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Tritium Breeding Blanket Manufacturing Engineer

Munich
Full-time
Permanent employee

About the role

Tritium and deuterium are the two hydrogen isotopes that will fuel fusion power plants. While deuterium can be extracted from seawater, the supply of tritium is limited and therefore must be produced in the fusion facility. A way to generate tritium and ensure enough tritium inventory for power plants is to have breeding blankets containing lithium compounds inside the fusion device and a fully closed fuel cycle.

GFG is looking for a tritium breeding blanket manufacturing engineer to support the qualification of the TBB and its main interfacing systems. They will collaborate mainly with industry as well as national and international laboratories. Due to the sensitive nature of tritium, close collaboration with Nuclear Safety and Export Control experts will be necessary and at least basic knowledge in this field is required.

The successful candidate will have a relevant role in the qualification of the breeding blanket, particularly supporting the design, development, building and testing of representative mock-ups and prototypes. The main responsibility is to ensure that the final component can be manufacturable on an industrial scale and cost effective.


Main responsibilities

  • Review engineering, manufacturing deliverables (procedures, reports, manufacturing routes)
  • Control and verification of manufacturing project requirements
  • Documentation management and control
  • Follow-up on engineering activities (technical documentation during engineering and production phases)
  • Identify design issues, propose solutions and contribute to the updates of the associated design description documents
  • Provide design-for-manufacturing (DfM) guidance throughout concept evolution
  • Attendance of activities at partners and collaborators premises
  • Support mechanical design with engineering verification assessments against criteria defined in standards, regulations and codes
  • Define and develop manufacturing and assembly strategies and activities (focus on manufacturability assessment, mock-up and prototype development, evaluations and liaison with industrial partners to produce the manufacturing mock-ups)
  • Review design analysis and development of test prototypes for breeding blankets (technical design and construction of prototypes, CAD modeling, finite element modeling)
  • Support and review development of mock-ups, and full-scale prototypes

Qualification and educational requirements

  • A good master’s degree or equivalent in physics, mechanical engineering, materials engineering or nuclear engineering fields
  • Technical experience:
    • At least 5 years’ experience in manufacturing engineering roles, with demonstrated involvement in prototyping, pilot production and qualification phases in fusion, nuclear or aerospace industries
    • Hands-on experience in the follow-up of the manufacturing of mechanical components under a Quality Management System, involving some of the following activities: forging, sanding/surface coating, drilling, welding, machining, or electrical /TIG welding
    • Preferably with industrial experience in welding activities (International Welding Engineers, ideally) and Non-Destructive Testing techniques (Radiographic, Ultrasonic, Visual, Liquid penetrant), in particular for stainless steels
    • Knowledge of at least one code and standard used in the design and manufacturing of mechanical components (ASME III, ASME VIII, RCC-MR, RCC-MRx, Eurocodes, EN standards, etc.)
    • Verification of the compliance of mechanical components with at least one code and standard used in the manufacturing of such components (ASME III, ASME VIII, RCC-MR, RCCMRx, Eurocodes, EN standards, etc.)

Competences and preferred skills

  • Solid understanding of manufacturing processes and routes, including machining, forming, assembly, surface treatments and special processes relevant to the industry
  • Familiarity with design analysis and development of test prototypes
  • Familiarity with manufacturing readiness, process qualification, and production ramp-up activities
  • Experience working with suppliers or industrial partners on technical deliverables
  • Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
  • Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
  • Proactive, solution-oriented mindset
  • Ability to work effectively in cross-functional teams, interfacing with design, materials and quality
  • Familiarity with magnetic fusion and/or nuclear power-plant systems preferred
  • Proficiency in English. Ability to read and communicate in German and or French preferred.

About us

Gauss Fusion is a European fusion company focused on industrialising stellarator fusion and developing a modular power plant architecture, critical technologies and industrial capabilities required for scaling fusion power plants in the future.


The start-up was founded in 2022 by Frank Laukien together with European high-tech companies with capabilities in magnetic-confinement fusion and component production for Fusion experiments like ITER. Gauss Fusion combines fusion science and systems engineering with industrial engineering and manufacturing expertise. Its peer-reviewed GIGA™ power-plant platform provides the technologically most promising system-level architecture to build cost-efficient stellarator power plants at scale.


Within this architecture, Gauss Fusion is advancing critical technologies in areas including demountable magnet systems, tritium breeding, fuel-cycle technologies, and plasma exhaust. Working with industrial partners, technology providers and leading research institutions across Europe, the company is building the engineering, technologies and supply-chain capabilities required to progress stellarator fusion towards industrial deployment.

 

Join us on our journey to revolutionize the energy landscape and make fusion power a reality.

The time is now!