Test Infrastructure Engineer

Job Description

About Avalanche Energy

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Avalanche Energy is a Washington-based startup building compact, deployable fusion systems through rapid hardware iteration. Rather than pursuing fusion as a single grid-scale outcome, Avalanche develops transportable fusion machines designed to be built, tested, and operated on short cycles, turning real hardware into steady progress. This approach enables near-term applications that demand extreme energy density and endurance—starting with fusion neutron production for radioisotope power and other defense and space uses—while advancing the underlying fusion platform. Backed by U.S. government programs and a team experienced in delivering complex systems, Avalanche is focused on building fusion that runs in the real world, not just on paper.

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Avalanche might be a fit for you if:

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You like designing practical hardware, but you do not want to stop at the drawing. You are equally comfortable in CAD, at a workbench, and in a test cell. You may be laying out a fixture in the morning, fabricating it in the afternoon, and commissioning it alongside the experiment. You think like a tooling engineer: you care about interfaces, access, tolerances, safety, serviceability, and repeatability. You take pride in building robust systems, maintaining them, and improving them when reality exposes a better solution.

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About the Role

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Avalanche Energy is seeking a Test Infrastructure Engineer to design, build, commission, and maintain infrastructure that makes our fusion experiments possible. This role sits between mechanical design, electrical systems, facilities, manufacturing, and test operations. You will turn experimental needs into fixtures, test stands, utility systems, equipment layouts, and reliable hardware that can be safely operated and quickly changed.

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This is not a desk-only design role. You will own work from initial concept and requirements through CAD, drawings, procurement, fabrication, assembly, installation, checkout, documentation, troubleshooting, and maintenance. Some designs will be built by outside vendors or other team members; many will be built or modified by you.

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Responsibilities

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• Design, build, commission, modify, and maintain test cells, fixtures, tooling, equipment supports, utility systems, and experimental infrastructure
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• Translate experimental needs into practical requirements, concepts, layouts, CAD models, drawings, bills of material, and build plans
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• Perform hands-on fabrication and assembly using common shop tools and processes. Coordinate outside fabrication when appropriate
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• Design and integrate mechanical, electrical, instrumentation, controls, water, gas, pneumatic, hydraulic, vacuum, and thermal-management systems
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• Own test infrastructure through its full lifecycle, including installation, checkout, documentation, preventive maintenance, troubleshooting, repair, and retirement
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• Develop safe, serviceable, and repeatable solutions with thoughtful access, routing, labeling, guarding, lifting, and human factors
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• Support fusion test cells from floor to ceiling, including equipment layouts, foundations and supports, utilities, cable and hose routing, work access, and facility interfaces
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• Work directly with engineers, scientists, technicians, and operators to prepare experiments and resolve problems during build and test campaigns
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• Participate directly in rapid design-build-test cycles, balancing speed with sound engineering judgment and workmanship
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• Create and maintain drawings, schematics, assembly instructions, operating procedures, maintenance records, and configuration documentation
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• Establish practical standards and reusable approaches for test infrastructure, tooling, utility distribution, and lab workmanship
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• Identify fragile setups, recurring failures, safety risks, and maintenance burdens, then design and implement durable improvements
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• Plan and coordinate equipment moves, installations, vendor work, and facility modifications associated with test infrastructure
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• Keep shared tools, spares, work areas, and infrastructure organized, functional, and ready for the next build or test
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Required Qualifications

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• Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience
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• Strong mechanical design skills, including 3D CAD, detailed drawings, tolerancing, material selection, and design for fabrication and assembly
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• Demonstrated hands-on experience building, installing, commissioning, maintaining, or repairing equipment you designed
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• Experience designing fixtures, tooling, test stands, prototype equipment, or industrial machinery
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• Working knowledge of electrical systems, instrumentation, sensors, controls, and basic electrical troubleshooting
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• Experience integrating fluid, pneumatic, vacuum, thermal, or other facility-supported systems
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• Ability to safely use common hand tools, power tools, measurement equipment, and shop equipment
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• Ability to take ambiguous needs from concept through working hardware with limited oversight
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• Strong ownership, practical judgment, communication skills, and attention to detail in a fast-moving R&D environment
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• Three or more years of experience in tooling, test, manufacturing, or R&D engineering
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Desired Qualifications

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• Experience with SolidWorks or a comparable mechanical CAD and drawing system
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• Experience designing welded structures, machined parts, sheet-metal assemblies, guards, platforms, or equipment frames
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• Experience designing or building radiation shielding systems
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• Familiarity with vacuum or ultra-high-vacuum systems and vacuum-compatible design practices
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• Experience with chillers, pumps, heat exchangers, cryogenic systems, gas handling, or process plumbing
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• Experience working around high-voltage, high-current, stored-energy, radiation, or other hazardous-energy systems
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• Experience with PLCs, automation, machine safety, interlocks, data acquisition, or control panels
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• Experience with rigging, lifting fixtures, equipment installation, and industrial safety practices
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• Experience managing vendors, fabrication quotes, procurement, schedules, and installation work
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• Prior work in fast-paced, hardware-driven R&D, aerospace, energy, or advanced manufacturing environments
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Additional Considerations

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Location: Onsite to support hands-on design, fabrication, installation, testing, and close integration with mechanical, manufacturing, electrical, facilities, and experimental teams

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Site: Tukwila, Washington and Richland, Washington

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Travel: Occasional travel for vendor visits, equipment procurement, integration, or collaboration as needed

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Benefits

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• Excellent medical, dental, and vision benefits
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• 10 paid holidays and a company-wide December holiday break
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• Generous paid vacation and sick time
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• Small, tight-knit team with low barriers to action
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• Exposure to a wide range of challenging design, fabrication, integration, and test problems
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• Meaningful equity in the form of stock options
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We value people of all races, ethnicities, genders, ages, religions, and sexual orientations. We are an equal opportunity employer, and you do not need to match every listed qualification to apply. If you like owning designs from the screen to the test cell and making difficult hardware work in the real world, we encourage you to apply.

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