Cryogenics Specialist

StarForge; München; Híbrido; EUR 75.000 - 110.000; Jornada completa

Descripción de la vacante

Starforge is building the unit-one cryogenic cooling system for its fusion magnets in Munich area. You will lead the cryogenic design of magnets and test stands, performing hands-on assembly, testing and safety oversight in our lab.

You will also run heat load calculations and CFD simulations, collaborate with the reactor design team, and select cryogenic components and suppliers as we scale toward production.

Formación

• PhD or MSc in mechanical, process or cryogenic engineering, physics or related field, or equivalent experience.
• Demonstrated design and analysis of cryogenic systems, including heat load calculations.
• Hands-on work with cryocoolers and liquid cryogens: installing, running and troubleshooting.
• Thermal and CFD simulation with ANSYS Fluent, COMSOL or equivalent.
• Comfortable making decisions with incomplete information and documenting the reasoning, in clear written and spoken English.

Responsabilidades

• Own the cryogenic design of Unit One reactor magnets, test stands and prototype systems: cryocoolers, thermal links, radiation shields, current leads and low-heat-leak supports.
• Calculate heat loads and thermal budgets, and run thermal and CFD simulations to settle design trade-offs.
• Assemble, commission and run cryogenic systems hands-on in our lab.
• Own cryogenic safety: oxygen deficiency, pressure relief, and safe handling of liquid cryogens.
• Develop Unit One's magnet cooling concept with the reactor design team, including cryoplant sizing and plant power balance.
• Select and work with cryocooler and cryogenic component suppliers.

Conocimientos

Cryogenic design

Heat load calculations

Cryocoolers operation

Thermal and CFD simulations

Clear written and spoken English

Educación

PhD or MSc in mechanical/cryogenic engineering or related field

Herramientas

ANSYS Fluent

COMSOL

Descripción del empleo

Munich, Garching • Full-time · On-site, remote work possible

About Starforge

Starforge is on a mission to make fusion energy a practical utility by factory-manufacturing modular, fleet-deployable fusion reactors. We are fusion's Henry Ford moment.

Our first reactor product line, Unit One, is a 250 MWe spherical tokamak, built from demountable high-temperature superconducting magnets and designed in modular blocks so that every component can be factory-manufactured as well as replaced on site.

Our team comes from the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics, MIT, Commonwealth Fusion Systems, Tokamak Energy, KIT, Lilium, and GE.

Come and join us in building the future.

Build Unit One as our Cryogenics Specialist

Every fusion magnet we build has to be cooled to cryogenic temperatures and kept there. On our test stands, that means cryocoolers, liquid nitrogen and helium, thermal links and radiation. In Unit One, it means cooling a full set of reactor magnets, where every watt of heat load costs electricity the plant would otherwise sell. We are designing the cryogenic systems for our next magnet test stands and prototype magnet systems now, and the Unit One cooling concept alongside. This is your chance to set how fusion magnets are kept cold, from the first test cryostat to a reactor.

You will be our first dedicated cryogenics engineer. You will report to the Head of Physics and Reactor Design, and work closely with our mechanical, magnet and CAD engineers, and with our research and commercial partners.

What you'll do

• Own the cryogenic design of our Unit One reactor magnets, as well as magnet test stands and prototype magnet systems: cryocoolers, thermal links, radiation shields, current leads and low-heat-leak supports
• Calculate heat loads and thermal budgets, and run thermal and CFD simulations to settle design trade-offs
• Assemble, commission and run cryogenic systems hands-on in our lab
• Own cryogenic safety: oxygen deficiency, pressure relief, and the safe handling of liquid cryogens
• Develop Unit One's magnet cooling concept with the reactor design team, including cryoplant sizing and its share of the plant power balance
• Select and work with cryocooler and cryogenic component suppliers

What we're looking for

• PhD or MSc degree in mechanical, process or cryogenic engineering, physics or a related field, or equivalent experience
• Demonstrated design and analysis of cryogenic systems, including heat load calculations
• Hands-on work with cryocoolers and liquid cryogens: installing, running and troubleshooting
• Thermal and CFD simulation with ANSYS Fluent, COMSOL or equivalent
• Comfortable making decisions with incomplete information and documenting the reasoning, in clear written and spoken English

Bonus points:

• Cooling superconducting magnets, conduction-cooled or with forced-flow helium
• Large-scale helium refrigeration or cryoplant design
• Pressure equipment codes and cryogenic safety standards
• Cryogenics experience from fusion, particle accelerators or spaceExperience with vacuum systems

What we offer

Ownership of how our fusion magnets are kept cold, from the first test stands to Unit One

Office and lab in Munich and Garching, with remote work possibility

We welcome applications from senior and early-career engineers and scientists, and from people moving into fusion from particle accelerators, space, industrial gases, scientific instruments or quantum computing. If you meet the must-haves and the work excites you, apply.