RF & PLASMA RESEARCH ENGINEER

Stellios Technologies; Albuquerque (NM); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive compensation

Equity participation

Job summary

Stellios Technologies in the United States is seeking an RF & Plasma Research Engineer to build computational models for high power microwave sources and RF systems, translating physics into predictive tools.

The role connects closely with hardware teams and emphasizes model development, validation against benchmarks and experiments, and integration of Python, C++, Julia, or MATLAB workflows to accelerate analysis.

Qualifications

• PhD in electrical engineering, plasma physics, applied physics, computational physics, accelerator science, or a directly relevant field, or
• A BS or MS in a relevant technical field plus at least 5 years of directly relevant professional experience
• Strong fundamentals in electromagnetics and at least one of: plasma physics, beam physics, vacuum electronics, computational electromagnetics, particle in cell methods, RF systems, or accelerator physics

Responsibilities

• Electromagnetic modeling of cavities, waveguides, resonators, mode converters, launchers, antennas, and high power RF structures
• Particle in cell and beam wave interaction modeling for klystrons, gyrotrons, electron beam systems, and related devices
• Plasma modeling relevant to high power microwave propagation, plasma interaction, breakdown, and advanced energy systems
• Reduced order models and first principles calculations used to sanity check large simulations
• Numerical optimization, parameter sweeps, uncertainty analysis, and design space exploration
• Model validation against analytic limits, published benchmarks, component tests, and full system experimental data
• Development of internal Python, C++, Julia, MATLAB, or equivalent tools that accelerate engineering analysis
• Integration of commercial solvers and open source codes into repeatable computational workflows
• Close collaboration with RF, HPM, power systems, magnet, thermal, mechanical, and experimental engineers
• Technical research that can translate into new products, patents, and publications where appropriate

Skills

EM theory

Plasma physics

Beam physics

Computational electromagnetics

Particle in cell methods

RF systems

Accelerator physics

Numerical modeling

Python programming

C++ programming

MATLAB programming

Julia programming

Education

PhD in electrical engineering or related field

BS/MS + 5+ years relevant experience

Tools

Python

C++

MATLAB

Julia

Job description

All roles

Stellios Technologies is building advanced high power microwave and energy systems for defense, aerospace, and energy.

We are hiring an exceptional RF & Plasma Research Engineer to build the computational models behind next generation high power microwave sources, RF systems, plasma interactions, and advanced energy systems.

This is a computational research role with direct connection to hardware. Your job is not to generate beautiful simulations. Your job is to build models that predict reality, identify the physics that controls performance, and help the engineering team make better hardware decisions faster.

What You Will Own And/Or Support

• Electromagnetic modeling of cavities, waveguides, resonators, mode converters, launchers, antennas, and high power RF structures
• Particle in cell and beam wave interaction modeling for klystrons, gyrotrons, electron beam systems, and related devices
• Plasma modeling relevant to high power microwave propagation, plasma interaction, breakdown, and advanced energy systems
• Reduced order models and first principles calculations used to sanity check large simulations
• Numerical optimization, parameter sweeps, uncertainty analysis, and design space exploration
• Model validation against analytic limits, published benchmarks, component tests, and full system experimental data
• Development of internal Python, C++, Julia, MATLAB, or equivalent tools that accelerate engineering analysis
• Integration of commercial solvers and open source codes into repeatable computational workflows
• Close collaboration with RF, HPM, power systems, magnet, thermal, mechanical, and experimental engineers
• Technical research that can translate into new products, patents, and publications where appropriate

Who We Are Looking For

You Must Have One Of The Following

• A PhD in electrical engineering, plasma physics, applied physics, computational physics, accelerator science, or a directly relevant field, or
• A BS or MS in a relevant technical field plus at least 5 years of directly relevant professional experience

You need strong fundamentals in electromagnetics and at least one of the following: plasma physics, beam physics, vacuum electronics, computational electromagnetics, particle in cell methods, RF systems, or accelerator physics.

You must be able to write code, interrogate a numerical model, recognize when a solver is lying to you, and reduce a complicated simulation result back to first principles.

We strongly value candidates who have validated models against real experiments. Purely academic experience can be excellent if the work involved serious simulation development, experimental comparison, or difficult computational physics.

This role requires access to U.S. export controlled information. Candidates must qualify as a U.S. person under applicable export control laws, including U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, lawful permanent residents, refugees, and asylees.

This role may be based in Southern California, Austin, or New Mexico. Much of the work is computational, so daily lab presence is not required, but you should expect close collaboration with Stellios hardware teams.

Competitive compensation and meaningful equity.