Mechanical Engineer, Reactor Systems

AENU; Garching bei München; Hybrid; EUR 80,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Remote flexibility

Office in Munich/Garching

Job summary

Starforge is seeking a Mechanical Engineer, Reactor Systems, in Munich/Garching. You will lead structural and thermal analyses for Unit One, handling loads from electromagnetic, thermal, and pressure sources while coordinating with the physics and design teams.

You will help mature the analysis workflow, using ANSYS or Abaqus, and documenting assumptions for a fast-moving fusion reactor program in a collaborative environment.

Qualifications

• MSc in mechanical, aerospace, civil, or structural engineering (or BSc + 3 years of experience)
• Demonstrated finite element analysis of structures under combined loads
• Experience with ANSYS Mechanical, Abaqus, or equivalent, including coupled thermal–structural and nonlinear analyses
• Knowledge of pressure vessel and nuclear design codes; fatigue and fracture assessment
• Clear written and spoken English; ability to document reasoning

Responsibilities

• Build and own the structural and thermal analysis of Unit One
• Work out the real loads with physics/engineers (EM forces, thermal/pressure, cooldown)
• Run coupled electromagnetic, thermal, and structural analyses
• Help establish Starforge's analysis practice with tools, verifications, and documentation

Skills

Finite element analysis

Technical communication

Electromagnetic analysis

Nuclear design codes knowledge

Design judgement under uncertainty

Education

MSc in mechanical, aerospace, civil, or structural engineering

BSc + 3 years experience

Tools

ANSYS Mechanical

Abaqus

Nuclear design codes (pressure vessel)

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 Mechanical Engineer, Reactor Systems

Few machines load their structures the way fusion reactors do. Within a span of a few meters, you'll find superconducting magnets at cryogenic temperatures next to a plasma hotter than the core of the Sun, huge electromagnetic forces when a plasma disrupts in milliseconds, and vacuum, heat, neutrons, plus decades of cycling on top. Therefore, one of the critical tasks during the design of the reactor is to identify and reliably calculate what the real stresses are, and whether each part survives them. This is your chance to be the person whose analysis guides what gets built, and then watch the hardware prove you right.

You will be our first dedicated analysis engineer, supporting all of the Unit One subsystems as they mature in design. You will report to the Head of Physics and Reactor Design, and work closely with every Unit One lead, our magnet team, and our CAD and manufacturing engineers.

What you'll do

• Build and own the structural and thermal analysis of Unit One
• Work out the real loads with the physics and engineering owners, e.g., electromagnetic forces from plasma disruptions, thermal and pressure loads, and magnet cooldown
• Run coupled electromagnetic, thermal, and structural analysis
• Help set up Starforge's analysis practice with tools, verifications and documentation

What we're looking for

• MSc in mechanical, aerospace, civil, or structural engineering or a related field, or equivalent experience (e.g., BSc + 3 years of working experience)
• Demonstrated finite element analysis of structures under combined loads
• Experience with ANSYS Mechanical, Abaqus, or equivalent, including coupled thermalstructural and nonlinear analysis, and working knowledge of pressure vessel and nuclear design codes, and of fatigue and fracture assessment
• Comfortable making design calls with incomplete information and documenting the reasoning, in clear written and spoken English Bonus points:
• Electromagnetic and structural analysis of fusion devices, cryogenic structures, or superconducting magnets
• Analysis under a nuclear quality assurance programme

What we offer

• Exciting new working problem, and the multidisciplinarity of experience that comes with its complexity
• 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, automotive, turbines, offshore, or fission.