Staff Automation and Controls Engineer

The role

Staff Automation and Controls Engineers serve as technical authorities for control system software across reactor and nuclear fuel manufacturing facilities. You will own the controls software scope, set coding standards, and lead the resolution of complex plant control problems.

What you will do

• Serve as the discipline technical authority for controls software.
• Review and approve PLC/DCS application code, SCADA applications, safety logic, and test documentation.
• Establish and enforce discipline software standards and configuration management practices.
• Lead control strategy and software architecture development for first-of-a-kind plant control problems.
• Lead controls software participation in interdisciplinary design reviews and HAZOP studies.
• Define the controls platform and integrator strategy.
• Mentor senior and junior software engineers.
• Own the PLC and DCS application architecture for assigned facilities.
• Own SCADA, HMI, ISA-88 batch, alarm system, and historian architectures.
• Develop and approve software FAT, SAT, and commissioning test plans.

Required qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical, Electronic, Computer, Systems Engineering, Computer Science, or a related discipline.
• 8+ years of controls software, PLC programming, or SCADA development experience in process industries.
• Demonstrated end-to-end ownership of the controls software scope on at least one major capital project.
• Track record of technical leadership including code review and setting software standards.
• Expert-level PLC programming on at least one major platform across IEC 61131-3 languages.
• Expert-level SCADA application development on at least one major platform.
• Experience developing safety logic under IEC 61511 within a formal software validation and functional test regime.
• Experience leading alarm rationalization or owning an alarm system to ISA-18.2.
• Experience designing HMI systems to ISA-101 or HPHMI principles.
• Experience developing ISA-88 batch software at the architecture level.
• Working knowledge of OT network architecture and cybersecurity practice under IEC 62443 or NIST SP 800-82.
• Experience configuring plant historians and designing asset framework or equivalent data models.

Nice to have

• Ignition Certified Designer, Rockwell Automation Certified Programmer, Siemens TIA Portal certification, or equivalent platform certification.
• ISA Certified Automation Professional (CAP) or equivalent credentials.
• Professional Engineer (PE) license.
• Experience developing control strategies or software architecture for first-of-a-kind processes or plants without established precedent.
• Experience with OSIsoft PI / AVEVA PI including PI AF asset framework design and PI Web API.
• Experience with SQL, Python, and REST APIs applied to enterprise integration and test automation at a framework-design level.
• Experience with LIMS integration (LabWare, Uncountable, LabVantage, or equivalent).
• Familiarity with GAMP 5, 21 CFR Part 11, or nuclear quality (NQA-1) requirements for control system software validation.
• Experience with virtualised or containerised SCADA and historian infrastructure, including server and client redundancy design.

Benefits

• Competitive base salary
• Equity ownership in a rapidly growing advanced energy company
• Comprehensive medical benefits
• Unlimited PTO
• Free daily lunch and dinner provided onsite
• Generous PPE stipend

Before you apply

• Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States as a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident (green card holder).

About the company

Valar Atomics aims to make clean, high-temperature nuclear power scalable. The company is building a first pilot plant in Orangeville, Utah to demonstrate advanced nuclear systems and fuel fabrication.