Senior Molten Salt Engineer

Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) has the fastest, lowest cost path to commercial fusion energy.

The experience expected from applicants, as well as additional skills and qualifications needed for this job are listed below.

CFS collaborates with MIT to leverage decades of research combined with groundbreaking new high-temperature superconducting (HTS) magnet technology.

HTS magnets will enable compact fusion power plants that can be constructed faster and at lower cost. Our mission is to deploy these power plants to meet global decarbonization goals as fast as possible.

To that end, CFS has assembled a team of leaders in tough tech, fusion science, and manufacturing with a track record of rapid execution.

Supported by the world’s leading investors, CFS is uniquely positioned to deliver limitless, clean, fusion power to combat climate change.

To implement this plan, we are looking to add dedicated people to the team who treat people well, improve our work by adding multifaceted perspectives and new ways of solving problems, have achieved outstanding results through a range of pursuits, and have skills and experience related to this role.

ARC will be the first machine to produce electricity from fusion energy, serving as the cornerstone to a new industry. ARC will strongly leverage the work that’s been done for SPARC in developing HTS magnets and other key tokamak systems.

However, because of its mission to deliver power to the grid, the ARC tokamak has several systems not included on SPARC.

The ARC group within R&D is a growing team that is delivering key scientific and engineering results to push the technical readiness level of these new enabling technologies higher.

Salt chemistry is a known driver of corrosion, hydrogen speciation and transport, and behavior under irradiation. As the Blanket System team develops and builds larger systems, maintaining strong controls on our salt and its chemistry becomes increasingly important.

The Blanket System team is looking for a Molten Salt Chemist to grow our in-house salt analytical capabilities to enable rigorously quantify and predict salt behavior.

This engineer should have expertise in at least one of the following areas : radiochemistry, chemical system modeling, analytical chemistry, electrochemistry.

The Blanket System team has a strong practice of carrying engineering risk where appropriate while attentively and aggressively managing safety risk, and is looking for an engineer who will actively contribute to this culture.

This team member will :

• Lead development of predictive models to quantify salt chemistry changes under various conditions including : response to new materials, irradiation, gas sparging, etc.
• Develop benchtop testing to verify predictive modeling work, in both unirradiated and irradiated environments.
• Translate benchtop test data into quantitatively-driven chemical operation windows for various salt test articles, including progressively larger systems.

Own associated workflows for this analysis.

• Support benchtop materials compatibility experiments and in-loop testing for salt-compatible components (e.g. pumps, valves, heat exchangers).
• Act as a technical authority on radiochemical effects, chemical system modeling, and associated diagnostic systems. In this capacity, provide input on molten salt diagnostic development.
• Work closely with other CFS teams including :
• Safety team to manage chemical hazards (including beryllium) in existing and new experimental facilities.
• Supply chain team to manage development of external supply chains of molten salts.
• ARC Design Team.
• Work closely with external collaborators on both experimental and computational research projects.

The ideal candidate will have most, if not all, of these requirements :

• PhD in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Nuclear Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, or a related field.
• 3+ years of experience in relevant R&D.
• Experience with R&D work in a chemical laboratory.
• Experience in experimental design and analysis with the explicit goal of driving to higher component and system TRLs.
• Experience working with safety systems for hazardous chemicals.
• Ability to work effectively in a multidisciplinary team of engineers, scientists, technical staff and others.
• Ability to clearly express and critique ideas.
• Great communication and organizational skills.
• Strong problem solving skills, ability to approach new problems with creativity.

Additional experience and / or qualifications :

• Experience with modeling tools, such as Calphad, FactSage, Comsol, or similar (preferred, not required).
• Experience with electrochemistry or electrochemical engineering.
• Experience modeling chemical systems (e.g. reaction, transport, thermodynamic, radiochemical).
• Experience with radiochemistry.
• Experience with molten salt systems, particularly fluoride salt systems.
• Experience with high temperature and / or corrosive systems.
• Experience with gas handling systems and gas analysis.
• Experience in setting up new laboratory facilities or new analysis equipment (e.g. GCs).
• Work in a facility that contains industrial hazards including heat, cold, noise, fumes, strong magnets, lead (Pb), high voltage, high current, pressure systems, and cryogenics.

CFS team members thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic environment and have demonstrated exceptional results through a range of different pursuits.

We all tightly align with our company values of integrity, execution, impact and self-critique. As we grow, we are looking to add talented people who are mission driven and bring diverse perspectives and new ways of solving problems.

At CFS, we deeply value diversity and are an equal opportunity employer by choice. We consider all qualified applicants equally for employment.

We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, protected veteran status, religion, physical or mental disability, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, or any other basis protected by law, ordinance, or regulation.

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