Posted 1 month ago
Computational Plasma Physicist – Transport Modeling
AI Summary
The transport modeling physicist will develop and apply kinetic and fluid models to predict heat, particle, and momentum transport in optimized stellarator geometries, translating physics into actionable constraints for coil optimization and operational scenarios.
About this role
As a transport modeling physicist at Thea Energy, you will be an architect of our plasma performance projections. You will apply advanced kinetic and fluid models to characterize heat, particle, and momentum transport in highly-optimized stellarator geometries. Your objective is to transform fundamental physics into actionable constraints, guiding our equilibrium+coil optimization and operational scenarios to ensure the success of our next generation fusion devices.
Key Responsibilities:
- Perform/analyze integrated modeling simulations to predict performance and develop scenarios for Thea Energy’s Eos and Helios stellarators.
- Utilize gyrokinetic, fluid, and/or reduced transport solvers to provide projections of confinement, heat, particle, and momentum transport.
- Maintain and extend existing gyrokinetic and transport frameworks
- Build reproducible simulation pipelines and data analysis tools to streamline the design-to-validation loop.
- Use insights from turbulence and transport analysis to guide equilibrium and coil optimization.
- Collaborate with the physics and engineering team to develop scenarios and interpret results from current hardware.
Required Experience & Skillsets:
Qualifications:
- PhD in Plasma Physics, Computational Physics, Applied Mathematics, or a related field. (Candidates with a Master’s degree and 3+ years of direct experience in transport/turbulence modeling will be considered).
- Strong understanding of gyrokinetic theory and transport processes
- Expertise in developing scientific simulation codes using Python, C++, or Fortran.
- Proven experience working in Linux-based HPC environments with a focus on code scalability and performance.
- Direct experience running core (e.g. GENE, stella, CGYRO, GX) and/or edge (GENE-X, XGC, Gkeyll) gyrokinetic codes.
- Experience with stellarator-specific equilibrium and stability codes such as VMEC, STELLOPT, DESC, and/or TERPSICHORE.
- Familiarity with advanced numerical methods, GPU programming, and/or developing surrogate/reduced models.
- A track record of peer-reviewed publications and the ability to present complex physics to multi-disciplinary engineering teams.
- Ability to manage complex projects from theory to implementation with minimal supervision.
- A passion for fusion energy and a desire to work in a fast-paced, collaborative startup environment.
- Rigorous approach to code verification and physics validation.
Preferred Skills:
Personal Attributes: