Senior Materials Science Manager

About Helion We are a fusion power company based in Everett, WA, with the mission to build the world's first fusion power plant, enabling a future with unlimited clean electricity. Our vision is a world with clean, reliable, and affordable energy for everyone. Since Helion's founding in 2013, we have raised over $1 billion from long-time investors such as Sam Altman, Mithril, and Capricorn Investment Group as well as new investors SoftBank and Lightspeed to propel us forward. Our last prototype, Trenta, completed 10,000 high-power pulses and reached plasma temperatures of 100 million degrees Celsius (9 keV). We are now operating Polaris, our next prototype on the path to the world's first fusion power plant. This is a pivotal time to join Helion. You will tackle real-world challenges with a team that prizes urgency, rigor, ownership, and a commitment to delivering hard truths – values essential to achieving what no one has before. Together, we will change the future of energy, because the world can't wait. What You Will Be Doing: You will lead Helion’s Materials Interactions and Diagnostics team with a strong focus on developing and deploying critical capabilities that enable the design, testing, and monitoring of materials for extreme environments. You will oversee the delivery of key R&D tools and guide a team of subject matter experts to meet Helion’s materials innovation goals. This onsite position is based in our Everett, WA office and reports to the Director of Materials Science. You Will: - Set the strategic vision for Materials Interactions and Diagnostics, establishing long-term technical roadmaps spanning characterization, modeling, monitoring, and lifetime prediction in fusion-relevant environments. - Lead, develop, and support subject matter experts driving the development and deployment of new lab infrastructure, driving materials monitoring technologies and developing predictive models and simulations to extend material performance and reliability. - Own end-to-end delivery of infrastructure and platforms, including advanced materials characterization systems, in-situ monitoring technologies, and integrated modeling frameworks. - Build and manage a network of collaborative relationships, both internally and externally, to develop new materials that can survive a fusion environment. - Translate annual goals into objective tasks and manage month-to-month planning towards completing goals and objectives. Drive schedule ownership to accelerate the completion of milestones. Required Skills: - 10+ years of materials-related industry experience and 3+ years of management experience - Proven experience leading R&D organizations delivering complex, high-impact technologies in demanding environments. - Deep expertise in materials characterization, degradation mechanisms, and lifetime prediction, including high temperature, and stress-driven phenomena. - Experience with multiphysics modeling (e.g., Matlab, COMSOL, Python), with the ability to integrate modeling into decision-making frameworks. - Expertise in NDT and in-situ diagnostics, with a track record of advancing monitoring capabilities for critical systems. - Demonstrated success in hiring, mentoring, and developing managers and senior technical talent. - Ability to operate with high autonomy in ambiguous, fast-paced environments, balancing rapid execution with long-term strategic thinking. Benefits Our total compensation package includes benefits, including but not limited to: • Medical, Dental, and Vision plans for employees and their families • 31 Days of PTO (21 vacation days and 10 sick days) • 10 Paid holidays, plus company-wide winter break • Up to 5% employer 401(k) match • Short term disability, long term disability, and life insurance • Paid parental leave and support (up to 16 weeks) • Annual wellness stipend Helion is an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, g