Principal Scientific Software Engineer

Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) has the fastest, lowest cost path to commercial fusion energy.

CFS collaborates with MIT to leverage decades of research combined with groundbreaking new high-temperature superconducting (HTS) magnet technology. HTS magnets will enable compact fusion power plants that can be constructed faster and at lower cost. Our mission is to deploy these power plants to meet global decarbonization goals as fast as possible. To that end, CFS has assembled a team of leaders in tough tech, fusion science, and manufacturing with a track record of rapid execution. Supported by the world’s leading investors, CFS is uniquely positioned to deliver limitless, clean, fusion power to combat climate change. To implement this plan, we are looking to add dedicated people to the team who treat people well, improve our work by adding multifaceted perspectives and new ways of solving problems, have achieved outstanding results through a range of pursuits, and have skills and experience related to this role.

The small fast-paced R&D team’s mission at CFS is to vet potential technical solutions quickly in order to guide the overall SPARC subsystem design, and plan for the technology needs of future fusion power plants and spin-off projects. To accelerate these R&D tasks, CFS uses optimization and data software to collect data, understand trade-offs, and optimize performance. The Scientific Software Engineer will consult with science, engineering, and manufacturing experts at CFS and MIT to identify data and modeling needs, and then lead the development of robust, scalable software tools to meet those needs. They will also provide software support for R&D analysis, with an emphasis on cross-training and utilizing technical skills from fields other than software.

This team member will:

- Extract software-compatible models/analyses from real-world physical and financial problems
- Construct new company-internal software products implementing those models/analyses
- Implement CI/CD processes to reduce maintenance overhead and error rates
- Operate resulting software, generate visualizations, and communicate results
- Support any hardware development efforts as needed, either in an advisory or hands-on role
- Occasionally mentor 1-2 interns

The ideal candidate will have most, if not all, of these requirements:

- Demonstrated drive and self-education (e.g. graduate research, research publications, well-documented side projects, student engineering teams, ambitious work projects, entrepreneurship). Bachelor’s in a technical field preferred
- 10+ years of experience with engineering or physics analysis in high-consequence environments.
- Designed and built multiple systems that involved engineering tradeoffs and produce rapid feedback from the physical universe (e.g. student engineering teams, graduate research, work project), preferably as a technical lead.
- Demonstrated ability to quickly learn about new technical skills and engineering sub-disciplines

Additional preferred experience and/or qualifications:

- Python or similar development-focused language
- CI/CD processes, linting, unit testing, software documentation, programming to a style standard
- At least one technical specialization other than software
- Ability to type and sit for extended periods of time
- Willingness to travel or work required nights/weekends/on-call occasionally
- #LI-Hybrid
CFS team members thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic environment and have demonstrated exceptional results through a range of different pursuits. We all tightly align with our company values of integrity, execution, impact and self-critique. As we grow, we are looking to add talented people who are mission driven and bring diverse perspectives and new ways of solving problems.

At CFS, we deeply value diversity and are an equal opportunity employer by choice. We consider all qualified applicants equally for employment. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, protected veteran status, religion, physical or mental disability, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, or any other basis protected by law, ordinance, or regulation.