Principal HTS Magnet Engineer

Hitachi, Ltd.; Kearny (NJ); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 220,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

Employee equity

20 days PTO

Job summary

Thea Energy is seeking a Lead HTS Magnet Systems Engineer to own the full lifecycle of large-scale High-Temperature Superconducting (HTS) cabled magnet systems. You will bridge interdisciplinary electrical and mechanical domains, driving everything from early stage design trade studies and cable architectures (CICC stacked REBCO) to manufacturing, assembly, QA test and integration into the device.

You will drive end-to-end program ownership, specify high-current cabled HTS conductors, manage

Qualifications

• Experience designing high-field HTS cabled magnets for fusion applications.
• Ownership of major lifecycle milestones in megaprojects with budget ranges (e.g., $10M–$50M).
• Hands-on leadership of magnet testing, cryogenic qualification (4.2K–20K), and post-test forensics.

Responsibilities

• End-to-End Program Ownership: Lead system design reviews (CDR/PDR), subsystem qualification, site commissioning, and risk mitigation across multi-year fusion hardware projects.
• Cabled HTS Design: Specify and optimize high-current cabled HTS conductors, managing thermomechanical stresses, high-field Lorentz forces, and thermal quench propagation.
• Large-scale manufacturing: Specify and review designs in the 1-10m range and in the 10-100 Tonne range.
• Electro-Mechanical Integration: Direct coupling between high-current electrical power leads, quench detection systems, cryogenic cooling interfaces, and structural mechanical supports.
• Vendor & Lifecycle Management: Oversee technical deliverables for HTS tape/cable vendors, manufacturing facilities, and integration test platforms.

Skills

Program Execution

Failure Analysis

Start-up Experience

Large-scale Magnet Manufacturing

Systems Engineering

Education

B.S./M.S./Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Applied Physics, or Nuclear Engineering

Tools

ANSYS

COMSOL

MATLAB/Simulink

OPERA

HTS Modeling Tools

Job description

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 a Lead HTS Magnet Systems Engineer to own the full lifecycle of our large-scale High-Temperature Superconducting (HTS) cabled magnet systems. You will bridge interdisciplinary electrical and mechanical domains, driving everything from early stage design trade studies and cable architectures (CICC stacked REBCO) to manufacturing, assembly, QA test and integration into the device.

Key Responsibilities:

• End-to-End Program Ownership: Lead system design reviews (CDR/PDR), subsystem qualification, site commissioning, and risk mitigation across multi-year fusion hardware projects.
• Cabled HTS Design: Specify and optimize high-current cabled HTS conductors, managing thermomechanical stresses, high-field Lorentz forces, and thermal quench propagation.
• Large-scale manufacturing: Specify and review designs in the 1-10m range and in the 10-100 Tonne range.
• Electro-Mechanical Integration: Direct coupling between high-current electrical power leads, quench detection systems, cryogenic cooling interfaces, and structural mechanical supports.
• Vendor & Lifecycle Management: Oversee technical deliverables for HTS tape/cable vendors, manufacturing facilities, and integration test platforms.

Core Competencies & Requirements:

Direct Experience (10 - 15 Years Required)

• Superconducting Systems: Proven track record design and delivery of high-field (10T+) HTS cabled magnets or low-temperature (LTS) Cable-in-Conduit Conductors (CICC) for fusion applications.
• Program Execution: Demonstrated ownership of major lifecycle milestones in complex megaprojects (e.g., W7x, JT60SA, KSTAR, ITER -scale setups, or commercial fusion ventures) with budget ownership $10M - $50M.
• Failure Analysis & Test Operations: Hands-on leadership of full-scale magnet testing, cryogenic qualification (4.2K–20K), and post-test forensics.
• Start-up experience: Has dealt with the demands of a fast-growing start-up.
• Large-scale magnet manufacturing experience: Demonstrated experience with dealing with the challenges of forgings, composite insulation, solder potting in the 1-10m length scale and aware of the challenges.

Domain Knowledge

• Applied Superconductivity: REBCO 2G-HTS tape mechanics, strain limitations, current distribution, AC losses, and tape-to-cable joint architecture.
• Multiphysics Engineering: FEA modeling coupling electromagnetic forces (Lorentz/Maxwell), structural stress analysis, thermal management, and fluid flow (gaseous/supercritical helium).
• Quench Protection & Diagnostics: Active and passive protection systems, voltage tap arrays, fiber-optic temperature sensors, and high-speed dump circuit interfaces.
• Strategic Risk Mitigation: Mastery of FMEA (Failure Mode and Effects Analysis) applied to cryogenic system failures, vacuum loss (loss of vacuum/L VAC), and runaway quench scenarios.

Technical & Leadership Skills

• Systems Engineering: CONOPS, requirements, Interface control documentation (ICD), requirements traceability, and cross-functional leadership spanning electrical and mechanical teams.
• Software Tools: Proficiency with ANSYS, COMSOL, OPERA, MATLAB/Simulink, or custom HTS electrodynamic modeling tools.

Education

• B.S., M.S., or Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Applied Physics, or Nuclear Engineering.

Company Benefits:

• Comprehensive health benefits (e.g. medical/dental/vision)
• Employee equity stock options
• 20 days PTO

$180,000 - $220,000 a year

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.