Equipment Engineer
About the job
- Curiosity and comfort with ambiguous hardware problems.
- Direct experience building or troubleshooting vacuum thin-film deposition tools.
- Control systems experience across at least two of motion, vacuum, thermal, flow, and power.
- A Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or Chemical Engineering, or hands-on industry experience.
- Design, build, and commission thin-film vacuum deposition tools, with support from senior engineering staff on complex systems.
- Develop motion, thermal, vacuum, gas delivery, and power subsystems for metal-organic chemical vapor deposition, sputtering, electron-beam evaporation, or ion-beam deposition platforms.
- Generate build-ready computer-aided design models and fabrication drawings using SolidWorks or another computer-aided design tool.
- Troubleshoot tools to improve throughput, uptime, and process repeatability.
- Collaborate with manufacturing, safety, and operations to define hardware specifications, bills of materials, and reliability targets.
- Support implementation of automation and software that enables operator-friendly, repeatable manufacturing.
- At least 2 years of tool ownership from concept to operation or at least 3 years of relevant industrial equipment experience.
- Experience with industrial automation stacks such as Python, LabVIEW, embedded systems, or programmable logic controllers.
- Exposure to cryogenic systems, superconducting materials, or thin-film materials.
About the company
AMPeers makes and sells high-temperature superconductor wires, especially the STAR wire, and also offers consulting and research services. STAR wire is a REBCO-based, 1–2 mm-diameter tape that can carry 300–600 times the current of copper of the same size and stays superconductive at temperatures up to 77 Kelvin, with high bending flexibility for compact magnets. It distinguishes itself with very small diameter, flexible HTS wires and close collaboration with the University of Houston and national labs, funded by SBIR/STTR programs rather than venture capital. The goal is to scale manufacturing, validate the technology through collaborations, and grow its market for high-field magnets and HTS solutions in areas like particle accelerators, fusion, and advanced MRI.
Company Size
1-10
Company Stage
Grant
Total Funding
$1.4M
Headquarters
Houston, Texas
Founded
2009
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Simplify's Take
What believers are saying
- DOE awarded $1.15 million in 2024 for high-throughput REBCO manufacturing, extending runway.
- AMPeers added 2025 DOE grants for fusion metrology and mechanically robust STAR® wires.
- Fermilab and LBNL continue testing STAR® cables in 2026 magnet systems.
What critics are saying
- DOE SBIR awards end September 2026, forcing AMPeers to replace non-dilutive capital quickly.
- Round-wire HTS remains niche; widespread fusion and accelerator adoption has not materialized by 2026.
- Single-platform dependence on STAR® wire exposes AMPeers if Fermilab and LBNL programs slip.
What makes AMPeers unique
- STAR® wire reaches 1–2 mm diameter with 15 mm bend radius, unlike rivals.
- AMPeers scaled STAR® wires to 60 meters and 100-meter REBCO tapes by 2026.
- University of Houston partnership and Dr. Venkat Selvamanickam anchor proprietary HTS manufacturing know-how.
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Benefits
- Health Insurance
- Dental Insurance
- Vision Insurance
- Life Insurance
- 401(k) Retirement Plan