Brief: Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS), an MIT spinout, is pursuing the fastest, surest way to clean, limitless fusion energy is looking for a finite element simulation analyst (FEA) skilled in the art of exploring the operational space of complex electromagnetic (E&M) phenomena.
CFS’ mission is to enable world-wide clean energy for everyone, creating a sustainable environment for current and future generations. We’ve created a credible path to an operating fusion power plant in 15 years which leverages our novel collaboration with MIT and funding from strategic and financial investors who share our vision. This begins by developing a new class of high-field superconducting magnets that will enable the SPARC tokamak to demonstrate net energy from fusion for the first time. To execute this plan, we are now looking to add talented people to the team who:
- are mission-driven and treat people well;
- improve our team by adding diverse perspectives & new ways of solving problems;
- have demonstrated exceptional results through a range of different pursuits; and
- have skillsets and experience that relate to the following role:
E&M FEA Physicist
The SPARC tokamak will require engineering complex integrated systems at the limits of materials performance and capabilities. New superconducting materials open a new potential operational space that is ripe to be explored. The E&M FEA Physicist will:
- work within a multi-disciplinary team of physicists and engineers as part of collaborative sponsored research projects at the MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center;
- use commercial (COMSOL & Opera) as well as in-house (PetraM) FEA tools;
- perform non-linear, highly-anisotropic E&M simulations in complicated geometries;
- explore over a wide operational “phase space” to elucidate important operational characteristics;
- work with experimentalists to validate simulations; and
- be responsible for supporting both the tokamak R&D with MIT as well as development of spinout technologies at CFS.
The ideal candidate will have:
- expert-level skill in setting up and running complex E&M FEA simulations;
- intuitive understanding of the underlying physics principles, enabling critical judgement of the output of complex simulations;
- skill in translating simulation results into testable experiments and practical engineering systems;
- ability to effectively communicate results to scientists and engineers not familiar with the subject;
- drive to take initial guidance from experienced colleagues and then set out on their own self-motivated discovery of novel solutions;
- the skill to clearly express and critique ideas;
- a value for elegance and simplicity over complexity;
- a drive towards commercially-viable solutions; and
- the desire to work in a fast-paced, startup R&D environment.
If you share our mission and believe you are a good fit for this position, please do apply.