R&D Manager – Control Systems

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.

What You Will Be Doing:

You will manage the Control Systems team within Helion’s R&D department in delivering reliable control and data acquisition systems that enable rapid experimentation while creating a scalable foundation for increasingly complex machines. This team delivers and maintains systems for high-voltage electrical test bays, plasma-technology test bays, production and manufacturing end-of-line testing, and large field-reversed configuration (FRC) plasma machines.

Your near-term focus will be strengthening and standardizing control system architectures, hardware, software, and development practices across these applications. This includes advancing blended systems that use LabVIEW and NI hardware for FPGA and real-time layers, with API wrappers enabling Python or other text-based user interfaces and workflows. Over time, the team’s scope may expand to include contributions to the control system for Orion, Helion’s first fusion power plant. This is an onsite role that reports directly to the R&D Manager at our Everett, WA office.

You Will:

Manage the Controls Engineering team in the timely delivery of reliable control and data acquisition systems supporting R&D operations

Set technical direction and improve development practices across architecture, coding, testing, deployment, configuration management, and documentation

Advance scalable, maintainable blended architectures and use AI-assisted tools to accelerate code development, unit testing, and workflow automation

Partner closely with scientists, engineers, machine operators, production teams, and other stakeholders to translate operational needs into effective controls solutions

Manage and develop a high-performing engineering team through clear expectations, actionable feedback, accountability, and technical rigor

Partner with your manager and company leaders to define the team’s strategy, build cross-team alignment, advocate for growth, and hire the talent needed to deliver it

Required Skills:

2+ years of technical and performance management experience, including setting clear expectations, providing actionable feedback, and building accountability

Strong proficiency with LabVIEW and NI hardware in control system applications, including PXI, cRIO, real-time systems, and FPGA, with the ability to increase the team’s technical capability

Demonstrated experience driving cross-team collaboration, developing team strategy with other leaders, building support for growth, and hiring new talent

Experience developing control and data acquisition systems for large-scale, complex hardware

Strong cross-functional communication and collaboration skills

Experience designing or integrating blended control systems that connect LabVIEW and NI layers with Python, C/C++, MATLAB, or other text-based code through well-defined APIs

Experience using AI-assisted coding tools to accelerate code development, unit testing, or workflow automation 

#LI-Onsite

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.