Plasma Device Operations Engineer

Fusion Energy Base; Everett (WA); On-site; USD 95,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Zap Energy in Everett, WA seeks a Plasma Device Operations Engineer to run daily experimental shots on FuZE devices, ensuring machine readiness and data integrity. You will coordinate with diagnostics, controls, and physics teams, oversee pre-shot planning, and manage run plans and logs with attention to safety and traceability.

You will review data for quality, configure interlocks, and support control system sequences and diagnostics integration.

Qualifications

• BS or MS in Electrical/Mechanical Engineering or Physics.
• Experience operating high-voltage pulsed-power equipment.
• Experience with data acquisition and signal reviews.
• Ability to read electrical schematics and timing diagrams.
• Strong written communication and run-log maintenance.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate device operation across engineering disciplines to align subsystems before each shot campaign and day.
• Lead pre-shot coordination for machine configuration, diagnostics readiness, gas and timing parameters, and run plan objectives.
• Maintain and communicate the master run schedule, balancing campaigns and maintenance windows.
• Track actionable items across teams and drive to resolution with owners and deadlines.
• Coordinate downtime activities to sequence maintenance, installation, and calibration safely.

Skills

High-voltage safety

Pulsed-power hardware

Data acquisition

Oscilloscope use

Electrical schematics

Python scripting

Documentation

Education

BS/MS in EE/ME/Physics

Tools

MDSplus

Beckhoff TwinCAT 3

D-TACQ digitizers

Rogowski coils

B-dot probes

Job description

Plasma Device Operations EngineerAbout Zap EnergyZap is advancing the next generation of nuclear power technology across fusion, fission and hybrid applications. Built on an integrated platform of high-energy-density physics and pulsed power, liquid metals and advanced materials, and compact, modular systems, Zap is building the foundational technologies needed to deploy the energy sources of the future.At Zap, a Plasma Device Operations Engineer owns the day-to-day execution of experimental shots on the plasma experimental devices. You will be responsible for machine readiness, shot execution, first-line troubleshooting, and data quality across every run. This is a deeply cross-functional role: you will coordinate with diagnostics engineers, controls engineers and plasma physicists to configure the machine for each experimental campaign and ensure that the data coming out of every shot is trustworthy and traceable.You are comfortable with high-voltage hardware, understand PLC-based shot sequencing and interlock systems, and can read oscilloscope and digitizer traces well enough to distinguish a good shot from a bad one in real time. You enjoy the fast feedback loop of experimental operations and take ownership of machine uptime.

Key Responsibilities

Device Operation Coordination

• Serve as the operational point of contact across engineering disciplines — plasma physics, diagnostics, controls, and pulsed-power — to align all subsystems before each shot campaign and experimental run day
• Lead pre-shot coordination to confirm machine configuration, diagnostic readiness, gas and timing parameters, and run plan objectives with all stakeholders
• Maintain and communicate the master run schedule, balancing competing requests from physics campaigns, hardware maintenance windows, and engineering development work
• Track action items and blockers across teams that affect machine availability, and drive them to resolution with a clear owner and deadline
• Coordinate access and activities during machine downtime, ensuring maintenance, installation, and calibration tasks from multiple teams are sequenced safely and efficiently without conflicts

Machine Operations & Shot Execution

• Execute daily experimental shot sequences on Zap's FuZE devices, from machine configuration and pre-shot checkout through post-shot data review
• Monitor machine state, plasma formation, and diagnostic health in real time during shot campaigns
• Maintain and update shot logs, run plans, and machine configuration records in MDSplus and associated databases
• Coordinate with the diagnostics team to confirm all data acquisition systems (D-TACQ digitizers, Rogowski coils, B-dot probes, optical diagnostics) are armed, triggered, and capturing clean data
• Apply and verify interlock system states prior to each shot; respond to interlock faults and document corrective actions

Data Quality & Traceability

• Review shot data after each run to flag bad shots, misconfigured diagnostics, or anomalous machine behavior before they propagate into analysis
• Maintain MDSplus tree structure and ensure shot metadata (machine configuration, gas species, gas pressure, charging voltage, timing parameters) is accurately recorded for every shot
• Write and maintain Python or MATLAB scripts for automated post-shot data quality checks and shot acceptance criteria
• Coordinate with physicists to ensure shot parameters match the experimental campaign plan

Controls & Interlock Systems

• Operate and monitor the PLC-based machine control system (PICS & Beckhoff TwinCAT 3 / EtherCAT) for shot sequencing, interlock logic, and timing
• Identify and report PLC or control system faults; collaborate with the controls engineering team to implement and validate fixes
• Assist in writing, reviewing, and testing control system sequences for new operational modes or machine configurations
• Maintain documentation of interlock logic, timing diagrams, and operational procedures

Safety & Compliance

• Enforce high-voltage and pulsed-power safety procedures for all personnel during machine operations
• Participate in safety reviews for machine modifications and new experimental configurations
• Maintain machine-specific operational procedures and lockout/tagout documentation
• Train new team members on FuZE devices operational procedures, safety protocols, and shot execution workflows

Required Qualifications

• B.S. or M.S. in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Physics, or a closely related field
• 3+ years of hands-on experience operating experimental physics, pulsed-power, or high-voltage laboratory equipment
• Demonstrated comfort working around high-voltage (>1 kV) systems and pulsed-power hardware with strict adherence to safety procedures
• Experience with data acquisition systems and familiarity with digitizer configuration, triggering, and first-order data review
• Ability to read and interpret electrical schematics, timing diagrams, and oscilloscope/digitizer waveforms
• Strong written communication skills for maintaining run logs, procedures, and machine status documentation
• Highly organized and systematic — capable of managing multiple concurrent maintenance tasks and shot campaign priorities without losing traceability

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience operating pulsed-power machines, Z-pinch devices, plasma guns, tokamaks, or similar plasma physics experimental platforms
• Familiarity with MDSplus for experimental data storage and retrieval (Python or IDL interface preferred)
• Experience with PLC-based industrial control systems, particularly Beckhoff TwinCAT 3 or Siemens; ability to read and understand structured text or ladder logic
• Experience with D-TACQ, CAEN, Spectrum Instrumentation, or NI digitizer platforms
• Python scripting experience for data quality automation, plotting, or configuration management
• Familiarity with vacuum systems (turbomolecular pumps, ion gauges, residual gas analyzers) and gas handling hardware
• Experience with high-voltage capacitor banks, Marx generators, or triggered spark gap switches
• Knowledge of EPICS or similar accelerator/fusion control frameworks

Employment may be conditioned upon the ability to obtain export authorization.

Estimated salary range: $ 95,000- 130,000 annually.

Zap Energy is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran status, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws and regulations.

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