In-Vessel Systems Lead

AENU; Garching bei München; Hybrid; EUR 110,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Remote flexibility

Office in Munich/Garching

Job summary

Starforge is seeking an In-Vessel Systems Lead in Munich/Garching to design and own the divertor, first wall, and all in-vessel components for Unit One. You will collaborate with neutronics, blanket, mechanical, and magnet owners and external research partners to deliver robust, manufacturable designs.

You will lead an in-house team, ensure interfaces with the vacuum vessel and heating systems, and focus on remote handling readiness while maintaining strong safety and quality culture.

Qualifications

• Degree (MSc/PhD) in mechanical, nuclear or materials engineering, physics or related field.
• Experience designing plasma-facing or high-heat-flux components and testing them.
• Thermal-hydraulic and thermo-mechanical analysis using ANSYS, Abaqus or COMSOL.
• Experience with tungsten, copper alloys or reduced-activation steels is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Define and lead the design of Unit One's in-vessel systems (divertor, first wall, etc.).
• Set requirements for components considering plasma physics and neutronics.
• Define interfaces to blanket, vacuum vessel, heating systems and magnets.
• Ensure integration of in-vessel components with remote handling capabilities.
• Drive designs toward factory manufacturing with DFx, supplier qualification, production docs.
• Build and lead the in-vessel team through design to production with safety and quality focus.

Skills

Design leadership

High-heat-flux components

Remote maintenance design

English communication

Education

MSc/PhD in mechanical, nuclear or materials engineering, physics

Tools

ANSYS

Abaqus

COMSOL

Job description

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 In-Vessel Systems Lead

The components inside the vacuum vessel see the harshest conditions in the machine: plasma heat and particle loads, neutrons, and erosion. In a compact spherical tokamak, this can get even trickier as the divertor has to handle some of the highest heat fluxes in fusion. How long these components last and how quickly they can be swapped sets the overall efficiency of the Unit One reactor, and, ultimately, its value proposition. This is your chance to design the parts that stand face to face with a fusion plasma, prove they survive it in Unit One, and then watch them come off a factory line.

You will be our first in-vessel hire and own the divertor, first wall and all other in-vessel components end to end. You will report to the Head of Physics and Reactor Design, and work closely with our neutronics, blanket, mechanical and magnet owners and our external research partners.

What you'll do

• Define and lead the design of Unit One's in-vessel systems: the architecture of the divertor, first wall and every other in-vessel component
• Set the requirements each component must handle, with plasma physics and neutronics
• Define and own the interfaces to the blanket, vacuum vessel, heating systems, magnets and remote maintenance
• Integrate the in-vessel systems into Unit One, with every component replaceable by remote handling
• Carry the designs towards factory manufacturing with design for manufacture, supplier qualification and production-ready documentation
• Build and lead the in-vessel team, growing it as the system moves from design to prototypes to factory production, with a strong safety and quality culture

What we're looking for

• Degree (MSc/PhD) in mechanical, nuclear or materials engineering, physics or a related field, or equivalent experience
• Demonstrated design of plasma-facing or other high-heat-flux components that were built and tested
• Thermal-hydraulic and thermo-mechanical analysis with ANSYS, Abaqus, COMSOL or equivalent
• Working knowledge of plasma-facing and structural materials such as tungsten, copper alloys and reduced-activation steels, and how they behave under heat,neutrons and erosion
• Hands-on understanding of how these components are manufactured and joined
• Comfortable making design calls with incomplete information and documenting the reasoning
• Clear written and spoken English Bonus points:
• Divertor or first wall design for a tokamak or stellarator
• Edge plasma and heat exhaust modelling, or close work with the people who do it
• Design for remote maintenance
• Experience in a nuclear or other regulated environment

What we offer

• Ownership of the components that decide how long a fusion reactor runs between maintenance, from conceptual design onwards
• Munich or Garching-based office and lab, with remote flexibility

We welcome applications from senior and early-career engineers and scientists, and from people moving into fusion from aerospace, gas turbines, fission or other high-temperature industries. If you meet most of the must-haves and the work excites you, apply.