Test Engineering Manager

About Thea Energy

Thea Energy is leveraging recent breakthroughs in stellarator physics and engineering to create a faster and simpler approach to commercializing fusion energy. The company is reinventing the stellarator using computer‑controlled arrays of planar coils thereby replacing the intricate, complex modular magnets required in all other stellarator architectures. Thea Energy is on a mission to create a limitless source of zero emission energy for a sustainable future.

About the Role

Thea Energy is seeking a Test Engineering Manager to serve as a cornerstone of our hardware validation strategy. This role is central to the organizational build‑up of a leading fusion energy company and requires a high degree of autonomy. You will lead the verification and validation efforts for our superconducting magnets as well as other critical technology, ensuring that our hardware meets the rigorous demands of a fusion environment. The role will require close alignment and cross‑functional leadership across test, manufacturing, mechanical, and physics organizations. Your efforts will directly contribute to ensuring design success, enabling us to drive forward towards our commercial fusion energy goal.

Key Responsibility Areas

• Develop and own test validation strategy, including defining the testing milestones required to qualify High‑Temperature Superconducting (HTS) magnets, cryogenic systems, and high vacuum components.
• Act as a subject matter expert for the test engineering team. Lead, mentor, and grow a team of engineers and technicians, fostering a culture of rigorous data integrity and first‑principles problem‑solving.
• Oversee the high‑level design and build of large, custom, cryogenic and high‑power test stands. Coordinate test needs across projects, identify test capability requirements, and allocate test resources across projects.
• Analyze complex datasets to troubleshoot system‑level failure modes. Work closely with magnet, electrical, and controls teams to ensure test results directly inform and de‑risk the next generation of stellarator design.
• Lead relationships with key vendors for specialized hardware and for advanced test facilities, managing high‑value procurement contracts and coordinating external design, build, and validation efforts to meet aggressive project timelines.
• Establish and enforce rigorous commissioning, maintenance, and calibration procedures as well as safety protocols for high‑voltage, high‑field, and cryogenic environments, ensuring all operations meet or exceed IEEE, ANSI, and IEC standards where applicable.

Required Experience & Skillsets

• 7–10+ years of hardware‑centric test engineering experience in high‑stakes environments (e.g., fusion, aerospace, superconducting magnets).
• BS or MS in Electrical Engineering, Applied Physics, or a related field.
• Proven track record of leading people, hiring to build out teams, and managing the verification and validation lifecycle for integrated systems.
• Mastery of LabVIEW and Python, with expertise in automating complex, multi‑day cryogenic and electromagnetic tests.
• Demonstrated ability to work with a high degree of autonomy and make critical engineering decisions under tight deadlines.
• Exceptional ability to translate complex test data into actionable insights for executive leadership and external stakeholders.
• Ability to work through and solve highly multidisciplinary engineering problems.
• Ability to take initiative, work independently and as part of a team.
• Exceptional work ethic, with clear communication and collaboration skills.
• Ability to occasionally lift objects up to 50 lbs.

Company Benefits

• Compensation: $130,000 - $160,000
• Comprehensive health benefits (e.g., medical/dental/vision)
• Employee equity stock options
• 20 days PTO

Requirements

• Ability to occasionally lift up to 50 lbs.
• Ability to perform activities such as typing, standing, or sitting for extended periods of time.
• Willingness to occasionally travel or work required nights/weekends/on‑call.
• Ability to work in a facility that contains industrial hazards including heat, cold, noise, fumes, strong magnets, high voltage, high current, pressure systems, and cryogenics.