We are building something never done before.

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.

We are a team of engineers, scientists, and makers that believe fusion energy can solve climate change on a global scale and ensure energy independence while making electricity more affordable than ever before.

Now is a great time to join Helion! Bring your skills, experiences, and determination to make a difference in the world. Together, we can make a future with unlimited clean electricity from fusion a reality!

What You Will Be Doing:

Commercial fusion power plants demand new materials subject to stringent purity requirements and must be or become available with supply chains to support deployment at scale. You will be the dieletric subject matter expert supporting this effort on ceramics and polymers, reporting to the Director of Materials Engineering in this onsite role located at our Everett, WA office. You will develop ceramics and polymers for e.g., structural electrical insulators between our conducting magnet coils and components near the center of our generators facing intense thermal loads. The Materials team is part of the Radiation Safety and Nuclear Science (RaSNS) team, and you will work with nuclear engineers to ensure that the materials will function in high radiation fields.

You Will:

• Perform materials R&D to develop materials for e.g., structurally sound electrical insulators and plasma-facing-components experience high heat, x-ray, and UV loads. R&D efforts include purity and neutron-damage radiation considerations
• Determine and justify what R&D capabilities are in-house versus external; develop those in-house capabilities; and establish relationships with vendors of those external capabilities
• Coordinate with material test engineers to plan test campaigns to support R&D efforts
• Work with the Mechanical Design Engineering and Electrical Engineering teams, the main customers of your R&D work
• Learn about radiation effects on materials (neutron damage and activation) and incorporate radiological considerations into decisions based on the advisement of nuclear engineers on your team, nuclear engineers on parallel RaSNS teams, and the Radiation Safety Officer (RSO)

Required Skills:

• Demonstrated achievement of performing R&D for a ceramic or polymer used in a commercial product or integral to a large, singe-unit project (e.g., a large rocket project)
• Four years of materials-related industry experience, including experience delivering projects cradle-to-grave (including design reviews) for a commercial product
• Experience leading and planning R&D efforts guided by a milestone schedule
• Hands-on experience with material testing and characterization

Preferred Skills:

• Experience with radiation effects testing and characterization

The pay range for this position is $125k-185k. This pay range may be inclusive of several career levels and will be narrowed based on several factors, including the candidate's experience and qualifications.

LI-Onsite

Benefits:

• 13 company-wide holidays
• 31 days of PTO (10 sick and 21 vacation days)
• Up to 5% employer 401K contribution matching
• Equity plan offered to all employees
• Parental Leave
• Medical, Dental, Vision
• Short- and long-term Disability
• Monthly sponsored events and subsidized snack program

NOTE: Underrepresented people are less likely to apply unless they meet 100% of the job's requirements. We believe in hiring people, not checklists, and encourage you to apply even if you do not check all of the boxes. If this job isn't the one, we have many other openings that may be a fit.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran status, or genetic information. If we reach out to you to begin an interview process, we will also ask if you require any reasonable accommodation at that time.