Nuclear Engineering Manager

About Helion

We are a fusion power company based in Everett, WA, with the mission to build the world's first fusion power plant, enabling a future with unlimited clean electricity. Our vision is a world with clean, reliable, and affordable energy for everyone.

Since Helion's founding in 2013, we have raised over $600 million from investors such as Sam Altman, Mithril, and Capricorn Investment Group to propel us forward. Our last prototype, Trenta, completed 10,000 high-power pulses and reached plasma temperatures of 100 million degrees Celsius (9 keV).

Now we are working toward Polaris, which will be the first machine to demonstrate electricity from fusion, making this a great time to join Helion! Bring your skills, experiences, and determination to make a difference in the world. Together, we can make a future with unlimited clean electricity from fusion a reality.

What You Will Be Doing:

You will lead the Nuclear Engineering team that comprises neutronics, nuclear diagnostics, and general nuclear engineering. You will report to the Director of the Radiation Safety and Nuclear Science (RaSNS) team in this onsite role located at our Everett, WA office.

You Will:

• Manage, develop, and assist the subject matter experts responsible for quantifying fusion yield via nuclear diagnostics and simulating radiation environments using neutronics simulation codes
• Own and manage the delivery of Helion’s nuclear engineering needs such as shielding design, activation analysis, dose estimation, and diagnostic development
• Manage the performance of nuclear engineers and conduct hiring actions to build the team as scope demands
• Translate annual goals into objective tasks and manage month-to-month planning towards completing goals and objectives. Drive schedule ownership to accelerate the completion of milestones

Required Skills:

• 3+ years of experience (i) managing a nuclear-engineering-related technical team that delivered a high-impact final product, (ii) expanding a talent-dense team via a hiring process, and (iii) owning the schedule for a critical path facet of a milestone project
• Experience performing neutronics simulations using MCNP as demonstrated via implementing variance reduction techniques and performing simulation-measurement verification for moderately complex geometries
• Hands-on experience handling radioactive material including neutron sources (e.g., Cf-252, AmBe, neutron generators), and experience operating diagnostic detectors (e.g., scintillators, He-3, activation foils)
• Successful and autonomous mentorship of employees of a wide range of expertise, experience, and backgrounds, demonstrated e.g., via several performance review cycles and successful coaching of direct reports
• Fluent in some people management systems (e.g., recruiting, timecard management, spend approval, and performance reviews) and applying company policies as described in an employee handbook

#LI-Onsite #LI-KL1

Compensation and Benefits

At Helion, we are committed to fostering a fair and equitable environment in every aspect of our operations, including compensation. We ensure all our roles are competitively benchmarked and our total compensation package includes a base salary, comprehensive benefits, and equity grants, giving you a true stake in Helion's success. Final compensation is determined through a holistic evaluation of your experience, qualifications, and our commitment to maintaining internal equity, ensuring fairness and transparency across our teams.

This is an exempt salaried role.

Annual Base Bay

$152,000—$179,000 USD

Benefits

Our total compensation package includes benefits, including but not limited to:

• Medical, Dental, and Vision plans for employees and their families
• 31 Days of PTO (21 vacation days and 10 sick days)
• 13 Paid holidays, plus company-wide winter break
• Up to 5% employer 401(k) match
• Short term disability, long term disability, and life insurance
• Paid parental leave and support (up to 16 weeks)
• Annual wellness stipend

NOTE: Underrepresented people are less likely to apply unless they meet 100% of the job's requirements. We believe in hiring people, not checklists, and encourage you to apply even if you do not check all of the boxes. If this job isn't the one, we have many other openings that may be a fit.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran status, or genetic information. If we reach out to you to begin an interview process, we will also ask if you require any reasonable accommodation at that time.