{"id":480740,"url":"https://alion.io/job/zap-energy-plasma-device-operations-engineer","title":"Plasma Device Operations Engineer","company":{"id":11310,"name":"Zap Energy","domain":"zapenergy.com","url":"https://alion.io/company/zapenergy","size_band":"501-1000","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Rippling","truth_index":{"grade":"A","score":90,"open_postings":11,"ghost_share":0.091,"stale_share":0,"repost_share":0,"time_to_fill_p50_days":105,"computed_at":"2026-10-30T05:48:23Z"}},"role":"Industrial Engineering","role_family":"Industrial Engineering","seniority":"middle","employment_type":"full_time","work_mode":"on_site","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":["Everett, United States"],"countries":["US"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":{"min":95000,"max":130000,"currency":"USD","period":"year","gross":null,"usd_annual":130000},"salary_estimate":null,"experience_years_min":3,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[{"name":"EtherCAT","optional":false},{"name":"MATLAB","optional":false},{"name":"Python","optional":false}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-07-27T22:40:11Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-07-27","last_verified_at":"2026-10-30T20:53:49Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":94,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":0,"flags":["company_stale"],"days_open":93},"description":"About Zap Energy\nZap is advancing the next generation of nuclear power technology across fusion, fission and hybrid applications. Built on an integrated platform of high-energy-density physics and pulsed power, liquid metals and advanced materials, and compact, modular systems, Zap is building the foundational technologies needed to deploy the energy sources of the future.\n At Zap, a Plasma Device Operations Engineer owns the day-to-day execution of experimental shots on the plasma experimental devices. You will be responsible for machine readiness, shot execution, first-line troubleshooting, and data quality across every run. This is a deeply cross-functional role: you will coordinate with diagnostics engineers, controls engineers and plasma physicists to configure the machine for each experimental campaign and ensure that the data coming out of every shot is trustworthy and traceable.\nYou are comfortable with high-voltage hardware, understand PLC-based shot sequencing and interlock systems, and can read oscilloscope and digitizer traces well enough to distinguish a good shot from a bad one in real time. You enjoy the fast feedback loop of experimental operations and take ownership of machine uptime.\nKey Responsibilities\nDevice Operation Coordination\nServe as the operational point of contact across engineering disciplines - plasma physics, diagnostics, controls, and pulsed-power - to align all subsystems before each shot campaign and experimental run day\nLead pre-shot coordination to confirm machine configuration, diagnostic readiness, gas and timing parameters, and run plan objectives with all stakeholders\nMaintain and communicate the master run schedule, balancing competing requests from physics campaigns, hardware maintenance windows, and engineering development work\nTrack action items and blockers across teams that affect machine availability, and drive them to resolution with a clear owner and deadline\nCoordinate access and activities during machine downtime, ensuring maintenance, installation, and calibration tasks from multiple teams are sequenced safely and efficiently without conflicts\nMachine Operations & Shot Execution\nExecute daily experimental shot sequences on Zap's FuZE devices, from machine configuration and pre-shot checkout through post-shot data review\nMonitor machine state, plasma formation, and diagnostic health in real time during shot campaigns\nMaintain and update shot logs, run plans, and machine configuration records in MDSplus and associated databases\nCoordinate with the diagnostics team to confirm all data acquisition systems (D-TACQ digitizers, Rogowski coils, B-dot probes, optical diagnostics) are armed, triggered, and capturing clean data\nApply and verify interlock system states prior to each shot; respond to interlock faults and document corrective actions\nData Quality & Traceability\nReview shot data after each run to flag bad shots, misconfigured diagnostics, or anomalous machine behavior before they propagate into analysis\nMaintain MDSplus tree structure and ensure shot metadata (machine configuration, gas species, gas pressure, charging voltage, timing parameters) is accurately recorded for every shot\nWrite and maintain Python or MATLAB scripts for automated post-shot data quality checks and shot acceptance criteria\nCoordinate with physicists to ensure shot parameters match the experimental campaign plan\nControls & Interlock Systems\nOperate and monitor the PLC-based machine control system (PICS & Beckhoff TwinCAT 3 / EtherCAT) for shot sequencing, interlock logic, and timing\nIdentify and report PLC or control system faults; collaborate with the controls engineering team to implement and validate fixes\nAssist in writing, reviewing, and testing control system sequences for new operational modes or machine configurations\nMaintain documentation of interlock logic, timing diagrams, and operational procedures\nSafety & Compliance\nEnforce high-voltage and pulsed-power safety procedures for all personnel during machine operations\nParticipate in safety reviews for machine modifications and new experimental configurations\nMaintain machine-specific operational procedures and lockout/tagout documentation\nTrain new team members on FuZE devices operational procedures, safety protocols, and shot execution workflows\nRequired Qualifications\nB.S. or M.S. in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Physics, or a closely related field\n3+ years of hands-on experience operating experimental physics, pulsed-power, or high-voltage laboratory equipment\nDemonstrated comfort working around high-voltage (>1 kV) systems and pulsed-power hardware with strict adherence to safety procedures\nExperience with data acquisition systems and familiarity with digitizer configuration, triggering, and first-order data review\nAbility to read and interpret electrical schematics, timing diagrams, and oscilloscope/digitizer waveforms\nStrong written communication skills for maintaining run logs, procedures, and machine status documentation\nHighly organized and systematic - capable of managing multiple concurrent maintenance tasks and shot campaign priorities without losing traceability\nPreferred Qualifications\nExperience operating pulsed-power machines, Z-pinch devices, plasma guns, tokamaks, or similar plasma physics experimental platforms\nFamiliarity with MDSplus for experimental data storage and retrieval (Python or IDL interface preferred)\nExperience with PLC-based industrial control systems, particularly Beckhoff TwinCAT 3 or Siemens; ability to read and understand structured text or ladder logic\nExperience with D-TACQ, CAEN, Spectrum Instrumentation, or NI digitizer platforms\nPython scripting experience for data quality automation, plotting, or configuration management\nFamiliarity with vacuum systems (turbomolecular pumps, ion gauges, residual gas analyzers) and gas handling hardware\nExperience with high-voltage capacitor banks, Marx generators, or triggered spark gap switches\nKnowledge of EPICS or similar accelerator/fusion control frameworks\nEmployment may be conditioned upon the ability to obtain export authorization. Estimated salary range: $ 95,000- 130,000 annually. Candidates may be considered for other positions at Zap Energy and actual salary will be based on relevant education, experience, and other qualifications. Range is published in accordance with Washington Equal Pay and Opportunity Act.\nZap Energy is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran status, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws and regulations.","description_format":"text","description_chars":6927,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":3,"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","Nuclear Energy"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-09-06T16:21:57Z"}],"visa":[{"country":"US","licensed_sponsor":true,"evidence":"H-1B filings in 12 months: 2","filings_12m":2,"filings_prev_12m":0,"green_card_filings_12m":0,"median_offered_wage_usd":202500,"route":null,"cap_exempt":false,"checked_at":"2026-10-29T16:27:21+00:00","sources":["US Department of Labor: LCA disclosure data (H-1B, H-1B1, E-3)"],"filings_for_role_12m":0}],"liveness":{"score":46,"band":"ok","label":"Likely open","p_open":1,"p_active":0.764,"p_room":0.6,"age_days":94,"expected_fill_days":105,"reasons":["conf:2","win:late","crowd:"],"computed_at":"2026-10-30T05:48:23Z"},"pay":{"stated_usd_annual":130000,"is_top_pay":true},"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/zap-energy-plasma-device-operations-engineer","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/zap-energy-plasma-device-operations-engineer.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-10-30T22:10:22Z","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":12798,"day_limit":null,"remaining_today":null,"minute_limit":300,"resets_at":"2026-10-31T00:00:00Z"}},"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":11310},"rest":"https://alion.io/mcp/rest/get_company?id=11310"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.slices&for=job%2Fzap-energy-plasma-device-operations-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%2Fzap-energy-plasma-device-operations-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%2Fzap-energy-plasma-device-operations-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/zap-energy-plasma-device-operations-engineer\", \"note\": \"what you need it for\"}"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.verify&for=job%2Fzap-energy-plasma-device-operations-engineer"}],"agent":{"mcp":"https://alion.io/mcp/jobs","mcp_open":"https://alion.io/mcp/open","next":[{"tool":"get_job","arguments":{"id":480740}},{"tool":"search_jobs","arguments":{"company":"zapenergy.com","detail":"compact"}},{"tool":"match_people","arguments":{"job_id":480740},"note":"people open to offers who fit this vacancy"}],"note":"The same data through MCP tools: https://alion.io/mcp/open needs no sign-in (compact searches, postings, people); https://alion.io/mcp with an Alion account has everything. Docs: https://alion.io/developers"}}