Director of Semiconductor Technology

Employer description

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 $1.5 billion from long-time investors such as Sam Altman, Mithril, and Capricorn Investment Group as well as new investors including Thrive Capital, LightSpeed Venture Capital, SoftBank, and others to propel us forward. Our current prototype, Polaris, has reached record-breaking plasma temperatures of 150 million degrees Celsius (13 keV). Helion is continuing to iterate and on the path to the world’s first fusion power plant, Orion.

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.

Why This Role MattersEvery Helion fusion pulse runs current through semiconductor switches operated well beyond commercial ratings. Our next generation of fusion machines requires devices designed for our circuits rather than adapted to them, gated devices integrated as multi-die modules, and packaging that survives repetitive high-energy pulsing for power plant-scale lifetimes. You will lead the team that delivers these, from device physics through a development-scale fabrication capability to pilot module assembly and test, and you will carry it into high-volume production with external fabrication partners. Your team’s work will help determine how reliably Helion’s power plants operate, how frequently they can pulse, and how effectively we can manufacture and deploy future plants.

What You Will Be DoingOwn Helion’s semiconductor roadmap, working with technical leadership to define device requirements and deliver the capabilities needed for successive generations of fusion machines. Bring the technical judgment on which devices we build, which we source, and how the roadmap supports successive generations of fusion machines

Build and lead a focused, multi-disciplinary team of semiconductor scientists, device R&D engineers, and technicians from scratch.

Stand up a development-scale device fabrication, characterization and reliability capability, and own the tooling, process, and facility decisions behind it

Direct in-house device design, including alternative device topologies optimized for Helion’s pulsed-power circuits

Drive novel packaging and integration: multi-die packages for gated devices used in series, deeply integrated thermal management for repetitive operation, and the reliability program that qualifies them

Establish and lead partnerships with high-volume fabrication facilities so that devices developed in-house transfer cleanly to production at scale. Continue to develop Helion’s existing device vendor relationships

Plan and run a multi-million-dollar development program, including scope funded through external research partnerships, with the rigor, reporting, and risk management to match

Work with electrical, mechanical, science, operations, and systems leadership to develop semiconductor capabilities and machine architecture together

Required Skills12+ years in semiconductors, including 5+ years leading technical teams

A track record of hiring and developing engineers and technical leaders, and setting a culture of high performance and delivery

Deep expertise in power semiconductor device physics and design, including device modeling and design for reliability

Hands-on expertise in high-power packaging and module integration: die attach, interconnect, and thermal management

Experience taking a custom semiconductor device from concept through fabrication, characterization, qualification, application integration, and high-volume production with external fabricators

Experience owning a multi-year R&D program with a budget in the tens of millions, from planning and vendor contracting through executive-level reporting

Set technical direction across disciplines you do not directly practice, and to make build/buy tradeoffs considering performance, reliability, cost, schedule, and manufacturing scale

Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, Physics, Materials Science or a related field

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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, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. If you need assistance or an accommodation during the interview process, please let us know.