Microwave Design Engineer

In this role you will help build millimeter-wave hardware that initiates and heats fusion plasmas. You will join the Alpha Heating System team to drive RF and thermo-mechanical design of high‑power components, test them in the lab, and install at scale on the Alpha stellarator. You will collaborate with physicists to meet plasma and thermal-mechanical constraints, while seeking cost-efficient, high-performance solutions. This is a hands-on, cross-disciplinary opportunity to shape the core RF systems enabling a world‑changing fusion project.

• Provide innovative RF engineering solutions in collaboration with physicists to meet plasma and thermal constraints
• Develop and evaluate RF designs and vendor options to optimize power delivery and reduce input power
• Interface RF components with other stellarator systems within the development process
• Contribute to mechanical and thermal analysis and sensitivity studies under vacuum, magnetic fields, and RF loading
• Coordinate with Alpha project management to deliver RF components within tight timelines

• Experienced RF engineer with millimeter-wave expertise
• Proficient in RF modeling tools (SURF3D, CST, COMSOL, GdfidL, openEMS) or equivalent
• Track record validating first-of-a-kind designs with multi-scale and multi-physics simulations
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills
• Experience with gyrotrons and related components; plasma physics background is a plus
• Understanding of quasi-optical propagation of millimeter waves and ray tracing

• excellent communication
• team collaboration
• ability to articulate complex ideas clearly
• millimeter-wave RF design
• RF modeling and simulation with SURF3D, CST, COMSOL, GdfidL, openEMS
• Python-based modeling or custom codes