Full-Time
Commonwealth Fusion Systems
501-1,000 employees
Develops and commercializes fusion energy technology
No salary listed
Senior, Expert
Devens, MA, USA
Hybrid position in Devens, MA.
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- Bachelor's or Master's degree in Engineering, Physics, or a related field
- 8+ years of experience in Systems Engineering or related roles with a Bachelor's Degree, or 6+ years of experience with a Master’s Degree
- Thorough understanding of and proficiency in Systems Engineering life cycle processes and how they are realistically implemented on fast paced projects
- Experience working in the development of large, integrated and complex systems, preferably fusion, energy, aerospace, defense, transportation, etc.
- General knowledge of mechanical, electrical, I&C, and industrial concepts with the ability to learn and apply new technical concepts
- Strong, foundational knowledge of electromechanical systems as well as wider mechanical and electrical engineering concepts
- Strong interpersonal and technical communication skills, with the ability to proactively engage and communicate with a wide range of stakeholders
- Experience working in an environment where creative, proactive problem solving is required with a wide range of stakeholders
- Elicit, decompose, and establish traceability of system requirements in the IBM DOORS Next Gen database
- Coordinate, define, and control interfaces between tokamak systems and tokamak interfacing systems
- Conduct trade studies to drive/coordinate technical decision making. Present proposals for decision closures to the appropriate level of management
- Conduct risk assessments on tokamak systems using failure modes analysis software and methods, and ensuring that risk mitigation plans are developed and implemented
- Manage changes affecting tokamak system technical baseline for impact to scope, schedule, cost, performance, or interfacing systems
- Support design review content development and the review of other design reviews for technical maturity, consistency, and accuracy
- Develop test plans for and document evidence against requirements verification and validation
- Develop requirement/risk informed testing and commissioning plans
- Develop and manage model based systems engineering artifacts for multiple CFS programs using Cameo Enterprise Architecture
Commonwealth Fusion Systems focuses on developing fusion energy as a clean and sustainable power source. The company utilizes advanced magnet technology, created in partnership with MIT, to build smaller and more affordable fusion systems called tokamaks. These devices use magnetic fields to confine plasma, making them an efficient method for achieving fusion. Currently, CFS is manufacturing high-temperature superconducting magnets and constructing SPARC, which aims to be the first commercially viable net energy fusion machine. The success of SPARC will lead to the development of ARC, the first fusion power plant. CFS differentiates itself from competitors by its commitment to scientific integrity and a mission-driven approach, aiming to provide cost-competitive fusion energy to help combat climate change.
Company Size
501-1,000
Company Stage
Grant
Total Funding
$2B
Headquarters
Harvard, Massachusetts
Founded
2018
Simplify's Take
What believers are saying
- CFS plans to build the first grid-scale fusion plant in Virginia by 2024.
- High-temperature superconducting magnets reduce fusion reactor size and cost.
- Partnerships with Dominion Energy provide industry expertise and resources.
What critics are saying
- Regulatory hurdles may delay the Virginia fusion plant construction.
- Competition from companies like Proxima Fusion could impact CFS's market position.
- Supply chain risks due to reliance on rare-earth materials may affect operations.
What makes Commonwealth Fusion Systems unique
- CFS uses rare-earth barium copper oxide superconductor technology for energy development.
- Collaboration with MIT enhances CFS's fusion research and technological capabilities.
- CFS's SPARC and ARC projects aim to pioneer commercial fusion energy.
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Benefits
12.5 Company-wide Holidays
Our vacation policy is 'take vacation'
Our sick time policy is 'get better and try not to make others sick'
Generous parental leave policy
Health Reimbursement
Health, Dependent Care, & Limited Purpose Flexible Spending Accounts
Delta Dental, Blue 20/20 Vision optional
Wellbeing / Headspace coverage
Short-term & long-term disability
Life and AD&D insurance
401K
Growth & Insights and Company News
6 month growth
↑ 1%1 year growth
↑ 1%2 year growth
↑ 0%Fusion Fuel EfficiencyNuclear Fusion is potentially the ultimate green energy source, producing no dangerous byproducts, radioactivity (the only “waste” is helium), or greenhouse gases. And it could be powered by a fuel so abundant that it is a significant percentage of the entire Universe: deuterium, an isotope of hydrogen.But this is also a very difficult to achieve form of energy generation. It requires replicating on Earth the conditions in the core of the Sun, with tremendous pressures and tens or hundreds of millions of degrees.Nuclear fusion has been achieved in physics laboratories for decades, but a net energy-positive fusion reaction is still to be reached. This is what many are racing to accomplish, from the international megaproject ITER to commercial fusion projects like Commonwealth Fusion Systems and Proxima Fusion.Commercial viability will depend not only on achieving stable and energy-positive plasma generation, but also on the general efficiency of the process.One open question is the fuel efficiency. Deuterium is known to be partially absorbed by the walls of the tokamak fusion reactors. Researchers at Princeton University, University of California, University of Tennessee, Sandia National Laboratory, and General Atomics are figuring it out.They published their results in Nuclear Materials and Energy1, under the title “Deuterium retention behaviors of boronization films at DIII-D divertor surface”.Deuterium, Tritium FusionThe lighter an atom is, the more potential energy is released when it undergoes nuclear fusion
Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, December 2024 - John Kruep has been appointed as Senior Director, People Operations at Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS).
Fusion, The Ultimate Energy SourceAs stable, reliable, cheap, and carbon-neutral energy supplies become an increasingly pressing issue, all eyes have been on nuclear solutions.This includes nuclear fission, or the splitting of heavy atoms like uranium, thorium, or plutonium. This technology is making a dramatic comeback on the back of the phasing out of coal and gas power plants, despite the need for baseload power generation, as well as the trends of electrification of transportation, heating, and industrial production.It is, however, not without problems, even for the more advanced 4th generation of nuclear power plants. Most notably, it still involves the handling of highly radioactive materials, something the public is still wary of and never going to be fully environmentally neutral.This is why scientists have been looking at the promises of nuclear fusion, which merge together atoms like hydrogen, the same phenomenon powering the Sun.This would use a fuel that is the most abundant element in the Universe and produce only harmless helium or lithium. It would also be powerful enough to make available essentially infinite energy, with zero risk of explosion or runaway chain reaction.The problem is that producing the required conditions is so hard to achieve that no fusion reactor has ever come close to commercialization so far.This might change in less than a decade, at least according to Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS). The company has just announced that it is moving toward building the first commercial fusion reactor in Virginia .CFS Reactor ProjectCommonwealth Fusion Systems is aiming for its ARC reactor to generate 400 MW for the Virginian power grid, which is enough to power 150,000 homes.This is a radical advancement for the field of nuclear fusion, as it always seemed that the first scale-up reactor was 20-30 years away. Even the massive international endeavor that is ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) is not expected to be finished before 2039.In comparison, the CFS reactor is planned to be built on a site owned by the energy company Dominion (D +0.2%)
CFS plans to invest billions into constructing the plant near Richmond, which is expected to generate 400 megawatts of electricity-enough to power around 150,000 homes.
Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS), founded in 2018 in Cambridge, Mass., plans to build a fusion power plant in Chesterfield County's James River Industrial Park.