Senior Opto-mechanical Engineer (Fusion Energy)

Location: Devens, Massachusetts, United States; hybrid workplace. Occasional travel and required nights, weekends, or on-call work may be necessary.

Salary: USD 134,000–205,000 per year.

Company

hirify.global develops commercially viable fusion power plants and is assembling the SPARC tokamak.

What you will do

• Lead opto-mechanical design and close-out of SPARC long-wavelength diagnostic subsystems through design review, release, procurement, build, and commissioning.
• Design mounts, enclosures, packaging, alignment systems, and beamline assemblies for optical and waveguide components.
• Develop tolerance and alignment error budgets and perform or direct structural, thermal, vibration, FEA, and STOP analyses.
• Collaborate with diagnosticians, scientists, optical and microwave engineers, CAD designers, integration teams, vendors, and machine shops to produce manufacturable models, drawings, specifications, and design reviews.
• Provide hands-on support for assembly, installation, alignment, calibration, commissioning, and resolution of manufacturing or installation issues.
• Provide technical leadership and mentorship while contributing to opto-mechanical standards, workflows, best practices, and safety practices.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in mechanical engineering, optical engineering, engineering physics, or a related field.
• 8+ years of opto-mechanical or precision mechanical design experience, or 6+ years with an advanced degree.
• Experience leading precision optical instrument or system design from concept through build, test, and deployment.
• Experience with optical mounts and packaging, including kinematic and semi-kinematic mounts, flexures, optic bonding, and athermal design.
• Experience designing alignment mechanisms and procedures for multi-element optical systems, including tolerance analysis and error budgets.
• Experience using structural and thermal FEA to predict optical performance.
• Proficiency with 3D CAD and drawings using GD&T in accordance with ASME Y14.5.
• Hands-on laboratory experience assembling and aligning optical systems, strong cross-functional communication, first-principles engineering judgment, attention to detail, and the ability to manage multiple topics.
• Ability to occasionally lift up to 50 lbs and perform extended stooping, climbing, typing, standing, or sitting. Must follow safety practices addressing heat, cold, noise, fumes, strong magnets, lead, high voltage, and cryogenics.

Nice to have

• Master’s degree or PhD in mechanical engineering, optical engineering, engineering physics, or a related field.
• Experience with Zemax OpticStudio, Siemens NX, and Teamcenter.
• Experience packaging microwave or millimeter-wave waveguides and quasi-optical assemblies.
• Experience with plasma diagnostics or large physics facilities, harsh environments, active alignment, beam stabilization, Python, MATLAB, vacuum boundaries, high-power or pulsed lasers, and laser safety.
• Experience managing suppliers and external engineering resources, communicating and critiquing ideas clearly, and mentoring others.

Culture & Benefits

• Fast-paced engineering environment centered on integrity, execution, impact, self-critique, and diverse perspectives.
• Work supports SPARC assembly, commissioning, and operation in tokamak and diagnostic laboratory environments.
• Willingness to occasionally travel or work required nights, weekends, or on-call is required.
• Equal opportunity employment with consideration of qualified applicants regardless of legally protected characteristics.
• Employment is contingent on compliance with U.S. Export Control Laws for controlled or protected technologies and information.