Senior Laser-Plasma Diagnostics Scientist

Socket.dev; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 120,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Focused Energy seeks a Laser-Plasma Diagnostic Specialist to join the Experimental Physics team. You will design, deploy, and commission advanced diagnostics for inertial fusion energy experiments, enabling characterization of laser-plasma interactions and fusion-relevant physics.

You will work with physicists, optical, mechanical, electrical, controls, and software engineers to implement optical, X-ray, charged-particle, and nuclear diagnostics across multiple facilities, advancing

Qualifications

• Ph.D. in Physics, Plasma Physics, Optical Engineering, or a related field.
• 2-8 years of experience developing or operating diagnostics for laser-plasma physics experiments.
• Experience with optical imaging or spectroscopy, X-ray imaging, particle detectors, neutron diagnostics, or high-speed imaging.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, integrate, and commission diagnostics for high-energy-density physics and inertial fusion experiments.
• Support diagnostic development across multiple measurement domains: optical, X-ray, charged-particle, neutron/gamma-ray.
• Define diagnostic requirements for new experimental campaigns and facilities.
• Collaborate with engineers to translate diagnostic concepts into operational systems.
• Assist with diagnostic alignment, calibration, commissioning, and experimental operation.
• Analyze and interpret experimental data to evaluate diagnostic performance and extract results.
• Contribute to experimental planning, documentation, and reports.
• Support interactions with external collaborators, universities, and national laboratories.

Skills

Laser-plasma diagnostics

Optical diagnostics

X-ray diagnostics

Charged-particle diagnostics

Nuclear diagnostics

Python

MATLAB

Experimental optics

Multidisciplinary teamwork

Communication skills

Education

Ph.D. in Physics/Plasma/Optical Engineering

Tools

Python

MATLAB

Job description

Focused Energy seeks a Laser-Plasma Diagnostic Specialist to join the Experimental Physics team. You will design, deploy, and commission advanced diagnostics for inertial fusion energy experiments, enabling characterization of laser-plasma interactions and fusion-relevant physics.

You will work with physicists, optical, mechanical, electrical, controls, and software engineers to implement optical, X-ray, charged-particle, and nuclear diagnostics across multiple facilities, advancing