Research Scientist - Blanket Design

Marathon Fusion•San Francisco, CA

2d•$160,000 - $210,000•Onsite

About The Position

Marathon Fusion is building the engineering technologies needed to scale fusion from breakeven experiments into real power plants. While much of the industry is focused on proving new fusion devices, our focus is on the practical systems that will make fusion deployable at climate-relevant scale. We develop core fuel cycle and plant-level technologies for stable isotope production, fuel cycle closure, and advanced blanket systems that enable both energy generation and high-value co-products. Founded in 2023, Marathon Fusion is building the components and systems that will help fusion become a practical, abundant, and reliable energy source for the 21st century. We're looking for an engineer/scientist to lead the development of cutting-edge breeding blanket systems for fusion reactors. You’ll take a systems view of blanket development, integrating a deep understanding of the relevant physics (neutron transport, gamma heating, thermo-fluids, structural) with a rigorous analysis of requirements to optimize blanket designs for safety, reliability, profitability, and deployment speed. Your holistic approach to designing blanket systems will help make self-sustaining fusion reactors economically attractive, and take the fusion industry one step closer to powering the future of clean energy.

Requirements

An MS or PhD in a relevant field (likely Nuclear Engineering, Physics, or Mechanical Engineering)
3+ years of work experience on top of academic training
Experience with fusion reactors, next-generation fission reactors (small modular reactors, molten salt reactors, etc) and/or accelerators
Familiarity with a wide variety of modeling tools including some subset of neutronics, CFD, FEA, and/or atmospheric dispersion modeling
Demonstrated track record of deploying safety-critical systems in the lab or the field

Responsibilities

Design cutting edge breeding blankets that meet the wide range of technical requirements for profitable operation of near-term fusion power plants
Use appropriate modeling tools, ranging from reduced order analytical models to multiphysics simulations, to quickly sweep through the vast space of potential blanket designs and uncover promising development directions
Develop sequential test plans to guide laboratory work that focuses on answering the most critical technical questions in order of importance
Build upon the state-of-the-art of fusion power plant blanket design via a thorough literature review and analysis of related fields
Determine likely regulatory requirements based on a careful reading of analogous codes and standards (NRC, ASTM, etc)
Design for safety and reliability using engineering using best practices (FMEA, HALT, etc)