The Role
Designs, analyzes, fabricates, commissions, and tests mechanical and electro-mechanical assemblies and specialized test equipment for HTS cable magnets. Responsibilities include structural, thermal, and fluid analysis; CAD and documentation; instrumentation and test planning; safety reviews; troubleshooting; data analysis; and cross-functional collaboration across R&D, manufacturing, design, and procurement.
Summary Generated by Built In
About Commonwealth Fusion Systems:
Commonwealth Fusion Systems is on a mission to deliver the urgent transition to fusion energy.
Combining decades of research, top talent, and new technologies, we’re designing and building commercially viable fusion power plants. And we're working with policymakers, suppliers, and many others to build the energy industry of the future.
We’re in the best position to make it happen. Since 2018, we’ve raised $4 billion of capital, making us the largest and leading fusion company in the world.
Now we’re looking for more thinkers, doers, builders, and makers to join us. People who’ll bring new perspectives, solve tough problems, and thrive as part of a team.
If that’s you and this role fits, we want to hear from you.
Join the power movement as a R&D Engineer
As an R&D Engineer, you will work dynamically across multiple engineering disciplines and cross-functional teams to execute critical projects and tests on fast-paced timelines in support of CFS’s mission. Our core mandate is to systematically retire technical risks for HTS Cable Magnets by developing experiments, prototypes, and specialized test stands, followed by rigorous testing to generate high-quality data. Strong foundational knowledge in physics, mechanical engineering, electrical systems, materials science, fluid dynamics, and finite element analysis (FEA) is essential. We are privileged with a high degree of cownership of the risks assigned to us, from initial concept to final validation:
- Stakeholder Collaboration & Consensus: Partner across R&D, Design, Manufacturing, and Procurement to critically evaluate requirements, clarify test objectives, and align stakeholders on necessary outcomes and essential data
- Design & Build: Engineer and construct targeted hardware, prototypes, and custom test systems
required to fulfill objective goals - Testing & Commissioning: Commission setups, run experiments safely and methodically
- Sharing the results: Perform rigorous data analysis, and communicate results clearly to the broader organization. Ultimately our output is data and it is our responsibility to stand by it
What you'll do:
- Design, analyze, review, procure, and build mechanical assemblies and test equipment. Including structures, fluid systems, pressure vessels, mechanical systems, and electro-mechanical systems. We deal with extreme environments and conditions: tens of tons of load, thousands of amps, kilovolts, cryogenic temperatures etc
- Work with Test Engineers to plan tests for achieving objectives, collecting key data needed and defining instrumentation and controls necessary to obtain this data. Ensure data is reliable and validated
- Understand, challenge, and maintain well-documented requirements and risks for the system or component under test
- Identify and mitigate safety hazards associated with test equipment and prototypes. Produce safety documentation such as job hazard assessments and test readiness reviews
- Maintain documentation and schedule for projects responsible for. Documentation may include: design reviews, wiring lists, P&IDs, schematics, CAD assemblies, and drawings, and technician work instructions
- Perform any needed analysis to create successful designs. Analysis may include structural, thermal, or fluid.
- Analysis to include first principles hand calculations and/or FEA, whichever is warranted.
- Troubleshoot and resolve integration discrepancies during build, and commissioning of new designs
- Iterate on designs, equipment, and operations to improve designs
What we’re looking for:
- Bachelors degree in engineering or science field is required; Mechanical engineering or similar, or applied physics degree
- 3+ years experience designing, analyzing, fabricating, and commissioning complex mechanical and electro-mechanical assemblies
- 3+ years using CAD software to design complex assemblies, producing drawings for procurement with a working knowledge of GD&T and tolerance stack-up
- 3+ years experience with analysis of mechanical components, strength of materials and failure criteria. Familiar with use of fasteners, analysis of welds, and bolted joints
- Familiarity with electromagnetic fundamentals – voltage, current, resistance, Ohm’s Law, AC/DC, right-hand rule, solenoids, etc
- Excellent troubleshooting/problem- solving skills with great attention to detail
- Effective at communicating technical topics to both technical and non-technical audiences
- High self-motivation and drive to execute quickly
- A can-do attitude and an eagerness to learn and/or teach junior engineers/technicians
- Collaboration skills including active listening and facilitating a productive discourse on problems
- Ability to innovate creative solutions to challenging problems
- Willingness to challenge the status quo in search of better, more efficient methods
Bonus points for:
- 5+ years experience designing, analyzing, fabricating, and commissioning complex mechanical and electro-mechanical assemblies
- 5+ years using CAD software to design complex assemblies, producing drawings for procurement with a working knowledge of GD&T and tolerance stack-up
- 5+ years experience with analysis of mechanical components, strength of materials and failure criteria. Familiar with use of fasteners, analysis of welds, and bolted joints
- Experience with structural FEA software, especially ANSYS and COMSOL
- Experience with multi-physics analysis in ANSYS or COMSOL
- Experience using NX and Teamcenter
- Experience with high field magnet testing, traditional or superconducting
- Experience with data processing, analysis, and plotting using Python, MATLAB, or similar
- Experience with high voltage and high current power equipment design and use – power supplies, water cooled cables, insulation
Must-have requirements:
- Ability to occasionally lift up to 50 lbs
- Perform activities such as typing, climbing, standing, stooping or sitting for extended periods of time
- Willingness to occasionally travel or work required nights/weekends/on-call
- Work in a facility that contains industrial hazards including heat, cold, noise, fumes, strong magnets, lead (Pb), high voltage, high current, pressure systems, and cryogenics
#LI-Hybrid
At CFS, we excel in fast-paced environments, driven by our values of integrity, execution, impact, and self-critique. As we grow, we’re eager to bring on mission-driven folks who offer diverse perspectives and fresh ways to tackle challenges.
We value diversity deeply and are proud to be an equal opportunity employer by choice. We consider all qualified applicants equally, regardless of race, color, national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, protected veteran status, religion, physical or mental disability, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, or any other basis protected by law.
This role requires compliance with U.S. laws concerning the export of controlled or protected technologies or information (collectively, “Export Control Laws"). Any offer of employment will be contingent on the need for compliance with such Export Control Laws.
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in engineering or science, preferably mechanical engineering, similar engineering discipline, or applied physics
- 3+ years designing, analyzing, fabricating, and commissioning complex mechanical and electro-mechanical assemblies
- 3+ years using CAD software to design complex assemblies and produce procurement drawings
- Working knowledge of GD&T and tolerance stack-up
- 3+ years analyzing mechanical components, strength of materials, and failure criteria
- Familiarity with fasteners, weld analysis, and bolted-joint analysis
- Familiarity with electromagnetic fundamentals, including voltage, current, resistance, Ohm's Law, AC/DC, right-hand rule, and solenoids
- Excellent troubleshooting and problem-solving skills with attention to detail
- Ability to communicate technical topics to technical and non-technical audiences
- Self-motivation and ability to execute quickly
- Collaboration skills, including active listening and facilitating productive technical discussions
- Ability to innovate creative solutions to challenging problems
- Willingness to challenge the status quo and improve methods
- Ability to occasionally lift up to 50 pounds
- Ability to type, climb, stand, stoop, or sit for extended periods
- Willingness to occasionally travel or work nights, weekends, or on-call shifts
- Ability to work in an industrial facility with heat, cold, noise, fumes, strong magnets, lead, high voltage, high current, pressure systems, and cryogenics
- 5+ years designing, analyzing, fabricating, and commissioning complex mechanical and electro-mechanical assemblies
- 5+ years using CAD software for complex assemblies and procurement drawings
- 5+ years analyzing mechanical components, strength of materials, and failure criteria
- Experience with structural or multiphysics FEA using ANSYS or COMSOL
- Experience using NX and Teamcenter
- Experience with high-field magnet testing, traditional or superconducting
- Experience processing, analyzing, and plotting data using Python, MATLAB, or similar tools
- Experience designing or using high-voltage and high-current power equipment
Commonwealth Fusion Systems Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Commonwealth Fusion Systems and has not been reviewed or approved by Commonwealth Fusion Systems.
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Healthcare Strength — Health insurance is a core part of the package, with broad medical coverage presented as competitive for a growing tech and engineering employer. This is consistently listed alongside other cornerstone benefits.
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Retirement Support — A 401(k) program with employer match is prominently included in compensation descriptions, signaling support for long-term savings. This appears across roles, including technical and production postings.
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Parental & Family Support — Generous parental leave is cited as a notable element of the offering. It sits alongside paid leave options that many candidates prioritize.
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The Company
What We Do
Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) has the fastest, lowest cost path to commercial fusion energy. CFS is collaborating with MIT to leverage decades of research combined with new groundbreaking high-temperature superconducting (HTS) magnet technology. HTS magnets will enable compact fusion power plants that can be constructed faster and at lower cost. CFS is now building SPARC, the world's first commercially relevant, net energy fusion demonstration device. SPARC will pave the way for the first fusion power plant, ARC, that will produce power on the grid. The ultimate mission is to deploy fusion power plants to meet global decarbonization goals as fast as possible. CFS has assembled a team of leaders in tough tech, fusion science, and manufacturing with a track record of rapid execution. Supported by the world’s leading investors, CFS is uniquely positioned to deliver limitless, clean, fusion power to combat climate change. If you are interested in joining our team, check out cfs.energy/careers for more information.
