Director - HTS Magnet Engineering

U.S. Fusion Energy; Illinois; On-site; USD 215,000 - 250,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Salary range $215,000-$250,000

Comprehensive health benefits

Employee equity stock options

20 days PTO

Job summary

Thea Energy is seeking a Director - HTS Magnet Engineering to lead the design, build, and test of HTS magnets—the foundational component of the planar coil stellarator. This role owns the magnet engineering roadmap end-to-end and partners with executive leadership to align milestones and budgets.

You will lead engineering managers and cross-functional teams, build scalable capabilities, manage vendor and supply chain relationships, and drive testing and manufacturing transitions across the Eos

Qualifications

• 10+ years engineering leadership in magnets, cryogenics, or related fields.
• Experience building and scaling multi-disciplinary teams.
• Fluency in CAD and multiphysics tooling to review analyses.
• Proven vendor and supply chain management for complex hardware.

Responsibilities

• Own the HTS magnet engineering roadmap end-to-end.
• Lead, develop, and scale a multi-level engineering organization.
• Oversee qualification, testing, and reliability strategies.
• Manage key vendor relationships and drive manufacturing readiness.
• Present program progress to executives and investors.

Skills

Engineering leadership

Multiphysics simulation

CAD

Vendor relations

Strategic planning

Executive communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in physics or engineering

Tools

Solidworks

CATIA

NX

Ansys

COMSOL

Job description

Director - HTS Magnet Engineering

Kearny, NJ

Technology – Magnet Engineering

Full-time

On-site

About Thea Energy

Thea Energy is leveraging recent breakthroughs in stellarator physics and engineering to create a faster and simpler approach to commercializing fusion energy. The company is reinventing the stellarator using computer-controlled arrays of planar coils thereby replacing the intricate, complex modular magnets required in all other stellarator architectures. Thea Energy is on a mission to create a limitless source of zero emission energy for a sustainable future.

Position Overview

Thea Energy is seeking a Director - HTS Magnet Engineering to provide strategic and technical leadership over the design, build, and test of high temperature superconducting (“HTS”) magnets — the foundational component of Thea Energy’s planar coil stellarator. This role owns the magnet engineering roadmap end-to-end, manages engineering managers and cross-functional workstreams, and partners with executive leadership to align magnet development with company-wide program milestones. The Director will build organizational capability as the team scales rapidly, own key vendor and supply chain relationships, and represent magnet engineering in front of investors, partners, and technical stakeholders.

Key Responsibility Areas

• Own the strategy, roadmap, and execution of the HTS magnet engineering program in alignment with company-wide fusion system milestones for Eos and Helios planar coil stellarator systems
• Ensure the magnet product roadmap drives synergy in our technology decisions between Eos and our powerplant Helios
• Lead, develop, and scale a multi-level organization of engineering managers, engineers, and analysts
• Decompose and develop magnet specifications and technical requirements based on overall system design and performance goals of Eos
• Provide senior technical oversight of Multiphysics analyses, design tooling, and data infrastructure supporting magnet development for the Eos magnet systems
• Drive design-for-manufacturing strategy and oversee transition from first builds to scalable production
• Own key vendor and supplier relationships for magnet hardware, negotiating quotes and ensuring delivery against qualification requirements
• Direct tooling, manufacturing, and test infrastructure investments needed to support the magnet program
• Define and oversee execution of the magnet testing strategy, including qualification and reliability testing
• Own program-level tracking and reporting of progress, risk, budget, and milestones to executive leadership
• Represent magnet engineering to internal stakeholders, investors, external partners, and the broader fusion community
• Partner with adjacent engineering, physics, and operations teams to ensure magnet development is integrated with overall stellarator design

Ideal Experience & Skillsets

• 10+ years of engineering experience with magnets, cryogenics, vacuum systems, or transformer design, including significant experience leading engineering organizations
• Track record of managing and developing engineering managers and multi-disciplinary technical teams
• Deep technical fluency in CAD (Solidworks, CATIA, NX) and Multiphysics simulation (Ansys, COMSOL), sufficient to review and challenge team analyses
• Experience owning vendor and supply chain relationships for complex, custom hardware, including machining, welding, and fabrication
• Strong strategic thinking with the ability to translate system-level performance goals into an executable engineering roadmap
• Demonstrated ability to build and scale engineering organizations in a fast-paced, rapidly changing environment
• Comfortable setting aggressive deadlines and driving accountability across multiple teams and workstreams
• Exceptional communication skills, with experience presenting to executives, investors, or external partners
• Innate desire to learn, innovate, and critique ideas — including one’s own and the organization’s
• At least a bachelor’s degree in physics, computer science, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, materials engineering, or a related field; advanced degree strongly preferred
• Experience with magnetic confinement fusion, aerospace, medical devices, or other highly technical, regulated industries is preferred

Company Benefits

• Salary range $215,000-$250,000
• Comprehensive health benefits (e.g. medical/dental/vision)
• Employee equity stock options
• 20 days PTO

Requirements

• Ability to occasionally lift up to 50 lbs.
• Ability to perform activities such as typing, standing, or sitting for extended periods of time.
• Willingness to occasionally travel or work required nights/weekends/on-call.
• Ability to work in a facility that contains industrial hazards including heat, cold, noise, fumes, strong magnets, high voltage, high current, pressure systems, and cryogenics.

It’s not necessary to meet all of the skillsets outlined above. Please feel free to send us a note and tell us why you would still be a great fit for this role or Thea Energy.

Diversity And Inclusion

Thea Energy is an equal opportunity employer committed to creating a company of diverse backgrounds. By creating a diverse environment, we will bring new ideas and approaches to solving some of the world’s hardest (and most important) problems. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, family or marital status, age, disability, veteran’s status, or other characteristic protected by applicable laws and regulations.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.