R&D Engineer – Magnets

Overview

The NINT Magnet R&D team at Commonwealth Fusion Systems is responsible for testing and retiring risks for CFS’s NINT (non-insulated-non-twisted) HTS magnets, including next-generation NINT magnet technology and RCCA efforts on the SPARC NINT magnets currently in production. This R&D Engineer will design, build, and commission test equipment for HTS magnet development, performing structural, electrical, and thermal analyses across an inherently multidisciplinary technology spanning mechanical, electrical, materials, fluids, and systems engineering. The role also supports production, integration, and commissioning of SPARC NINT coils as build and test issues arise. It is based hybrid out of CFS’s Devens, MA facility.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop new HTS magnet designs and associated subsystems, including designing and building R&D test samples and developing their manufacturing processes and test operations
• Design, build, and commission test equipment required to accomplish R&D test campaign objectives
• Perform structural, electrical, and/or thermal analyses in support of R&D sample design and to predict test results
• Build expertise in testing HTS magnets and designing R&D HTS magnets and their subsystems, including power delivery, cryogenic cooling, and structures
• Support the production, integration, and commissioning of SPARC NINT coils as issues requiring HTS magnet build and test expertise arise
• Maintain well-documented requirements and risks for systems or components under test, aligning stakeholders on test rationale and essential data outcomes
• Collaborate with I&C engineers to develop necessary instrumentation and data acquisition systems
• Maintain documentation, schedules, and budgets for test campaigns, including design reviews, wiring lists, P&IDs, schematics, CAD assemblies, drawings, BOMs, and operations software
• Develop custom tools to analyze generated data and compile test results in presentations for review
• Prepare and deliver presentations on trade studies, design reviews, test readiness reviews, and test data reviews to teams of engineers and physicists

Requirements

Essential: A Bachelor’s degree in engineering or a science field (mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, or applied physics preferred); 2+ years’ experience as an R&D engineer or test engineer designing, building, and commissioning complex electromechanical systems; experience selecting and utilizing instrumentation and control components such as thermocouples, voltage and current sensors, oscilloscopes, pressure transducers, strain gauges, heaters, flow meters, fittings, and valves; experience developing and executing test procedures; proficiency with CAD design in Siemens NX or equivalent software; familiarity with electromagnetic fundamentals; strong troubleshooting and problem-solving skills; experience developing and presenting trade studies; data reduction and analysis skills; and strong communication skills across technical and non-technical audiences.

Desirable: Experience with modelling/analysis software including ANSYS, COMSOL, and PLECS; experience writing Python or MATLAB data tools; experience with high voltage and high current power equipment design; experience debugging electronics hardware and test software; experience designing and commissioning new test facilities; experience designing fluid systems (P&IDs, component selection, ASME design codes); experience with cryogenic equipment design (liquid nitrogen, supercritical helium, vacuum jacketed equipment, cryocoolers); experience with high vacuum equipment (roughing pumps, turbopumps, ion gauges, residual gas analyzers); and experience developing or improving manufacturing processes and handing them off to production teams.