Commonwealth Fusion Systems
Staff Scientist - Plasma Material Interaction
$152K–$230K
Devens, MA · On-site · Staff · Full-time · Posted Sep 18, 2026
- Education
- PhD or equivalent in plasma physics, materials science, nuclear engineering, or related.
About the job
Build and validate predictive models of plasma-facing component material degradation to inform fusion power plant design and operation.
What you'll do
- Develop computational workflows predicting material degradation under plasma loading and neutron irradiation, and assess effects on plasma performance.
- Run models and conduct experimental test campaigns to guide ARC component design and lifetime estimates; benchmark predictions with SPARC data.
- Coordinate cross-department and external collaborations, and present results in publications and at conferences.
What they ask for
- PhD or equivalent in plasma physics, materials science, nuclear engineering, or a related field, with demonstrated research in plasma-material interactions.
- Working knowledge of plasma-material interactions in magnetically confined plasmas and multiscale material evolution under plasma and/or neutron loading.
- Experience with at least two specified calculation types: ion energy angle distribution, binary collision approximation, cluster dynamics or rate theory, or finite element.
- Experience with Python, C++, or similar; version control with git or similar; and HPC using Slurm, AWS, or equivalent.
Nice to have
- Experience designing and executing plasma-material exposure or high-heat-flux test campaigns.
- Bonus experience includes PMI-specific codes, irradiation campaigns, materials characterization, tungsten materials, and coupled computational workflows.
Pay
USD 152,000–230,000 per year (base salary)
Tools
Python, C++, git, Slurm, AWS, hPIC, RustBCA, ANSYS
Model-written summary · the original posting is authoritative