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Fusion Materials Scientist

Munich
Full-time
Permanent employee

About the role

Materials’ performance and qualification are central to the design of a fusion power plant. In-vessel and blanket systems must combine low activation, thermal and mechanical performance, resistance to irradiation and corrosion, tritium control, manufacturability and a credible industrial supply chain. These requirements involve metals, ceramics, composites, coatings, joints and breeder or shielding materials.

GFG is looking for a Fusion Materials Scientist to work across various aspects of material science. The role connects design, Materials properties, Materials Concepts, manufacturing, and supply-chain work, in collaboration with industrial partners, universities and national and international laboratories.

The successful candidate will support Gauss Fusion's current and planned materials portfolio, including low-activation steels, first-wall and blanket interfaces, SiC-based materials, shielding materials, breeder-material lifecycles and irradiation-relevant qualification. Assignments may include activities along a broad range of Projects, according to active priorities and approved project scopes.

Main responsibilities

  • Translate plant and component functions, load cases, interfaces, safety requirements and lifetime targets into materials requirements and acceptance criteria
  • Lead materials activities across metals, ceramics, composites, coatings, joints, breeder materials and shielding materials
  • Define qualification strategies and phased test programmes from material screening and coupons to representative mock-ups and components
  • Plan and review chemical, microstructural, mechanical and thermophysical characterization, including corrosion and compatibility, permeation, fatigue, thermal cycling, high-heat-flux and irradiation-relevant testing as applicable
  • Assess degradation and failure mechanisms and translate test evidence into design decisions, operating limits and lifetime assessments
  • Provide materials input to mechanical design, manufacturing routes, joining and coating development, neutronics and activation, tritium management and nuclear-safety activities
  • Define specimen matrices, test protocols, data-quality requirements, uncertainty treatment, traceability and technical acceptance criteria
  • Develop materials specifications, databases and qualification evidence, and support code-entry and licensing-readiness roadmaps
  • Review supplier and partner deliverables, facilities, process genealogy, quality records and non-destructive examination plans
  • Coordinate technical interfaces, deliverables, risks and decisions across research projects and support the preparation of work packages, proposals and technical reports
  • Evaluate industrial scale-up, supply-chain resilience, recycling and end-of-life implications for fusion-relevant materials
  • Work with Quality, Nuclear Safety and Export Control experts where materials, data or technologies require controlled handling, and attend activities at partner and supplier premises.

Qualification and educational requirements

  • A master's degree or PhD in materials science, metallurgy, materials engineering, solid-state physics, nuclear engineering or a closely related field
  • Technical experience:
    • At least 5 years of relevant experience in materials research, development or qualification, preferably in fusion, nuclear, aerospace, energy or another safety-relevant industry
    • Strong expertise in at least two relevant material classes or technologies, such as reduced-activation or 9Cr steels, stainless steels, tungsten and refractory metals, ceramics or composites, coatings, diffusion barriers, joints, breeder materials or shielding materials
    • Hands-on experience with materials characterization and testing, such as microscopy, chemical and phase analysis, mechanical testing, fracture or fatigue, thermophysical measurements, corrosion or environmental exposure
    • Experience defining test matrices and qualification evidence under a quality-management system, with controlled data, specimen and process traceability
    • Sound understanding of material degradation under high temperature, cyclic loads, irradiation, transmutation, corrosion or hydrogen-isotope exposure; direct fusion experience is preferred but not mandatory
    • Ability to interpret and apply relevant material, pressure-equipment or nuclear design and qualification standards, for example EN standards, ASTM, ASME BPVC or RCC-MRx
    • Experience coordinating technical work with research institutes, testing facilities, manufacturers or suppliers and producing reviewable technical documentation

Competences and preferred skills

  • Strong understanding of process-structure-property-performance relationships and how they affect component design and qualification
  • Ability to analyse incomplete or conflicting materials data, quantify uncertainty and make clear, evidence-based recommendations
  • Familiarity with materials databases, statistical analysis or computational materials and lifetime-modelling tools is an advantage
  • Experience working with industrial suppliers and research partners on technical scope, test plans and deliverables
  • Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with a practical approach to experimental planning
  • Clear technical writing, documentation and presentation skills
  • Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
  • Ability to work effectively in cross-functional teams spanning design, neutronics, manufacturing, quality, safety and commercial functions
  • Familiarity with magnetic fusion, fission or other nuclear systems is preferred but not mandatory
  • Proficiency in English; the ability to communicate in German and/or French is 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!