Cryogenics Specialist

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 Cryogenics Specialist

Every fusion magnet we build has to be cooled to cryogenic temperatures and kept there. On our test stands, that means cryocoolers, liquid nitrogen and helium, thermal links and radiation. In Unit One, it means cooling a full set of reactor magnets, where every watt of heat load costs electricity the plant would otherwise sell. We are designing the cryogenic systems for our next magnet test stands and prototype magnet systems now, and the Unit One cooling conceptalongside. This is your chance to set how fusion magnets are kept cold, from the first test cryostat to a reactor.

You will be our first dedicated cryogenics engineer. You will report to the Head of Physics and Reactor Design, and work closely with our mechanical, magnet and CAD engineers, and with our research and commercial partners.

What you'll do

Own the cryogenic design of our Unit One reactor magnets, as well as magnet test stands and prototype magnet systems: cryocoolers, thermal links, radiation shields, current leads and low-heat-leak supports

Calculate heat loads and thermal budgets, and run thermal and CFD simulations to settle design trade-offs

Assemble, commission and run cryogenic systems hands-on in our lab

Own cryogenic safety: oxygen deficiency, pressure relief, and the safe handling of liquid cryogens

Develop Unit One's magnet cooling concept with the reactor design team, including cryoplant sizing and its share of the plant power balance

Select and work with cryocooler and cryogenic component suppliers

What we're looking for

PhD or MSc degree in mechanical, process or cryogenic engineering, physics or a related field, or equivalent experience

Demonstrated design and analysis of cryogenic systems, including heat load calculations

Hands-on work with cryocoolers and liquid cryogens: installing, running and troubleshooting

Thermal and CFD simulation with ANSYS Fluent, COMSOL or equivalent

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

Cooling superconducting magnets, conduction-cooled or with forced-flow helium

Large-scale helium refrigeration or cryoplant design

Pressure equipment codes and cryogenic safety standards

Cryogenics experience from fusion, particle accelerators or space

Experience with vacuum systems

What we offer

Ownership of how our fusion magnets are kept cold, from the first test stands to Unit One

Office and lab in Munich and Garching, with remote work possibility

We welcome applications from senior and early-career engineers and scientists, and from people moving into fusion from particle accelerators, space, industrial gases, scientific instruments or quantum computing. If you meet the must-haves and the work excites you, apply.

How to apply

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