---
title: 'Capacitor Manufacturing Engineer at Fuse'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/capacitor-manufacturing-engineer-fuse-san-leandro-883gn9tqebh5'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-08'
---

# Capacitor Manufacturing Engineer at Fuse

- **Company:** Fuse
- **Location:** San Leandro, CA
- **Compensation:** $105k–$155k
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Posted:** 2026-08-19
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-08
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/fuse/aa9587f2-2d91-455a-b74a-949e21f0a19e

## Job description

## ABOUT FUSE

We are building one of the most potentially consequential companies of the century. Our mission is to accelerate the world's transition to fusion energy while safeguarding humankind. This is not a normal company. This is not a normal job. We are committed for the long term to win.

## ABOUT THE ROLE

Fuse is establishing a dedicated in-house manufacturing facility for high-voltage pulsed-power capacitors. The program requires production of hundreds of thousands of 40–160 nF, 100 kV double-ended capacitors, previously produced only by a handful of specialized manufacturers worldwide. As the Capacitor Manufacturing Engineer, you'll bring deep hands-on expertise in high-voltage film capacitor fabrication to commission, qualify, and operate this facility from the ground up — a founding engineering role with direct impact on the core pulsed-power infrastructure.

## CORE RESPONSIBILITIES

Facility Setup & Process Engineering

- Lead the setup and commissioning of the capacitor manufacturing facility, including procurement and qualification of winding, impregnation, encapsulation, and high-voltage test equipment.
- Establish the manufacturing process from raw film through finished, tested capacitor.

Film Winding & Dielectric Stack Assembly

- Develop and optimize winding parameters for metallized polypropylene (PP) film or film/foil electrode systems for high-voltage, low-inductance pulse applications.
- Define winding tension, layer counts, geometry, and metallization strategies to improve performance and service life.

Vacuum Impregnation & Encapsulation

- Develop and qualify vacuum pressure impregnation (VPI) and encapsulation processes to eliminate voids, suppress partial discharge, and maximize dielectric strength.
- Ensure terminal integration and mechanical robustness under repetitive discharge stress.

High-Voltage Testing & Quality Control

- Establish production acceptance testing, including capacitance, dissipation factor (tan δ), DC hipot, partial discharge, and pulse discharge life testing.
- Build quality controls and statistical process tracking to improve yield and identify failure modes as production scales.

Materials & Supply Chain

- Qualify suppliers and establish material standards for dielectric film, metallization, electrodes, impregnants, and capacitor hardware.
- Evaluate alternative materials and processes that could improve energy density, reliability, or temperature performance.

Continuous Improvement & Scale-Up

- Drive the transition from pilot production to high-volume manufacturing.
- Implement automation across winding, testing, and packaging to improve yield, throughput, and unit cost.

## MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

- B.Sc. or M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering, Materials Science, Physics, Manufacturing/Process Engineering, or a related field.
- 2+ years of hands-on experience in high-voltage film capacitor manufacturing, including winding, impregnation, encapsulation, and high-voltage testing.
- Deep knowledge of polypropylene film dielectrics, metallization processes, and partial discharge physics at high field strengths.
- Demonstrated experience with vacuum pressure impregnation (VPI) systems and epoxy/resin process chemistry.
- Proficiency in high-voltage test methods, including capacitance bridge, tan δ, DC hipot, and partial discharge measurement (IEC 60270).
- Experience establishing or managing a manufacturing quality system (ISO 9001 or equivalent) for electrical components.

## PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

- Prior experience at a pulsed-power capacitor manufacturer.
- Familiarity with double-ended low-inductance capacitor architectures designed for pulse-discharge applications.
- Experience with automated winding-machine programming and mechanical setup, including mandrel, tension control, and traversing.
- Knowledge of capacitor life modeling under repetitive pulse stress, including voltage reversal, peak current, and dI/dt.
- Familiarity with dielectric film casting or metallization processes is a strong plus.

## WHAT WE VALUE

- Give a shit. Build things you're proud of.
- Take responsibility. If something is broken and you can fix it, fix it. See things through.
- Move fast. Make decisions, learn quickly, and keep moving forward.
- Think bigger. Simplify relentlessly. Don't default to the safe answer.
- Disagree and commit. The best idea wins. Once a decision is made, we move.
- Desire to win. This is hard. Expect intensity. We are here to win.
- Plan B is to make Plan A work.

## BENEFITS

- Medical, dental, and vision coverage.
- Relocation assistance for roles that require it.
- Flexible time off. Take what you need, no accrual tracking.
- 2 weeks of paid time off built into the end of each year, subject to team and business needs.
- Supportive leave of absence policies.
- Paid leave for new parents.

## ITAR REQUIREMENTS

To conform to U.S. Government technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

## EQUAL OPPORTUNITY

Fuse is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Fuse is governed on the basis of merit, competence, and qualifications and will not be influenced by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, ancestry, immigration status, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability, or any other legally protected status.

## About Fuse

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Fuse is a fusion energy and defense company developing magnetized-liner inertial fusion (MagLIF) technology to deliver clean, on-demand power while providing radiation testing services for national security customers.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Series A)
- **Headquarters**: San Leandro, California, United States (operates "Fuseville" facility)
- **Founded**: 2018 (per CB Insights) or 2019 (per Wikipedia); founder J.C. Btaiche started the company at age 19
- **Founders**: J.C. Btaiche

## Core Business
- **Primary industry/industries**: Fusion energy, defense, nuclear effects testing, pulsed power engineering
- **Target customers**: U.S. government (Air Force, NNSA, national labs), defense contractors, eventually commercial energy utilities
- **Mission or purpose statement**: "Accelerating the World’s Transition to Fusion Energy" — building the fastest practical path to abundant, clean, safe, on-demand energy

## Products & Services
- **TITAN**: A 1 TW Impedance-Matched Marx Generator (IMG) — the essential MagLIF pulser building block. World’s first high-energy, high-power IMG, demonstrated in 2024 with results published in *Nature Scientific Reports*.
- **Z-Star**: A 15 TW MagLIF generator designed to iterate on and solve system engineering challenges (targeting 2027).
- **Apeiron I**: A pilot fusion plant design aiming to demonstrate a MagLIF hybrid plant core (targeting 203x).
- **FAETON I**: Neutron-producing fusion generator (over 1 trillion neutrons generated).
- **Radiation Testing Services (HEART)**: Hardened Electronics And Radiation Testing — providing short-burst radiation testing for government and commercial hardware resilience.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation**: Over $200 million as of September 2024 (per Bloomberg News)
- **Total Funding**: $32 million raised (Series A)
- **Key Metric**: 100+ employees; 2 patents filed; 53 employees as of 2024 (Wikipedia)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Bracket Capital, Tamarack Global, Buckley Ventures. Government partners: U.S. Air Force, National Nuclear Security Administration, Sandia National Laboratories, Los Alamos National Laboratory.
- **Growth Signals**: Awarded USAF contract (Feb 2024); published in *Nature Scientific Reports* (July 2024); former NNSA Administrator Lisa Gordon-Hagerty joined board; building Z-Star and Apeiron I platforms; operating a radiation facility covered by *Wired*.

## Competitive Advantages
- **MagLIF approach**: Integrates proven fusion technologies (magnetic and inertial) — demonstrated feasible by Sandia National Lab (2018, 2022). Fuse’s focus on engineering efficiency and affordability aims to solve repetition rate and cost barriers.
- **Rapid iteration**: Delivered two neutron-producing fusion generators and the world’s first IMG pulser in under three years, on time and on a lean budget.
- **Dual-use revenue model**: Generates revenue now through nuclear effects testing for defense customers while developing long-term fusion power — de-risking the path to commercial fusion.
- **Deep government relationships**: Contracts with USAF, NNSA, and CRADAs with Sandia and Los Alamos. Advisory board includes former Under Secretary of Energy, former CIA COO, former NSA Deputy Director, and senior military officers.
- **Patents**: 2 filed patents protecting core technology.

## Strategic Focus
- **Immediate**: Scale the pulsed power driver technology (Z-Star) and continue delivering radiation testing services to defense and intelligence customers.
- **Medium-term**: Demonstrate a MagLIF hybrid plant core with Apeiron I.
- **Long-term**: Deploy commercial fusion power plants, achieving 90% energy efficiency and enabling clean, on-demand energy at scale.
- **Talent**: Aggressively hiring for plasma physics, electrical engineering, pulse power, mechanical engineering, and experimental physics roles.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: Described as "misfits, tinkerers, skeptics, doers" — drawn to impossible problems. Values include frugality, speed, hands-on experimentation, and deep technical conviction. "Fuse is not a comfortable environment" — no bean bag chairs; many live, eat, and work at the facility.
- **Work environment**: "Fuseville" — a shipping-container communal living facility adjacent to the lab. Bed-to-reactor commute under 60 seconds. Sleep pods available. You'll likely build your own desk. "We really skimp on furniture."
- **Compensation**: Low salaries — "you should be willing to work for free. While you will receive a minimum base so that you can survive, money and lifestyle is not the motivator." Significant stock option upside if fusion succeeds. "Fair wages. Long hours. High voltage. Success far from guaranteed."
- **Benefits**: Competitive healthcare plan. High-end computer setup and cloud computing resources. "Everyone on the team has skin in the game."
- **Who should apply**: Self-motivated, deeply internally driven, humble yet brilliant, fusion geeks who built Polywells in high school, boundary-pushers who "get shit done." Must be comfortable with deferred gratification and high risk.
- **Remote/hybrid policy**: Not explicitly stated, but the "Fuseville" on-site living model suggests heavy in-person presence is expected. "Commuting makes your blood boil" is a stated value.
- **Notable perks**: Working on one of humanity’s hardest problems alongside top 1% talent; national security impact; potential enormous financial reward via stock options; "glory in case of ignition."

## Sources
1. [f.energy](https://www.f.energy/)
2. [f.energy - About](https://www.f.energy/about-fuse-energy)
3. [f.energy - Join Us](https://www.f.energy/join-us)
4. [CB Insights](https://www.cbinsights.com/company/fuse-energy-technologies)
5. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuse_Energy_Technologies_Corporation)
6. [Jobs page](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/fuse)

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