Member of Technical Staff, Experimental Plasma Physics

Zenithon; Princeton (NJ); On-site; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Zenithon is an applied frontier lab for extreme physics. We build foundation models that simulate plasmas, so engineers can explore far more of the design space before they build anything.

This is a founding role in semiconductor plasma etch: you will stand up the capability, decide its direction, and own how experiments are set up, run, and measured. You will work with modelers to test ideas and connect data to models.

Qualifications

• PhD in plasma physics, applied physics, or related engineering field.
• Hands-on experience running experiments on dry etch reactors and improving them.
• Experience leading experimental work from plan to result with external partners.
• Python for instrument control and analysis.
• Clear communication with modelers, engineers and partners.

Responsibilities

• Lead the build of our experimental capability from the start: setup, diagnostics and processes.
• Own the experimental program with modelers: campaigns, measurements, and order of operations.
• Make careful plasma and process measurements: probes, optical emission, ion energy analyzers, VI probes and etch rates.
• Get hands-on with vacuum, gas and RF hardware, and keep experiments stable and repeatable.
• Automate experiments and data capture in Python to learn faster with every run.
• Lead joint campaigns with external partners from planning to results.
• Help hire and shape the experimental team as the work grows.

Skills

Clear communication

Python programming for instruments

Education

PhD in plasma physics / related field

Tools

Dry etch reactors

Vacuum systems

RF hardware

Optical emission

Ion energy analyzers

Job description

Zenithon is an applied frontier lab for extreme physics. We build foundation models that simulate plasmas, so engineers can explore far more of the design space before they build anything.

THE ROLE

Experiments are central to where Zenithon is going, and this is a founding role. You'll start out work in semiconductor plasma etch, from standing up the capability to deciding where it goes next. You'll own how experiments are set up and run and which measurements matter, and you'll tie our models to real plasmas. The data you produce will test our models and, over time, teach them. You'll work closely with our modelers in San Francisco and London, and you'll set the standard for how Zenithon measures physics.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

• Lead the build of our experimental capability from the start: the setup, the diagnostics and the way we work.
• Own the experimental program with our modelers: which campaigns we run, which measurements matter, and in what order.
• Make careful plasma and process measurements: probes, optical emission, ion energy analyzers, VI probes and etch rates.
• Get hands-on with vacuum, gas and RF hardware, and keep experiments stable and repeatable.
• Automate experiments and data capture in Python, so we learn faster with every run.
• Lead joint campaigns with external partners, from planning through to results.
• Help hire and shape the experimental team as the work grows.

WHAT YOU'LL BRING

• A PhD in plasma physics, applied physics, or electrical, chemical or mechanical engineering, or a related field.
• Hands-on experience running experiments on dry etch reactors and helping improve them. You know what a good chamber, a stable process and a trustworthy dataset look like.
• Experience leading experimental work from plan to result, such as a thesis campaign, a tool bring-up or a project with outside partners.
• Python for instrument control and analysis.
• Clear communication with modelers, engineers and partners.

This role suits someone early in their career or a few years past their PhD who is ready to lead and wants far more ownership than a large company would give them.

BONUS POINTS

• Industry etch experience at an equipment maker or a fab.
• Etch chemistries or plasma-surface interactions.
• Time-resolved diagnostics, pulsed plasmas or large designed experiments.
• Close work with simulation codes such as HPEM.
• You've built or rebuilt your own apparatus, brought up a new tool, or worked at a startup.

HOW WE WORK

We're a small team that works hard, moves fast and holds a high bar. Two principles guide everything we do: intellectual ambition in what we attempt, and empirical precision in how we measure it. You'll own real problems from your first week, and your work will shape what the company becomes.

WHAT WE OFFER

Competitive salary and meaningful equity, plus relocation support. You'll be on site in Princeton at least three days a week, so you'll live within easy reach. You must be authorized to work in the US.