Plasma Diagnostics Physicist

Role Summary You will design, build, calibrate, and operate the diagnostic systems that tell us whether our PFRC plasma is doing what we think it is doing. In a low s-parameter FRC heated by odd-parity rotating magnetic fields, standard diagnostic assumptions often break down: the plasma is compact, high-beta, with strong spatial gradients and a magnetic null on axis. You must understand the plasma physics well enough to know what each diagnostic is actually measuring in this geometry, and what it is not measuring. You are the person who prevents the team from believing a false signal.

What You Will Own The diagnostic architecture for the experimental device: what to measure, where, how, and at what cadence. This includes interferometry for line-averaged density, soft X-ray spectroscopy for electron temperature, magnetic probes for field topology, and eventually ion energy analyzers. Calibration, error budgets, and systematic uncertainty analysis. You are responsible for knowing the limits of every measurement on the machine. Integration of diagnostic data into a coherent picture of plasma state, density, temperature, field structure, confinement time; that can be compared against simulation predictions. Co-development with the simulation team to design diagnostics that can discriminate between competing physics models (e.g., classical vs. anomalous transport).

What We Are Really Looking For You have built or significantly modified plasma diagnostics with your own hands. You understand the optics, electronics, vacuum interfaces, and data acquisition chain from photon (or particle) to processed signal. You understand how FRC geometry changes diagnostic interpretation: line-integrated measurements through a high-beta, compact plasma with a field null require careful Abel inversion or forward modeling, not naive assumptions. You can design a Thomson scattering, interferometric, or spectroscopic system from scratch if needed, and you know when a simpler probe-based measurement is sufficient. You have strong signal-processing skills and can distinguish real plasma signals from RF pickup, cable noise, and ground loops, especially critical in an RMFo environment where strong RF fields are always present. You reason about measurement physics, not just measurement technique. You ask: \"What is this diagnostic actually sensitive to in this specific magnetic geometry?\"

Who Should Not Apply You operate diagnostics that others designed and built but have never designed a diagnostic system yourself or made hard tradeoff decisions about what to measure. You work only with one diagnostic technique and are not willing to learn others. This role requires breadth across multiple measurement methods. You have never dealt with RF interference in a diagnostic environment. In a PFRC machine, RMFo fields are on during every shot. If you have not solved EMI problems, this role will be very difficult. You prefer large, well-funded facilities where diagnostics are already mature. Here, you will be building the first generation of everything.

Experience Range

PhD in plasma physics, applied physics, or experimental physics with a strong diagnostics thesis or equivalent post-doctoral diagnostic development work. 2–8 years of experience designing and operating diagnostics on magnetically confined plasma experiments. Candidates from laser plasma or Z-pinch diagnostics backgrounds are welcome if the measurement physics skills transfer.

Compensation

Compensation will be globally competitive and benchmarked against strong U.S. and European standards for exceptional talent.

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