Diagnostic Engineer/Diagnostic Physicist

About Us:

Established in 2002, General Fusion is a global leader in the race to commercialize clean fusion energy. We are pursuing a uniquely practical approach, Magnetized Target Fusion, and aim to provide zero-carbon fusion power to the grid in the early to mid-2030s. Today at our state-of-the-art labs in Richmond, BC, we’re operating a groundbreaking fusion demonstration machine called Lawson Machine 26 (LM26), designed to achieve transformational technical milestones and accelerate General Fusion’s technology to commercialization. Our path to market is funded by a global syndicate of leading energy venture capital firms, industry leaders, and technology pioneers. Learn more at www.generalfusion.com.

Position Overview:

We are seeking a highly skilled and motivated Diagnostic Engineer/Physicist with expertise in optics, experimental physics, and advanced measurement systems to join our diagnostics team. The successful candidate will play a critical role in the design, development, and operation of optical diagnostic systems used to monitor the compression of lithium liners in the LM26 experimental campaign and beyond. This role combines hands-on experimental work, precision optical measurement, data analysis, and interdisciplinary collaboration in a cutting-edge R&D environment.

The position is primarily on site at General Fusion's Richmond, BC facility. This posting is for multiple openings (2 positions) within the team.

Responsibilities:

• Design, develop, and implement high-speed, high-precision diagnostic techniques and measurement systems to monitor liner geometry and position during installation and experimental operations.
• Design, prototype, optimize, integrate, and calibrate advanced optical metrology systems.
• Evaluate and introduce emerging optical and laser-based measurement technologies to improve diagnostic accuracy and reliability.
• Collaborate closely with multidisciplinary engineering and physics teams, as well as external partners and vendors.
• Design and document experimental procedures, technical findings, and analysis results through detailed reports and presentations.
• Contribute to continuous improvement of diagnostic methodologies, workflows, and experimental processes.
• Develop analysis algorithms and pipelines using interpolation and optimization techniques, fitting and error analysis, feature recognition, and machine-learning image-processing techniques.

Requirements:

• B(A)Sc, M(A)Sc, or PhD in Engineering Physics, Optics/Photonics, Applied Physics, or a related technical discipline
• Minimum 3 years of relevant experience in experimental physics labs, advanced R&D environments, or precision measurement / instrumentation development
• Strong experience with optical systems, lasers, and camera/imaging hardware
• Hands-on experience with experimental instrumentation design and debugging
• Familiarity with standard scientific data-analysis methods like curve fitting, error analysis, and model comparison
• Experience designing diagnostic hardware and software for measurements with demanding functional requirements in challenging environments
• Strong programming and data-analysis skills, particularly in Python
• Ability to translate theoretical physics and mathematical concepts into practical solutions
• Experience managing and contributing to multidisciplinary technical projects with internal and external stakeholders
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills

Preferred:

• Background in optical design, optical metrology, fiber optics, machine vision / image and video processing, or optical calibration models and techniques
• Experience with Zemax, SolidWorks and PDM, data acquisition systems, signal processing, or EM noise mitigation
• Familiarity with diagnostic techniques such as photon Doppler velocimetry, structured light, optical coherence tomography, or spatial reconstruction
• Proficiency with Python scientific libraries (SciPy interpolate/optimize, skspatial, ndimage, OpenCV, scikit-learn)
• Experience with statistical analysis, error propagation and uncertainty quantification, and spatial frequency analysis
• Experience preparing scientific manuscripts, technical reports, and research presentations
• Knowledge of plasma physics or fusion-related diagnostics

The typical hiring range for this position is $90,000 - $120,000 annually. General Fusion considers many factors when determining total compensation, including job-specific or highly specialized knowledge, skills and experience, proficiency, job location and internal equity.

A cover letter is strongly encouraged and should accompany your resume as part of your application. You can also include project portfolio if available.

What We Offer:

• Four weeks’ vacation
• Comprehensive benefits package
• RRSP Contribution
• Support for professional development
• Great company culture – social events, weekly lunch program, bike rides, Sun Run, etc.

Applications:

We thank all applicants for their interest; only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

We welcome applicants with relevant engineering experience. Candidates who hold P.Eng or EIT credentials will be hired under the Engineer title. Those without these credentials will be assigned an equivalent title that matches the scope of their position.

General Fusion is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, colour, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, or age.