Mechanical Engineer - Fusion

About Zap Energy

Zap is advancing the next generation of nuclear power technology across fusion, fission and hybrid applications. Built on an integrated platform of high-energy-density physics and pulsed power, liquid metals and advanced materials, and compact, modular systems, Zap is building the foundational technologies needed to deploy the energy sources of the future.

About the Opportunity

Zap Energy is seeking a self-driven mechanical engineer to aid in development of liquid metal cooled/shielded electrodes for Zap’s emergent Fusion Power Core. This role owns projects from concept through to hardware demonstration, moving adeptly between literature surveys and modeling to building and testing experiments and prototypes. Being a curious, self-driven team player is foundational to success in this role.

Key Responsibilities

• Project Ownership: Manage your own projects end to end - scope, budget, plan, procure materials and equipment, and foster collaboration. Take responsibility for the safety considerations in your test setups.
• Concept Development: When the group identifies a needed technology or capability, propose a solution or line of inquiry and refine it through informal team discussion.
• Modeling & Down selection: Model and iterate on candidate solutions, down selecting until a design is actionable or ready for testing.
• Build & Test: Design, build, and operate experiments and prototypes. These will typically be water or liquid-metal flow loops and vacuum-chamber experiments.
• Communication: Communicate progress, findings, and conclusions regularly to the team through informal discussion, culminating in formal design reviews near the close of a design effort.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Collaborate with coworkers across disciplines throughout the design and test cycle.

Qualifications

Required

•    MS (with 3 years of relevant experience) or PhD in Mechanical Engineering or related field.

•    Fluid dynamics: experiment and modeling background, with working knowledge of incompressible flow theory.

•    Heat transfer: modeling ability, with working knowledge of theory.

•    Design: Assembly-level CAD for custom hardware

•    Fabrication: 3D printing, in-house prototyping, and hands-on build and test.

Preferred

•    Vacuum systems experience

•    COMSOL, ANSYS, OpenFOAM

•    Modeling: phase change, electromagnetics

•    Instrumentation & controls: sensor integration; data acquisition

Personal Attributes and Skills

•    Strong commitment to safety, quality, and ethical standards in engineering.

•    Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with attention to detail.

•    Self-starter and can-do attitude, with curiosity and a commitment to continuous learning.

•    Familiarity and competence with basic program management processes and tools.

•    Outside the box thinking, grounded in practical engineering solutions.

•    Effective communication skills, both verbal and written.

•    The ability to collaborate in a multidisciplinary team environment.

•    Adaptability and resilience.

Employment may be conditioned upon the ability to obtain export authorization. Estimated salary range: 110,000 to 160,000 annually. Candidates may be considered for other positions at Zap Energy and actual salary will be based on relevant education, experience, and other qualifications. Range is published in accordance with Washington Equal Pay and Opportunity Act.

Zap Energy is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran status, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws and regulations.