Role
Helion is hiring a Principal Nuclear Materials Engineer to guide the design and selection of materials for high-radiation environments in its fusion generators. The engineer reports to the Director of Materials Science and advises engineering teams on how neutron exposure changes the behaviour and performance of materials.
Responsibilities: Advise design decisions on neutron radiation effects for materials inside the radiation shield vault, including metals in magnet coils, structural dielectrics and ceramics. Work with neutronics engineers to predict displacements per atom (dpa), model the resulting changes in thermal conductivity, electrical resistivity and mechanical strength, and assess system-level radiation risk. Oversee testing campaigns that quantify radiation's impact on material properties, lead strategic capability projects and condense literature reviews into summaries for non-nuclear engineers. Partner with vendors, national laboratories and universities, and represent Helion at technical meetings and conferences.
Requirements: A professional understanding of radiation effects on materials, typically shown by a degree in nuclear engineering, materials science, physics or a related discipline plus 15 or more years of hands-on work. At least 15 years of experience handling radioactive material. At least eight years each working on non-aqueous corrosion and environmentally assisted degradation such as stress corrosion cracking, creep and accelerated fatigue; on neutron interactions such as transmutation or helium bubble formation; and on data analysis in Python, MATLAB or C++ with technical communication and writing. Data presentation is expected to treat uncertainty and statistics rigorously.
Working arrangements: The role is onsite at Helion's Everett, Washington office. The application states that the position requires compliance with U.S. export-control laws and asks whether the applicant is a U.S. person, along with questions on U.S. work eligibility and sponsorship needs.
Snapshot
| Employer | Helion |
| Workplace | Everett, Washington, US |
| Onsite | Onsite |
| Employment type | Full-time |
| Salary | $264,000–$317,000 a year |
| Date posted | 2025-10-01 |
| Expires | — |
| Verified | 2026-10-06 |
Sources & verification
The original publication date is exactly as posted on the employer ATS — no substitutions. The links below are the same ATS pages we used to verify this listing; the dates come from when we last checked them.
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