Senior Applied Plasma Data Scientist

U.S. Fusion Energy; Energy (IL); On-site; USD 210,000 - 250,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, Dental, and Vision

PTO 31 days

Paid holidays

401(k) match

Disability & Life Insurance

Parental leave

Wellness stipend

Job summary

Helion in Everett, WA seeks a Senior Applied Plasma Data Scientist specializing in synthetic diagnostics to improve how we measure, interpret, and model FRC plasma behavior. You will develop and validate synthetic diagnostic models that connect experimental signals with simulation outputs, supporting faster, more reliable analysis.

In your first year, you will integrate these models with data pipelines and collaborate with plasma-physics and transient-magnetics experts to advance fusion

Qualifications

• PhD in Physics, Engineering, Applied Math or related field with emphasis on physics-grounded modeling.
• 3+ years of experience applying machine learning in experimental, simulation-driven, or scientific R&D environments.
• Expertise with physics-informed or physics-constrained ML methods (e.g., differentiable physics, PINNs, surrogate modeling).
• Experience integrating ML models with scientific-computing workflows, simulation tools, or experimental diagnostics.
• Proficiency scripting for data parsing, model analysis, and visualization (MATLAB, Python; Fortran or HPC exposure valuable).

Responsibilities

• Develop and validate ML frameworks for FRC plasma-dynamics.
• Integrate ML models with simulation tools and diagnostic pipelines.
• Reproduce experimental plasma conditions within ML workflows for interpretation.
• Generate analysis scripts and visualize correlations between ML predictions and results.
• Collaborate with plasma-physics, pulsed-power, and transient-magnetics experts.
• Communicate results with rigor through reports and visualizations.

Skills

PhD required

ML in R&D

Physics-informed ML

Data integration

Scripting MATLAB/Python

Education

PhD in Physics/Engineering

Tools

MATLAB

Python

Fortran

HPC

Job description

About Helion

We are a fusion power company based in Everett, WA, with the mission to build the world’s first fusion power plant, enabling a future with unlimited clean electricity. Our vision is a world with clean, reliable, and affordable energy for everyone.

Location

Everett, WA

Employment Type

Full time

Location Type

On-site

Department

Science

Compensation

• $210K – $250K
• Offers Equity

Compensation Range

$210K - $250K

Overview

We are a fusion power company based in Everett, WA, with the mission to build the world’s first fusion power plant, enabling a future with unlimited clean electricity. Our vision is a world with clean, reliable, and affordable energy for everyone. Since Helion’s founding in 2013, we have raised $1.5 billion from long-time investors such as Sam Altman, Mithril, and Capricorn Investment Group as well as new investors including Thrive Capital, LightSpeed Venture Capital, SoftBank, and others to propel us forward. Our current prototype, Polaris, has reached record-breaking plasma temperatures of 150 million degrees Celsius (13 keV). Helion is continuing to iterate and on the path to the world’s first fusion power plant, Orion. This is a pivotal time to join Helion. You will tackle real-world challenges with a team that prizes urgency, rigor, ownership, and a commitment to delivering hard truths — values essential to achieving what no one has before. Together, we will change the future of energy, because the world can’t wait.

What You Will Be Doing

Helion is hiring a Senior Applied Plasma Data Scientist specializing in synthetic diagnostics to improve how we measure, interpret, and model FRC plasma behavior. In this role, you will develop and validate synthetic diagnostic models that connect experimental diagnostic signals with simulation outputs, helping improve diagnostic accuracy and plasma performance interpretation. In your first year, you will focus on integrating these models with experimental and simulation data pipelines to support faster, more reliable experimental analysis. This position reports to the Experimental Science Manager at our Everett, WA office and plays a key role in advancing Helion’s path toward fusion electricity.

You Will

• Develop and validate machine-learning frameworks for FRC plasma-dynamics, leveraging physics-grounded ML approaches (e.g., differentiable physics, PINNs, surrogate modeling, or hybrid physics+ML systems)
• Integrate ML models with existing simulation tools and experimental-diagnostic pipelines to enable hybrid physics + data-driven validation workflows
• Reproduce experimental plasma conditions within ML modeling workflows to support interpretation of magnetic diffusion, circuit response, and diagnostic measurements
• Generate analysis scripts for post-processing, parsing model outputs, and visualizing correlations between ML-based predictions and experimental results
• Collaborate with plasma-physics, pulsed-power, and transient-magnetics experts to expand the fidelity and fusion-relevance of ML-enabled modeling frameworks
• Communicate results with rigor and clarity through reports, presentations, and technical visualizations for research stakeholders

Required Skills

• PhD in Physics, Engineering, Applied Math, Computational Science, Machine Learning, or related field with emphasis on physics-grounded modeling
• 3+ years of industry or research-lab experience applying machine learning in experimental, simulation-driven, or scientific R&D environments
• Expertise with physics-informed or physics-constrained ML methods, such as differentiable physics, PINNs, scientific ML, surrogate modeling, or reduced-order models for complex physical systems
• Experience integrating ML models with scientific-computing workflows, simulation tools, or experimental diagnostics
• Proficiency scripting for data parsing, model analysis, and visualization (MATLAB, Python, or similar; Fortran or HPC exposure valuable)
• Familiarity with magnetic diffusion, circuit coupling, or plasma-dynamics modeling in pulsed-power or electromagnetics systems

Benefits

• Medical, Dental, and Vision plans for employees and their families
• 31 Days of PTO (21 vacation days and 10 sick days)
• 10 Paid holidays, plus company-wide winter break
• Up to 5% employer 401(k) match
• Short term disability, long term disability, and life insurance
• Paid parental leave and support (up to 16 weeks)
• Annual wellness stipend

Equal Opportunity

Helion is an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. If you need assistance or an accommodation during the interview process, please let us know.