Senior Scientist, Neutral Beam Systems — Fusion Research

Physics World; Lake Forest (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, Dental, Vision

401(k) with company match

Paid vacation + sick time

Company holiday schedule

Wellness program

Parental leave

Potential for equity participation

HQ in Southern California

Job summary

TAE Technologies is seeking a scientist‑engineer to advance the next fusion machine. You will develop long‑pulse CW plasma sources, extract and accelerate systems, and test beamline components while conducting experiments and beam characterization.

You will contribute to simulations of plasma generation, beam optics, and NB subsystems, collaborating with engineering to optimize performance and reliability.

Qualifications

• Experience with plasma sources and neutral beam injectors.
• Experience in designing and operating plasma/beam diagnostics.
• Ability to operate high voltage equipment (>10 kV).

Responsibilities

• Conduct low temperature plasma experiments and simulate plasma generation.
• Develop, study and optimize ion beam optics.
• Develop NB for future plasma machine: beam formation, transport and testing subsystems.
• Develop beamline systems including vacuum, beam dumps and neutralizers.
• Develop diagnostics for high‑power NB with detectors and calorimeters.

Skills

Plasma sources

Neutral beam injectors

Beam diagnostics

Ion/electron accelerators

Beam transport

Programming: Python

Programming: Matlab

Programming: IDL

Education

PhD in physics / plasma physics / engineering

Tools

Python

MATLAB

IDL

Job description

TAE Technologies is seeking a scientist‑engineer to advance the next fusion machine. You will develop long‑pulse CW plasma sources, extract and accelerate systems, and test beamline components while conducting experiments and beam characterization.

You will contribute to simulations of plasma generation, beam optics, and NB subsystems, collaborating with engineering to optimize performance and reliability.