Director, Cryostat Systems

Originally posted 9 November 2026 by the employer.

About the role

The Director, Cryostat Systems leads the design, development, procurement, manufacturing, installation, and commissioning of cryostat systems operating in the 2.0–4.5 K range, with thermal shields operating at approximately 80 K. The role manages a team of five engineers and owns technical direction from conceptual design through production deployment.

What you'll do

• Lead conceptual and preliminary design of cryostat systems, including vacuum vessels, helium vessels, thermal shields, cold plates, piping, feedthroughs, instrumentation, and system interfaces.
• Define and maintain cryostat system architecture, technical specifications, cooling performance, thermal loads, helium and nitrogen circuits, and integration with the quantum-computing system.
• Direct mechanical, thermal, structural, vacuum, and fluid-dynamic analyses, incorporating results into drawings, layouts, process diagrams, and piping concepts.
• Provide direct management and technical leadership to a team of five cryostat engineers, establishing priorities, design reviews, technical standards, and milestones.
• Partner with engineering partners, vendors, and Supply Chain to establish scalable manufacturing, sourcing, and procurement strategies for cryostat assemblies and components.
• Oversee technical execution across procurement, factory acceptance testing, delivery, installation, commissioning, and site deployment.

What you'll need

• Bachelor’s or advanced degree in Mechanical Engineering, Cryogenic Engineering, or a related discipline.
• Experience designing large cryostats, vacuum vessels, helium systems, or other large-scale cryogenic systems.
• Demonstrated background in fluid dynamics and mechanical design for cryogenic and vacuum applications, including liquid helium and liquid nitrogen piping systems.
• Experience with mechanical analysis for vacuum vessels, pressure vessels, piping, supports, and thermal-mechanical structures, as well as heat transfer and heat-leak management.
• Hands-on experience directing or reviewing mechanical and thermal analyses using ANSYS and Thermal Desktop.
• Working knowledge of cryogenic instrumentation, electrical and optical feedthroughs across vacuum boundaries, vacuum hardware, leak testing, and 3D CAD tools such as NX or SolidWorks.
• Experience leading engineering teams and coordinating multidisciplinary technical activities across operations, facilities, and supply chain.

Nice to have

• Experience with cryogenic systems operating at 2 K, 4 K, and 77–80 K.
• Experience with superconducting systems or quantum-computing hardware.

Skills: cryostat, vacuum vessel, thermal shields, cold plates, cryogenic

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