{"id":237786,"url":"https://alion.io/job/commonwealth-fusion-systems-principal-rf-systems-engineer","title":"Principal RF Systems Engineer","company":{"id":8705,"name":"Commonwealth Fusion Systems","domain":"cfs.energy","url":"https://alion.io/company/commonwealth-fusion-systems","size_band":"1001-5000","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Lever","truth_index":{"grade":"A","score":85,"open_postings":5,"ghost_share":0,"stale_share":0.6,"repost_share":0,"time_to_fill_p50_days":53,"computed_at":"2026-10-21T05:46:15Z"}},"role":"Hardware","role_family":"Hardware","seniority":"lead","employment_type":"full_time","work_mode":"on_site","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":["Devens, United States"],"countries":["US"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":{"min":150000,"max":225000,"currency":"USD","period":"year","gross":null,"usd_annual":225000},"salary_estimate":null,"experience_years_min":15,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-08-06T14:21:12Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-08-06","last_verified_at":"2026-10-21T05:11:39Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":75,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":null,"flags":[],"days_open":75},"description":"Join the power movement as a Principal RF Systems Engineer\nSPARC sustains fusion reactions by feeding >25MW of 120MHz RF power into the tokamak to heat the plasma to 100 million Kelvin. We need a Principal RF Systems Engineer to play a pivotal role in building the most powerful RF plant in the world.\nAt this level, you are a highly influential architect of the system. You will help drive the high-level technical direction while remaining deeply hands-on, taking a central role in the integration of high-power electronics, solid-state amplification, and complex transmission networks to ensure SPARC achieves net energy.\nFor more information on the SPARC RF plant, see the SPARC journal papers here:\nOverview of the SPARC tokamak\nPhysics basis for the ICRF system of the SPARC tokamak\nWhat you'll do:\nShape System Architecture: Play a critical role in the end-to-end design and integration strategy for RF plants for tokamaks, collaborating with other senior engineers to ensure seamless interaction between RF sources, matching networks, and the dynamic plasma load\nGuide Solid-State & Electronics Integration: Act as a key driver in the architecture and design of the electronics ecosystems required to integrate massive, distributed RF systems, with a heavy emphasis on solid-state amplifier technology and associated power supplies\n Spearhead Instrumentation & Control (I&C): Take the initiative in designing and integrating advanced RF signal detection, measurement circuits, and embedded digital controllers that interface seamlessly with SPARC’s central data collection systems\nTame High-Power Delivery: Serve as a central figure in the hands-on design, integration, and optimization of critical high-power transmission components, specifically large-diameter coax lines and dynamic impedance matching networks\nHands-on Technical Mentorship: Act as a senior technical authority on the floor. You will be actively involved in commissioning equipment, troubleshooting the most complex system-level hardware discrepancies, and organically mentoring junior engineers to elevate the entire RF team's capabilities\nWhat we’re looking for:\n Education: Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Physics, or a related field (Master’s or Ph.D. strongly preferred for this level)\nExperience: 15+ years of hands-on experience in high-power RF systems, radar, particle accelerators, or heavy industrial power electronics\nRF Fundamentals Expertise: Proven intuition for high-power RF environments, specifically hands-on experience measuring forward and reflected RF power, diagnosing RF arcs, and designing the timing and electronics to mitigate them\n Electronics & Design: Exceptional skills in RF circuit and electronics design (Altium or similar) specifically geared toward instrumentation, sensing, control, and system integration. Experience in EMI/EMC mitigation to ensure sensitive timing and RF detection circuits operate reliably within extreme high-power, high-noise environments\n Advanced Simulation: High proficiency in RF/Microwave simulation software (CST, HFSS, etc.) to validate architectural decisions before physical integration\n Cross-Disciplinary Fluency: A strong systems-level understanding of modern high-performance embedded digital controllers, high speed communications, and fundamentals of mechanical/thermal design to interface effectively with cross-functional teams\nMust-have Requirements:\nPerform activities such as stooping, climbing, typing, standing, or sitting for extended periods of time\nWillingness to travel or work required nights/weekends/on-call occasionally\nWork in a facility that contains industrial hazards including heat, cold, noise, fumes, strong magnets, lead (Pb), high voltage, high current, pressure systems, and cryogenics","description_format":"text","description_chars":3775,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":15,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":{"level":"bachelor","optional":false},"security_clearance":false,"languages":[]},"benefits":[],"hiring_locations":[],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":false,"industries":["Energy & Utilities"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-09-05T10:12:37Z"}],"visa":[],"liveness":{"score":31,"band":"fade","label":"Fading","p_open":1,"p_active":0.712,"p_room":0.44,"age_days":75,"expected_fill_days":53,"reasons":["conf:0","velocity","win:tail","crowd:brand"],"computed_at":"2026-10-21T05:46:15Z"},"pay":{"stated_usd_annual":225000,"is_top_pay":true},"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/commonwealth-fusion-systems-principal-rf-systems-engineer","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/commonwealth-fusion-systems-principal-rf-systems-engineer.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-10-21T09:15:08Z","cache_seconds":300,"methodology":"https://alion.io/methodology","terms":"https://alion.io/terms","contact":"https://alion.io/contact","api":"https://alion.io/developers","about":"Alion is a live layer of people, companies and AI agents: who they are, whether they are real and active right now, what they do and how to work with them, readable by people and by agents and paid per call.","catalog":"https://alion.io/catalog.json","usage":{"tier":"crawler_verified","counted_by":"address","units_charged":1,"used_today":13100,"day_limit":null,"remaining_today":null,"minute_limit":300,"resets_at":"2026-10-22T00:00:00Z"}},"offers":[{"id":"company.slices","title":"One company in depth, by slice","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002,"plus_per_slice":{"credits":0.05,"usd":0.005}},"unit":"per company, plus each slice with data","note":"the employer in depth","call":{"mcp_tool":"get_company","arguments":{"id":8705},"rest":"https://alion.io/mcp/rest/get_company?id=8705"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.slices&for=job%2Fcommonwealth-fusion-systems-principal-rf-systems-engineer"},{"id":"market.stats","title":"A market slice: pay, demand and time to fill","status":"live","price":{"credits":1,"usd":0.1},"unit":"per slice","note":"pay, demand and time to fill for this role and place","call":{"mcp_tool":"market_stats"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=market.stats&for=job%2Fcommonwealth-fusion-systems-principal-rf-systems-engineer"},{"id":"job.search","title":"Open jobs by role, technology, place, pay and visa","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002},"unit":"per posting in a list","note":"similar open postings","call":{"mcp_tool":"search_jobs"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=job.search&for=job%2Fcommonwealth-fusion-systems-principal-rf-systems-engineer"},{"id":"company.verify","title":"Is this company real and active right now","status":"pilot","price":null,"unit":"per company","request":{"url":"https://alion.io/catalog/request","method":"POST","body":"{\"offer\": \"company.verify\", \"for\": \"job/commonwealth-fusion-systems-principal-rf-systems-engineer\", \"note\": \"what you need it for\"}"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.verify&for=job%2Fcommonwealth-fusion-systems-principal-rf-systems-engineer"}]}