Manufacturing Technician

WHO WE ARE

Proxima Fusion is Europe’s fastest-growing fusion company and the continent’s best-funded fusion player, as well as the first spin-out from the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (IPP). Backed by over €650M and powered by a growing team across Munich, Zurich, and Oxford, we are developing the hardware and infrastructure needed to deliver the world’s first commercial stellarator fusion power plant.

Our concept advances the most mature fusion technology out there, the Wendelstein 7-X stellarator, through two next-generation machines: Alpha and Stellaris. Our work combines stellarator optimization, advanced computation, machine learning, and high-temperature superconducting magnets to unlock higher-performance designs that were previously out of reach.

Turning these designs into a functioning fusion power plant requires excellence and ownership across every discipline, from physics and engineering to software, manufacturing, law, and business functions.

WHY JOIN PROXIMA FUSION

• You will get to work on some of the most complex tech challenges to bring abundant, safe, clean energy to the world.

• You'll get to join and learn from an exceptional selection of accomplished and driven individuals.

• Do your life’s best work and enjoy the journey.

• Get to show that big things are possible in Europe when you assemble the best talent.

YOUR IMPACT

At Proxima Fusion, we're developing the world's leading stellarator technology. To turn cutting-edge designs into reality, we need skilled technicians who can bring complex, first-of-a-kind hardware to life. As a Technician at Proxima Fusion, you'll work hands-on with Proxima-designed components, magnets, mechanical assemblies and other critical systems, supporting their build, assembly, integration and testing.

Working closely with Engineering, Manufacturing and Quality, you'll help turn ambitious designs into reliable hardware, solve practical challenges on the shop floor and contribute to developing the processes and tooling needed to build Alpha. This is a unique opportunity to work at the intersection of advanced engineering and hands-on manufacturing, helping build one of Europe's most ambitious engineering projects.

WHAT YOU WILL DO

• Set up, operate and change over the HTS cable line and plate assembly stations. Deliver routine production alongside complex, first-article and non-standard builds.

• Carry out precision assembly, fitting, fabrication and approved rework using drawings, work instructions and practical judgement.

• Troubleshoot process, assembly and quality problems, including handling issues, setup errors, dimensional variation and inconsistent output. Contain affected work, investigate the cause and help implement a verified correction.

• Resolve unfamiliar or undocumented scenarios within agreed safety, quality and change-control limits. Develop and document practical solutions, and obtain engineering or quality approval before proceeding outside your authority.

• Verify setups and initial output, and inspect assemblies against released acceptance criteria at assigned in-process and final checks. Raise non-conformances and refer deviations or product-disposition decisions to the authorised owner.

• Work with equipment technicians on machine faults; provide design and manufacturing engineers clear measurements and feedback on buildability, tooling, and process performance.

• Run first-article builds and process trials with manufacturing engineering, and help prove tooling, fixtures and equipment ready for production.

• Write, redline and improve work instructions and standard operating procedures using build experience. Route changes through review and release, and help improve cycle time, yield and repeatability.

• Maintain complete build records, material traceability, deviation records and clear handovers.

   

WHO YOU ARE

• Substantial hands-on experience building complex, high-precision assemblies, with capability beyond routine machine operation.

• A technical apprenticeship or vocational qualification in a relevant discipline, or equivalent practical experience.

• Confidence interpreting engineering drawings, assembly requirements and geometric dimensioning and tolerancing (GD&T), and using measuring equipment to verify work.

• Proven practical troubleshooting skills, including experience investigating unfamiliar problems and distinguishing symptoms from underlying causes.

• Experience setting up equipment, using fixtures and handling sensitive components or materials with consistent workmanship.

• The judgement to work with incomplete instructions while recognising when to proceed, stop or escalate, supported by a practical understanding of traceability, non-conformance and change control.

• The ability to write instructions others can follow, explain technical problems clearly and train or support less-experienced technicians.

• Working English for drawings, procedures, technical discussions and production records.

Nice to have

• Experience manufacturing cables, coils, superconducting magnets or other high-reliability assemblies involving delicate materials or controlled handling.

• Experience with winding, insulation, impregnation, soldering, brazing, precision bonding or reel-to-reel processing.

• Experience introducing new products or processes, supporting pilot builds or transferring development work into production.

• Familiarity with structured problem solving, such as Lean/Six Sigma improvement methods.

• A Techniker or Meister qualification.

• German language skills.

INTERVIEW PROCESS

• Recruiter Interview (30-60 min)

• Technical Screening (30 min)

• Technical Panel (3x60 min)
  

This job would require frequent travels to our office in Villigen ( Zurich, CH)
*This role sits at "L3" of our framework, please inquire during the recruitment process for further information.

At Proxima Fusion, our mission is bold: making limitless clean energy a reality. To get there, we need a high-performing, diverse team that brings different perspectives, challenges assumptions, and builds together with purpose. We know that diversity of thought and experience leads to better ideas, stronger execution, and a more resilient team. We don’t look at how you identify, what you look like, who you choose to worship or what ethnicity you are. We care about what you can bring to the table.