructed online, to generate electrical power. As a member of the Research and Development team, you will contribute to the development of fusion technology and experiments, control high-energy systems, and design diagnostics for advanced plasma devices. You will report to the R&D Manager, and this is an onsite role located at our Everett, WA office.

You Will:

• Contribute to the design, build, and measurement of Field-Reversed Configuration (FRC) fusion devices


• Control pulsed power systems, including mega-joule capacitor banks and high-energy infrastructure


• Support the design and execution of plasma and high-energy experiments


• Work with large-scale vacuum systems, including vacuum cycling quartz chambers greater than one meter in diameter


• Apply plasma physics concepts to generate FRCs and implement diagnostics for magnetic fields, fusion products, and plasma characteristics


• Operate and troubleshoot LabView-based control systems using PXIe-NI chassis in fast-pulse EMI environments


• Use critical reasoning to evaluate and improve technical solutions


• Collaborate cross-functionally to design, build, and improve integrated systems

Required Qualifications

• B.S. with 5+ years of relevant experience, or M.S. with 2+ years of relevant experience in Aerospace, Mechanical Engineering, Physics, or a related field


• Extensive hands-on experience building, modifying, or repairing high-vacuum chamber systems or high-voltage capacitor systems


• Proven experience designing, building, and operating complex experiments with a focus on diagnostics and continuous improvement


• Experience working with or around fusion plasmas or electric propulsion thrusters


• Demonstrated ability to rapidly learn new technologies and take ownership of project areas


• Strong problem-solving skills and ability to meet challenging objectives with minimal supervision


• Proven ability to collaborate effectively within a team and mentor junior team members

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

Helion is an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.