Nuclear Engineering Summer Intern (m/w/d)

We are a fusion power company based in Everett, WA, with the mission to build the world's first fusion power plant, enabling a future with unlimited clean electricity. Our vision is a world with clean, reliable, and affordable energy for everyone.

Since Helion's founding in 2013, we have raised over $1 billion from long-time investors such as Sam Altman, Mithril, and Capricorn Investment Group as well as new investors SoftBank and Lightspeed to propel us forward. Our last prototype, Trenta, completed 10,000 high-power pulses and reached plasma temperatures of 100 million degrees Celsius (9 keV). We are now operating Polaris, our next prototype on the path to the world's first fusion power plant.

This is a pivotal time to join Helion. You will tackle real-world challenges with a team that prizes urgency, rigor, ownership, and a commitment to delivering hard truths - values essential to achieving what no one has before. Together, we will change the future of energy, because the world can't wait.

What You Will Be Doing

The Radiation Safety and Nuclear Science (RaSNS) team is home to the radiation safety, nuclear, fuel cycle (chemical), and materials teams. You will work as part of the nuclear group focused on nuclear diagnostics for measuring and characterizing our fusion yield. This work will improve our fusion product diagnostics for measuring yield and ion temperature. This is a 12-week onsite internship at our Everett, WA office.

You Will

• Design and develop fusion diagnostic detectors (gamma, neutron, charged particles) to measure DD, D3He, and DT fusion products
• Working with the diagnostics team to test, enhance, quantify and calibrate our current diagnostics detectors
• New concept design and realization through prototyping and/or modeling
• Engineering a commercial, scale-able solution to fusion yield diagnostics

Required Skills

• Ability to work full time, onsite in Everett, WA for a minimum of 12 consecutive weeks during summer 2026
• Currently enrolled in a Bachelor's or Graduate (Master's or PhD) degree in Physics or Nuclear Engineering
• GPA of 3.0 or above
• Understanding of common interactions of gammas, neutrons and charged particles in matter (elastic scattering, coulomb scattering, cross-sections, dE/dx)
• Experience measuring radiation (gamma, neutron, charged particles), including handling radioactive sources
• Experience analyzing data using Python, C++, ROOT, MATLAB, etc

Base Pay

• Bachelors/Master's: $30 / hour
• PhD: $37 / hour

Compensation and Benefits

At Helion, we are committed to fostering an equitable environment in every aspect of our operations, including compensation. For our internships, compensation is paid at an hourly base rate and is competitively benchmarked. All interns will also receive a one-time stipend at the start of their internship. Note that compensation for our internships is non-negotiable. Benefits will include paid holidays, sick time, wellness stipend, company and team events, and more to ensure a great experience for all of our interns!

• Interns receive a $5,000 stipend

Helion is an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. If you need assistance or an accommodation during the interview process, please let us know.