Senior Systems Engineer, Fusion Programs

Avalanche Energy is a Washington-based startup building compact, deployable fusion systems through rapid hardware iteration. Rather than pursuing fusion as a single grid-scale outcome, Avalanche develops transportable fusion machines designed to be built, tested, and operated on short cycles, turning real hardware into steady progress. This approach enables near-term applications that demand extreme energy density and endurance—starting with fusion neutron production for radioisotope power and other defense and space uses—while advancing the underlying fusion platform.

Backed by U.S. government programs and a team experienced in delivering complex systems, Avalanche is focused on building fusion that runs in the real world, not just on paper.

You thrive in complex, technically demanding environments where the problems are not fully defined and the answers have to be built—not looked up. You are energized by bringing structure to ambiguity, connecting the work of scientists and engineers into coherent programs, and building the systems engineering foundations that scale. You are comfortable operating without a playbook, moving quickly across programs and disciplines, and earning credibility with technical subject matter experts through rigor and clarity.

You care about doing the fundamentals of systems engineering well—requirements, interfaces, traceability, reviews—because you understand why they matter, not just because a process demands them.

Avalanche Energy is hiring a Senior Systems Engineer to join our PMO and Systems Engineering team at a pivotal moment in the company’s growth. As we scale our Orbitron fusion device programs and stand up Fusion

WERX—our radiation testing and infrastructure facility in Richland, WA—we need an experienced systems engineer who can bring structure and clarity to complex, fast-moving technical programs.

• Partner with plasma physicists to extract, structure, and formalize experimental requirements and translate them into engineering-ready scope and roadmaps.
• Drive requirements definition for the next device class, including experiment objectives, device performance requirements, and development milestones.
• Facilitate technical reviews and working sessions with scientists and engineers to surface risks, clarify assumptions, and build shared program understanding.
• Represent the technical program to leadership in a clear, structured format—turning complex plasma science into actionable program direction.

• Define concept of operations (Con Ops), infrastructure requirements, and facility scope for Fusion
  
  WERX, coordinating across neutronics, regulatory, and engineering teams.
• Lead trade studies on facility sizing, vault configuration, radiation shielding, and infrastructure requirements—balancing near-term operational needs with long-term scalability.
• Develop and refine radioactive material handling procedures and access control requirements in coordination with the regulatory team.
• Manage external consultants contributing to facility definition and infrastructure design.
• Drive clarity in an open-ended, judgment-heavy problem space with limited precedent and ambiguous requirements.

• Establish and refine systems engineering processes across the PMO: gated review structures, requirements reviews, design reviews, test and verification planning.
• Support internal functional teams in adopting and executing consistent SE practices.
• Provide light program management support to material science projects, including supplier coordination and milestone tracking.
• Contribute to export control posture definition as needed, in coordination with the supply chain team.

• 8+ years of systems engineering experience in a technically demanding, fast-paced environment.
• Demonstrated ability to define and manage system requirements across complex, multi-disciplinary programs.
• Strong experience translating ambiguous technical inputs into structured scope, requirements, and roadmaps.
• Proven ability to work…