Staff Software Engineer

Join our team to develop the software systems driving cutting-edge fusion energy research

This Staff Software Engineer will provide technical expertise in a fast-paced scientific research and development program. You will lead and contribute to software systems that enable data acquisition processing controls integration and scientific computing for the currently operating Wisconsin HTS Magnetic Mirror (WHAM) at the University of WisconsinMadison. You will also play a key role in designing and implementing the data acquisition andcontrolssoftware stack forRealtaFusions next devicesAnviland Hammir.

This role includes close collaboration with experimentalists computational scientists and engineers as well as partnerships with national laboratories and universities. You will help drive high-quality reliable software for scientific discovery publish results in peer-reviewed venues whenappropriate and share outcomes at conferences.

Responsibilities

1. Architect develop andmaintainsoftware systems for data acquisition processing storage and retrievalforexperimental data generated on WHAM.

2. Enable easy reliable access to experimental data forRealtaFusion and UWMadison researchers through well-designed APIs tools and workflows.

3. Design and implement software for synthetic diagnostics within computational tools to accelerate comparison of simulation results with experimental diagnostics.

4. Optimize performance of scientific software and pipelines providing algorithmic improvements code acceleration and scalable processing approaches.

5. Review audit and improve existing DAQ/controls software to increase data collection reliability robustness and integrity.

6. Interface with cloud resources for large-scale scientific computation and data storage (e.g. AWS Azure) including deployment monitoring and cost-aware scaling.

7. Develop standards and automated methods for data quality validation flagging anomalies and codifying trustworthiness into procedures and tooling.

8. Partner with experimental and computational scientists engineering and business leadership to deliver technical milestonesand product-levelobjectives.

9. Conduct literature reviews and prepare technical reports/materials to support R&D direction and decision-making.

10. Identify write orassistin developing grant opportunities and proposals to secure funding in a startup environment.

11. Serve as a technical subject matter expert and liaison with key internal and external stakeholdersrepresentingthe interests of specialized software and scientific computing areas.

12. Contribute to company safety standards and ensure compliant implementation within R&D software systems and workflows.

13. Foster a positive and inclusive work environment aligned withRealtasmission and values promoting innovation collaboration and engagement.

Required Qualifications

1. Education: Bachelor of Science in Computer Science Software Engineering Data Science/Engineering Physics or a related field plus a minimum of 6 years of professional software engineering experience or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

2. Strong software engineering experience in Python and modern software practices including testing CI/CD version control and code review. Familiarity with scientific Python ecosystems ( pandas matplotlib).
   

3. Experience building data/controls/DAQ-adjacent systems and integrating with relevant technologies such as SQL databases time-series/experimental databases (e.g.MDSPlus) APIs UI frameworks (e.g. React) LabVIEW/PLCs or similar control systems.

4. Demonstrated ability to design scalable maintainable software architectures for scientific or high-reliability environments.

5. Familiarity with plasma diagnostics and experimental workflows (e.g. bolometers interferometers magnetic probes spectrometers neutron diagnostics x-ray detectors imaging systems) and the software needs around them.

6. Familiarity with scientific simulation tools or HPC workflows (e.g. MHD PIC Fokker-Planck RF heating codes such as NIRMOD JOREKWarpX VPICGenray AORSA CQL3D) and how to integrate simulation outputs with experimental analysis.

7. Collaboration: Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills (written and verbal) to work effectively across disciplines and with external partners.

8. Evidence of technical leadership and innovation such as leading major software projects mentoring engineers or contributing to patents/publications or open-source scientific software.

Compensation & Benefits

What we are working on is hard and hugely important. Realta Fusion is assembling a talented team bound together by a passion to solve humanitys biggest challenge with first-of-a-kind technology. Additionally Realta offers:

• Competitive compensation package including equity stock options
• Comprehensive benefits including health dental and vision insurance plus a 401(k)
• Flexible paid time off (PTO) to support work-life balance
• Work and live in Madison Wisconsin one of Americas most livable and vibrant cities

We value diversity as a critical factor in innovation and believe a diverse team is necessary to solve the toughest problems. We aim to create an inclusive environment that unleashes the full creativity of our team members from a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences. We provide equal employment opportunities to all individuals based on merit and without regard to race color religion sex sexual orientation gender identity national origin disability veteran status or any other protected status under applicable laws.