PMI Program Lead – Plasma–Material Interaction

Hitachi, Ltd.; Kearny, Northern (NJ, KY); Hybrid; USD 130,000 - 165,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

Employee equity stock options

20 days PTO

Job summary

Thea Energy seeks an experienced PMI Manager to lead development of plasma-facing materials and components for its Eos and Helios stellarators. You will bridge plasma physics, materials engineering, and component integration to address high heat-flux management and isotope retention.

You will direct in-house experiments, oversee dedicated test facilities, and manage collaborations with national labs and vendors to de-risk wall environments for steady-state fusion operations.

Qualifications

• PhD in relevant discipline as per postings.
• 8+ years in plasma-surface interactions or fusion materials.
• 3+ years leading multi-disciplinary teams.
• Experience with PMI experiments or boundary diagnostics preferred.
• Strong vendor and contract management capabilities.

Responsibilities

• Direct R&D on PMI materials for Eos and Helios.
• Oversee PMI experiments at in-house facilities and partner labs.
• Lead external collaborations with labs and vendors for material synthesis and testing.
• Model erosion, redeposition, and thermal shock in real time.
• Translate PMI data into engineering inputs for plasma transport designs.

Skills

Edge plasma dynamics

Sputtering

Redeosition

Isotope retention

High heat flux

Education

PhD in Materials Science/Plasma Physics/Nuclear Engineering

Tools

SOLPS

UEDGE

EMC3-EIRENE

ERO2.0

WallDYN

SDTrimSP

RustBCA

TRIM

ANSYS

COMSOL

Job description

Thea Energy seeks an experienced PMI Manager to lead development of plasma-facing materials and components for its Eos and Helios stellarators. You will bridge plasma physics, materials engineering, and component integration to address high heat-flux management and isotope retention.

You will direct in-house experiments, oversee dedicated test facilities, and manage collaborations with national labs and vendors to de-risk wall environments for steady-state fusion operations.