Plasma Edge Transport Physicist

About the Position

Plasma Edge Transport Physicist

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Location

Munich, Bavaria, Germany

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Employment Type

Full time

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Department

Stellarator Architecture, Plasma Modelling & Research, Numerical Optimization

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About the Company

Proxima Fusion is Europe’s fastest-growing fusion company and the continent’s best-funded fusion player, as well as the first spin-out from the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (IPP). Backed by over €650M and powered by a growing team across Munich, Zurich, and Oxford, we are developing the hardware and infrastructure needed to deliver the world’s first commercial stellarator fusion power plant.

Our concept advances the most mature fusion technology out there, the Wendelstein 7-X stellarator, through two next-generation machines: Alpha and Stellaris. Our work combines stellarator optimization, advanced computation, machine learning, and high-temperature superconducting magnets to unlock higher-performance designs that were previously out of reach.

Turning these designs into a functioning fusion power plant requires excellence and ownership across every discipline, from physics and engineering to software, manufacturing, law, and business functions.

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Responsibilities

• Shape the architecture of the world’s first commercial fusion power plant – Own system-level decisions that determine how a first-of-a-kind energy technology is designed, integrated, and ultimately deployed at scale.
• Solve some of the most complex engineering challenges in industry – Work across tightly coupled disciplines (plasma physics, magnets, cryogenics, manufacturing, controls, and more) to resolve critical trade-offs and turn cutting-edge science into a functioning product.
• Build real hardware with a pragmatic, fast-moving team from all over the world – Combine advanced simulation and systems thinking with a strong execution mindset, focusing on practical engineering solutions that accelerate the path to commercial fusion energy.

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Requirements

• Hold a postgraduate degree in plasma physics.
• Strong experience in edge transport and a clear interest in translating physics understanding into a practical plasma exhaust strategy.
• Bring experience using simulation and modeling to inform the geometry and operational limits of high-heat-flux systems.
• Are comfortable working across disciplines, collaborating directly with engineers to frame open-ended design challenges, proposing solutions, testing ideas, and iterating quickly.
• Proficient in scientific programming languages (Python, Julia, C++, and/or Fortran).
• Take initiative, communicate clearly, and are motivated by building systems that will define the future of fusion energy.

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We Offer

• Work on some of the most critical physics challenges that govern the conceptual viability and optimal performance of steady state fusion reactors.
• Advance the next generation of edge transport physics models (including turbulent transport characterisation, drift effects, and impurity migration) required for reactor-relevant stellarator exhaust solutions.
• Apply state-of-the-art numerical models directly to hardware design decisions with reactor-scale impact.
• Contribute to the European initiative leading the critical path to a fusion power plant.
• Work alongside talented, mission-driven experts in a supportive, ambitious environment that is building real devices, not just reactor concepts.

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About the Company

At Proxima Fusion, our mission is bold: making limitless clean energy a reality. To get there, we need a high-performing, diverse team that brings different perspectives, challenges assumptions, and builds together with purpose. We know that diversity of thought and experience leads to better ideas, stronger execution, and a more resilient team. We don’t look at how you identify, what you look like, who you choose to worship or what ethnicity you are. We care about what you can bring to the table.