Neutronics and Shielding Lead

Starforge

Full-time

Garching, Germany

Posted on Oct 12, 2026

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Munich, Garching · Full-time · On-site, remote work possible

About Starforge

Starforge is on a mission to make fusion energy a practical utility by factory-manufacturing modular, fleet-deployable fusion reactors. We are fusion's Henry Ford moment. Our first reactor product line, Unit One, is a 250 MWe spherical tokamak, built from demountable high-temperature superconducting magnets and designed in modular blocks so that every component can be factory-manufactured as well as replaced on site.

Our team comes from the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics, MIT, Commonwealth Fusion Systems, Tokamak Energy, KIT, Lilium, and GE. Come and join us in building the future.

Build Unit One as our Neutronics & Shielding Lead

Every neutron Unit One makes has to go somewhere: into breeding tritium, into heat we can use, or into a shield that protects the superconducting magnets and everyone around the machine. In a compact spherical tokamak, the space for that shield is tight, so it's the neutronics that sets the limits for the rest of the machine designs. This is your chance to write the nuclear case for a new kind of reactor and design the shield that makes it safe.

You will be our first neutronics hire and own neutronics, shielding and the nuclear calculations for licensing end-to-end. You will report to our Head of Physics and Reactor Design, and work closely with our blanket and fuel, in-vessel, magnet and mechanical owners and our external research and commercial partners.

What you'll do

Build Starforge's neutronics model of Unit One from a blank page, and keep it the single source of truth as the design moves from concept to hardware

Set the nuclear budgets the rest of the machine designs to

Design the shield and how it is built and replaced

Own the nuclear calculations for licensing: activation, decay heat, dose rates, radioactive inventories, waste classification and source terms, done to the quality a regulator expects

Define and own the interfaces to the blanket, in-vessel components, magnets, remote maintenance, and the building and site

Build and lead the neutronics and shielding team, growing it as the program moves from design to licensing to factory production, with a strong safety and quality culture

What we're looking for

PhD or MSc in nuclear engineering, physics or a related field, or equivalent experience

Demonstrated neutronics and shielding analysis on a nuclear system where your results drove design or licensing decisions

Working knowledge of nuclear shielding concepts and design, activation, decay heat, and radiation damage to materials.

Comfortable making design calls with incomplete information and documenting the reasoning, in clear written and spoken English Bonus points:

Fusion neutronics (especially for compact tokamaks)

Safety analysis or licensing submissions to a nuclear regulator

Tritium breeding blanket analysis

Radiation protection and ALARA design

What we offer

Ownership of the nuclear case for a new class of fusion reactor, from conceptual design onwards

Remote work possibility, office and lab in Munich or Garching, with relocation support

We welcome applications from senior and early-career engineers and scientists, and from people moving into fusion from fission, defence or radiation protection. If you meet most of the must-haves and the work excites you, apply.

How to apply

Send your CV and a short note on one system you built or analysed and what you would do differently today, via this form.