Plasma-Material Interaction (PMI) Manager

U.S. Fusion Energy; Illinois; On-site; USD 130,000 - 165,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Salary range $130,000-$165,000

Comprehensive health benefits (medical

Dental/vision)

Employee equity stock options

20 days PTO

Job summary

Thea Energy seeks an experienced Plasma-Material Interaction Manager to lead the development of plasma-facing materials for its Eos and Helios stellarators. You will bridge plasma physics, materials engineering, and component integration to address high heat-flux, erosion, and hydrogen isotope retention, directing in-house experiments and managing key partnerships.

You will guide external collaborations with national labs, universities, and vendors, and oversee PMI test rigs and boundary

Qualifications

• Ph.D. in a relevant discipline.
• 8+ years in plasma-surface interactions or high-temperature materials.
• 3+ years of leading multidisciplinary teams or projects.

Responsibilities

• Direct research, design, and qualification of plasma-facing materials for Eos and Helios.
• Oversee PMI experiments and dedicated test facilities.
• Lead collaborations with national labs, universities, and vendors.
• Drive simulations of erosion, redeposition, and thermal shock in real time.
• Translate PMI data into inputs for plasma transport and engineering designs.

Skills

Edge plasma dynamics

Sputtering

Redeosition

Hydrogen isotope retention

High heat flux

Education

Ph.D. in Materials Science / Plasma Physics / Nuclear Engineering / Mechanical Engineering

Tools

SOLPS

UEDGE

EMC3-EIRENE

ERO2.0

WallDYN

SDTrimSP

RustBCA

TRIM

ANSYS

COMSOL

Job description

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Plasma-Material Interaction (PMI) Manager

Kearny, NJ

Technology – Materials Science /

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

We are seeking an experienced Plasma-Material Interaction (PMI) Manager to lead the development of high-performance plasma-facing materials and components (PFCs) for our Eos and Helios stellarators. In this role, you will bridge plasma physics, materials engineering, and component integration to address high heat-flux management, surface erosion, and hydrogen isotope retention in quasi-axisymmetric, planar-coil stellarator architectures. You will direct in-house experimental campaigns, oversee specialized test facilities, and manage key external research and procurement partnerships to de-risk wall environments for steady-state fusion operations.

Key Responsibilities

• Direct the research, design, and qualification of plasma-facing materials—including first-wall armor and divertor target materials for Eos and Helios stellarators.
• Oversee the preparation, execution, and analysis of PMI experiments on the Eos stellarator and dedicated in-house test facilities.
• Act as the technical lead for external collaborations with national laboratories, university research groups, and commercial vendors for material synthesis, neutron irradiation testing, surface diagnostics, and PFC component procurement.
• Lead the computational efforts to simulate erosion, redeposition, and thermal shock degradation in real time.
• Work closely with mechanical design and physics modeling teams to translate PMI simulation and experimental data into validated inputs for plasma transport and engineering designs.

Required Qualifications

Required Experience & Skillsets:

• Education: Ph.D. in Materials Science, Plasma Physics, Nuclear Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a closely related discipline.
• Experience: 8+ years of technical experience in plasma-surface interactions, high-temperature materials, or magnetic confinement fusion engineering, with at least 3+ years managing technical projects or multidisciplinary teams.

Technical Expertise:

• In-depth understanding of edge plasma dynamics, sputtering, redeposition, helium ash/hydrogen isotope retention, and high heat flux behavior.
• Practical experience designing, building, or operating plasma-facing test rigs or boundary diagnostics on magnetic confinement devices (stellarators or tokamaks).
• Strong knowledge of materials testing, characterization methods, and procurement workflows for high-temperature and plasma-exposed materials.

Leadership & Communication: Track record of driving complex R&D initiatives, managing external vendor and research contracts, and working against tight engineering deadlines.

Preferred Qualifications

• Direct exposure to fusion plasma physics, stellarator configurations, or fusion plasma divertor concepts such as X-point divertors.
• Experience with computational modeling tools, including coupled plasma-transport and surface kinetics codes (SOLPS, UEDGE, EMC3-EIRENE, ERO2.0, WallDYN), BCA tools (SDTrimSP, RustBCA, TRIM), and FEA thermomechanical software (ANSYS, COMSOL).

Company Benefits

• Salary range $130,000-$165,000
• Comprehensive health benefits (e.g. medical/dental/vision)
• Employee equity stock options
• 20 days PTO

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.