Mechanical Engineer - Fusion

Zap Energy • Everett, WA

7d • $110,000 - $160,000

About The Position

Zap Energy is seeking a self-driven mechanical engineer to aid in development of liquid metal cooled/shielded electrodes for Zap’s emergent Fusion Power Core. This role owns projects from concept through to hardware demonstration, moving adeptly between literature surveys and modeling to building and testing experiments and prototypes. Being a curious, self-driven team player is foundational to success in this role.

Requirements

• MS (with 3 years of relevant experience) or PhD in Mechanical Engineering or related field.
• Fluid dynamics: experiment and modeling background, with working knowledge of incompressible flow theory.
• Heat transfer: modeling ability, with working knowledge of theory.
• Design: Assembly-level CAD for custom hardware
• Fabrication: 3D printing, in-house prototyping, and hands-on build and test.

Nice To Haves

• Vacuum systems experience
• COMSOL, ANSYS, OpenFOAM
• Modeling: phase change, electromagnetics
• Instrumentation & controls: sensor integration; data acquisition
• Strong commitment to safety, quality, and ethical standards in engineering.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with attention to detail.
• Self-starter and can-do attitude, with curiosity and a commitment to continuous learning.
• Familiarity and competence with basic program management processes and tools.
• Outside the box thinking, grounded in practical engineering solutions.
• Effective communication skills, both verbal and written.
• The ability to collaborate in a multidisciplinary team environment.
• Adaptability and resilience.

Responsibilities

• Manage your own projects end to end - scope, budget, plan, procure materials and equipment, and foster collaboration.
• Take responsibility for the safety considerations in your test setups.
• When the group identifies a needed technology or capability, propose a solution or line of inquiry and refine it through informal team discussion.
• Model and iterate on candidate solutions, down selecting until a design is actionable or ready for testing.
• Design, build, and operate experiments and prototypes. These will typically be water or liquid-metal flow loops and vacuum-chamber experiments.
• Communicate progress, findings, and conclusions regularly to the team through informal discussion, culminating in formal design reviews near the close of a design effort.
• Collaborate with coworkers across disciplines throughout the design and test cycle.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior