HTS Intern

Open Star Technologies Limited; Wellington; On-site; NZD 55,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

OpenStarTechnologies in Wellington, NZ, invites committed engineering students to join the HTS Subsystems team. You will help design, simulate, and test high-temperature superconducting components that power our transformer rectifier systems, working from magnet and switch models to cryogenic testing.

You will collaborate with power electronics, cryogenics, and magnet teams, use COMSOL and Simulink for simulations, and gain hands-on lab experience with cryogenic hardware, including liquid

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in electrical, mechanical, or related engineering/physics.
• Hands-on lab/experimental testing experience.
• Interest in superconductivity and multidisciplinary engineering problem solving.

Responsibilities

• Perform magnetic and thermal simulations of transformer rectifier components.
• Assist design and prototyping of magnet and switch hardware.
• Support experimental testing and data analysis in cryogenic conditions.

Skills

Superconductivity interest

Electromagnetics

Cryogenic systems

Lab testing experience

Independent & team work

Education

Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering

Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering

Physics or related

Tools

COMSOL

Simulink

CAD tools

Job description

Support our Magnet Engineering group to design, simulate, and test the HTS components that drive our dipole technology.

17th August, 2026

Equal Opportunity Statement: We are an equal opportunity employer and are committed to creating an inclusive and diverse workplace. We believe that diversity strengthens our team and are dedicated to providing a work environment free from discrimination and harassment.

Who We Are

OpenStarTechnologies is on a mission to repeat the feats of Māui and capture the power of the Sun. By mastering fusion - the process that powers the stars - we can generate safe, clean, carbon-free, base-load electricity in a way that is economically scalable to the challenge of mitigating climate disaster and giving birth to the next industrial revolution. Our team is made up of talented engineers and physicists, based in Wellington, New Zealand.

About the Role

Join the HTS Subsystems team within OpenStar's Transformer Rectifier group to help design, simulate, and test the high-temperature superconducting components that drive our HTS transformer rectifier systems. You'll work on real hardware, from magnet and switch modelling through to cryogenic testing, supporting the systems that energise OpenStar's superconducting fusion magnets.

Key Responsibilities

Magnetic & Thermal Simulation

• Use FEA tools (e.g. COMSOL) to simulate the magnetic field behaviour of transformer rectifier components such as switch and drive magnets
• Model HTS switch behaviour against temperature, field, and current (Tc, Bc, Ic), including EJ power-law behaviour near critical current
• Extend thermal/electrical models (e.g. in Simulink) to capture temperature-dependent switching behaviour

Design & Prototyping

• Design magnet or switch hardware using CAD tools, collaborating with power electronics and cryogenics engineers on integration constraints
• Support build and test of prototypes, including operation in cryogenic conditions (e.g. liquid nitrogen, conduction-cooled to ~20K)

Experimental Testing

• Set up and run experimental verification rigs, measuring switch voltage/current behaviour under varying temperature and field
• Collect and analyse test data against model predictions and iterate on designs accordingly

Key Relationships

• HTS Subsystems
• Power electronics engineers
• Cryogenics & Docking team
• Magnet Engineering team

What We're Looking For

• Strong interest in superconductivity, electromagnetics, or cryogenic systems
• Ability to work through and solve highly multidisciplinary engineering problems.
• Ability to take initiative, work independently and as part of a team.
• Great team member with clear communication and collaboration skills.
• Innate desire to learn, innovate, and critique ideas including one's own.
• Currently enrolled in a Bachelor's degree (or higher) in electrical, mechanical, or a related engineering/physics discipline
• Hands-on lab/experimental testing experience

Join Us

This opportunity boils down to the chance to work on something truly meaningful. The scariest thing about the climate crisis today is that, for all of our bluster and protest, there are very few of us who actually have a chance to do meaningful work solving this problem. Carbon-free energy is an absolute necessity if we want to be able to recognise the world that future generations inherit. Please join us in making this a reality.