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Commonwealth Fusion Systems is seeking a Staff Materials Engineer with deep expertise in metallurgical engineering to support the design, development, and manufacturing of fusion power plants. The Materials Department at CFS is responsible for selecting materials, defining and validating material properties, and conducting R&D to develop new materials and processes that enable fusion energy deployment. This role will directly support SPARC, a net-energy tokamak under construction in Devens, MA, and the future ARC fusion power plant.
In this position, you will translate component and system performance requirements into verifiable critical material property requirements and define appropriate test methods to measure and validate those properties. You will identify materials and processes that enable high-volume manufacturing of structures and systems under demanding operating conditions, with focus on manufacturability, scalability, and cost. You will select and interpret applicable international materials standards and specifications, and author materials specifications for fusion-specific applications.
You will serve as a technical lead for materials development projects when commercially available materials do not meet application requirements. Collaboration is central to this role: you will work closely with design, supply chain, and manufacturing engineers to select, approve, and qualify materials and processing methods. You will provide subject matter expertise for production root cause analyses and corrective action plans involving raw or as-fabricated materials, and review, interpret, and report materials property data in version-controlled databases for engineering use.
The Materials Department faces unique challenges including neutron fluxes from deuterium-tritium fusion, high heat loads, molten salt coolant systems, complex component topologies, high magnetic fields, and high cryogenic mechanical loads. Your expertise will be critical in solving these unprecedented materials engineering problems.
REQUIREMENTS:
- Master's degree in metallurgy, materials science, or related discipline (Bachelor's degree considered depending on experience and qualifications)
- Minimum 10+ years of experience in metallurgical engineering or materials science
- Experience with large-scale metal production processes (casting, forging, rolling, drawing) and/or large-scale joining processes (soldering)
- Experience collaborating and communicating effectively with technical teams at vendors and suppliers
- Familiarity with scaling metal and alloy design and development from R&D to full-scale products
- Strong understanding of process–structure–properties–performance relationships in materials
- Strong problem-solving skills and ability to approach new, under-defined problems with creativity
- Experience with agile project management and effective task execution
- Ability to work effectively in multidisciplinary teams
- Ability to operate effectively within a flexible, service-oriented engineering organization
- Ability to perform activities such as typing and sitting for extended periods
- Dedication to safety and willingness to work occasional nights/weekends/on-call (travel less than 10%)
BONUS QUALIFICATIONS:
- Demonstrated success delivering new alloys or materials processes from design through at-scale implementation
- Experience authoring materials standards and specifications
- Experience communicating materials design and development to technical and executive leadership
- Knowledge of materials behavior in cryogenic and high-temperature applications
- Knowledge of effects of nuclear and plasma environments on materials
- Demonstrated ability to make and justify materials decisions in fast-paced environments
- Demonstrated ability to drive under-defined problems to completion
