Commonwealth Fusion Systems
Principal Scientist - Radio Frequency Plasma Heating
$172K–$260K
Devens, MA · On-site · Principal · Full-time · Posted Aug 20, 2026
- Experience
- 7+ years post-degree; 10+ years in operating and/or simulating RF heating of plasmas is a bonus.
- Education
- PhD in plasma physics or a closely related discipline.
- Visa sponsorship
- No visa policy stated; employment offers are contingent on compliance with U.S. Export Control Laws.
About the job
Commission and operate SPARC’s ion cyclotron heating and discharge-cleaning systems, study RF plasma physics, and support ARC design through simulation and modeling.
What you'll do
- Simulate, test, commission, and operate the SPARC ICRH/ICDC systems, including during high-power plasmas.
- Contribute to RF control systems, operator interfaces, and commissioning and operating plans.
- Study RF wave physics and support ARC design through simulation and modeling with collaborators.
What they ask for
- PhD in plasma physics or a closely related discipline.
- 7+ years post-degree experience with RF heating, current drive, or discharge-cleaning systems in fusion plasmas.
- Experience running experiments on tokamaks, stellarators, or similar plasma confinement devices.
- Experience developing plasma-physics experimental hardware and using COMSOL, ANSYS HFSS, CST, or similar finite element tools.
Nice to have
- 10+ years operating and/or simulating RF heating of plasmas.
- Experience with Python, ICRH system design, RF diagnostics or operation tools and procedures, or ICDC physics modeling.
Pay
USD 172,000–260,000 (per-year-salary) — base salary
Tools
COMSOL, ANSYS HFSS, CST, Python
Model-written summary · the original posting is authoritative