Plasma Device Operations Engineer

About the role

At Zap, a Plasm a 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.

You 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.

Key Responsibilities

Device Operation Coordination

• Serve 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
• Lead pre-shot coordination to confirm machine configuration, diagnostic readiness, gas and timing parameters, and run plan objectives with all stakeholders
• Maintain and communicate the master run schedule, balancing competing requests from physics campaigns, hardware maintenance windows, and engineering development work
• Track action items and blockers across teams that affect machine availability, and drive them to resolution with a clear owner and deadline
• Coordinate access and activities during machine downtime, ensuring maintenance, installation, and calibration tasks from multiple teams are sequenced safely and efficiently without conflicts

Machine Operations & Shot Execution

• Execute daily experimental shot sequences on Zap's FuZE devices, from machine configuration and pre-shot checkout through post-shot data review
• Monitor machine state, plasma formation, and diagnostic health in real time during shot campaigns
• Maintain and update shot logs, run plans, and machine configuration records in MDSplus and associated databases
• Coordinate 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
• Apply and verify interlock system states prior to each shot; respond to interlock faults and document corrective actions

Data Quality & Traceability

• Review shot data after each run to flag bad shots, misconfigured diagnostics, or anomalous machine behavior before they propagate into analysis
• Maintain MDSplus tree structure and ensure shot metadata (machine configuration, gas species, gas pressure, charging voltage, timing parameters) is accurately recorded for every shot
• Write and maintain Python or MATLAB scripts for automated post-shot data quality checks and shot acceptance criteria
• Coordinate with physicists to ensure shot parameters match the experimental campaign plan

Controls & Interlock Systems

• Operate and monitor the PLC-based machine control system (PICS & Beckhoff TwinCAT 3 / EtherCAT) for shot sequencing, interlock logic, and timing
• Identify and report PLC or control system faults; collaborate with the controls engineering team to implement and validate fixes
• Assist in writing, reviewing, and testing control system sequences for new operational modes or machine configurations
• Maintain documentation of interlock logic, timing diagrams, and operational procedures

Safety & Compliance

• Enforce high-voltage and pulsed-power safety procedures for all personnel during machine operations
• Participate in safety reviews for machine modifications and new experimental configurations
• Maintain machine-specific operational procedures and lockout/tagout documentation
• Train new team members on FuZE devices operational procedures, safety protocols, and shot execution workflows

Required Qualifications

• B.S. or M.S. in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Physics, or a closely related field
• 3+ years of hands-on experience operating experimental physics, pulsed-power, or high-voltage laboratory equipment
• Demonstrated comfort working around high-voltage (>1 kV) systems and pulsed-power hardware with strict adherence to safety procedures
• Experience with data acquisition systems and familiarity with digitizer configuration, triggering, and first-order data review
• Ability to read and interpret electrical schematics, timing diagrams, and oscilloscope/digitizer waveforms
• Strong written communication skills for maintaining run logs, procedures, and machine status documentation
• Highly organized and systematic — capable of managing multiple concurrent maintenance tasks and shot campaign priorities without losing traceability

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience operating pulsed-power machines, Z-pinch devices, plasma guns, tokamaks, or similar plasma physics experimental platforms
• Familiarity with MDSplus for experimental data storage and retrieval (Python or IDL interface preferred)
• Experience with PLC-based industrial control systems, particularly Beckhoff TwinCAT 3 or Siemens; ability to read and understand structured text or ladder logic
• Experience with D-TACQ, CAEN, Spectrum Instrumentation, or NI digitizer platforms
• Python scripting experience for data quality automation, plotting, or configuration management
• Familiarity with vacuum systems (turbomolecular pumps, ion gauges, residual gas analyzers) and gas handling hardware
• Experience with high-voltage capacitor banks, Marx generators, or triggered spark gap switches
• Knowledge of EPICS or similar accelerator/fusion control frameworks

Pay and benefits

Employment 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.

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