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Staff Automation and Controls Engineer

Torrance, California, United States

About Valar Atomics

At Valar Atomics, we're redefining what's possible in energy. Our mission is to make clean, high-temperature nuclear power scalable—unlocking abundant energy for industry, hydrogen, and next-generation manufacturing. We are a team of builders, engineers, and operators who believe nuclear energy should be fast to deploy, factory-made, and built for the real world. Our first pilot plant in Orangeville, Utah will demonstrate how advanced nuclear systems and fuel fabrication can power the future. Joining Valar Atomics means becoming part of a company where autonomy, ownership, and impact exist at every level.

 

The Team 

You will be joining Valar Atomics' Automation and Controls team within the Instrumentation, Control & Electrical (IC&E) organization. Automation and Controls own the logic and data layer PLC and DCS application code, ISA-88 batch sequences, SCADA and HMI applications, historian infrastructure, and enterprise integration across the reactor program and fuel manufacturing operations. You will work alongside I&C Hardware, electrical, process, and nuclear safety engineers in an environment that blends traditional control systems with modern software and data integration practice. As a staff engineer, you will be one of the technical anchors of this team: the engineer others come to when the problem is novel, ambiguous, or high-consequence. The team values operator-focused design, data integrity, disciplined documentation, and a safety-first culture. 

 

The Role

Valar Atomics is seeking Staff Automation and Controls Engineers to serve as discipline technical authorities for control system software across our reactor and nuclear fuel manufacturing facilities. The role spans the full controls software domain: PLC and DCS programming, SCADA and HMI applications, ISA-88 batch control, alarm management, safety logic, historians, enterprise integration, and OT infrastructure, from capital project execution through ongoing plant operations. This is a staff position: in addition to owning the most complex controls software scope end-to-end, you will set the coding standards, template libraries, and configuration management practices the discipline runs on, lead resolution of first-of-a-kind plant control problems where no established solution exists, review and approve the work of other engineers, and provide technical direction and mentorship across the software team. You are accountable not only for your own code, but for the technical quality and consistency of controls software across projects and sites. 

 

Key Responsibilities 

Technical Leadership and Discipline Ownership 

  • Serve as the responsible engineer and discipline technical authority for controls software on assigned systems; review and approve PLC/DCS application code, SCADA applications, safety logic, and test documentation produced by other engineers, contractors, and integrators. 
  • Establish, maintain, and enforce discipline software standards including application coding standards, template and UDT libraries, the ISA-101/HPHMI display style guide, alarm philosophy implementation standards, testing standards, and the software configuration management and change control practice used across projects and sites. 
  • Lead control strategy and software architecture development for first-of-a-kind plant control problems where no established solution exists, including control approach trade studies, platform capability evaluation, prototyping, and validation planning. 
  • Lead controls software participation in interdisciplinary design reviews, HAZOP studies, control narrative reviews, and licensing-support activities; represent the discipline's position and own the resolution of cross-discipline technical conflicts. 
  • Define the controls platform and integrator strategy, including SCADA and PLC platform standardization, system integrator qualification and oversight approach, make-or-buy evaluations, and framework specifications that constrain downstream project work. 
  • Mentor senior and junior software engineers; run the structured code review practice; develop discipline training and qualification approaches; contribute to hiring and technical interviewing for the software team. 

Design and Engineering Execution 

  • Own the PLC and DCS application architecture for assigned facilities — program structure, task and scan organization, template and library design, and inter-controller coordination on platforms such as Rockwell ControlLogix, Siemens S7/TIA Portal, Emerson, or equivalent, per IEC 61131-3. 
  • Own SCADA application architecture on platforms such as Ignition, FactoryTalk, AVEVA, or WinCC, including tag database and UDT design, scripting architecture, template systems, and server, client, and redundancy architecture. 
  • Own the HMI design system to ISA-101 and HPHMI principles — display hierarchy, navigation model, faceplate standards, and situational awareness approach — and approve display packages against it. 
  • Own the ISA-88 batch architecture including the equipment model, phase and equipment module design patterns, recipe management strategy, arbitration, and material tracking; approve batch application designs and lead complex sequence development. 
  • Own the alarm system to ISA-18.2, including leadership of alarm rationalization, philosophy implementation, shelving and suppression design, and alarm performance KPI programs. 
  • Develop, configure, and functionally test safety logic on SIS platforms (Rockwell GuardLogix, Siemens F-CPU, Triconex, or equivalent) in accordance with IEC 61511; own the safety application software validation regime and approve safety logic changes within delegated authority. 
  • Own historian architecture (OSIsoft PI / AVEVA PI, Ignition Historian, or equivalent) including asset framework modelling strategy, data quality and compression standards, and the operational reporting and dashboard framework. 
  • Own ISA-95 enterprise-control integration architecture including interface design between control systems and MES, ERP, and LIMS, and the API and database interface standards used to implement them. 
  • Own OT network architecture and cybersecurity controls in accordance with IEC 62443 or NIST SP 800-82, including zone and conduit design, role-based access control, secure protocol configuration, and the patching and allow-listing program, coordinating with the OT/Infrastructure function. 

Testing, Commissioning, and Operations 

  • Develop and approve software FAT, SAT, and commissioning test plans; lead test execution and witness contractor and integrator testing; own the quality of turnover and as-built software documentation including functional specifications, control narratives, cause-and-effect matrices, and alarm databases. 
  • Lead diagnosis and root cause analysis of the most complex control system software faults, communication failures, logic defects, sequence stalls, historian data gaps, and performance issues, and feed lessons learned back into standards, templates, and test practice. 
  • Coordinate with I&C Hardware Engineers on I/O assignment, tag naming, signal scaling, and loop commissioning to ensure control logic and field hardware are consistent; own the software side of the change control interface between logic and field configuration. 
  • Provide technical direction to contractors, integrators, and consultants on controls software scope; review, redline, and approve their deliverables to ensure compliance with project standards and nuclear quality requirements. 
  • Maintain disciplined engineering records consistent with nuclear quality requirements, ensuring traceability of design decisions, software changes, and test results. 

 

Basic 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, from functional specification through commissioning and startup. 
  • Track record of technical leadership: running structured code review, checking and approving the work of other engineers or integrators, and setting or improving software standards, template libraries, or configuration management practice. 
  • Expert-level PLC programming on at least one major platform (Rockwell, Siemens, Emerson, or equivalent) across the IEC 61131-3 languages, including application architecture and library design, not just code authorship. 
  • Expert-level SCADA application development on at least one major platform (Ignition, FactoryTalk, AVEVA, WinCC, or equivalent), including architecture-level design of tag structures, templates, and redundancy. 
  • 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, and designing HMI systems to ISA-101 or HPHMI principles. 
  • Experience developing ISA-88 batch software at the architecture level (equipment models, recipe strategy), not just phase implementation. 
  • 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. 
  • Experience mentoring, directing, or supervising the technical work of other engineers or integrators. 

 

Preferred Skills and Experience 

  • 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. 

 

What We Offer  

  • 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
  • High-impact startup environment with significant ownership and autonomy 
  • Opportunities for rapid career growth and internal advancement 
  • Direct collaboration with experienced operators, engineers, and industry leaders 
  • The opportunity to help build and scale transformative energy technology from the ground up

 

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

Valar Atomics is an equal opportunity employer. We consider all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other protected status under applicable law.

We are committed to providing a workplace free of discrimination and harassment and will provide reasonable accommodation as required by law.

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

Salary

$173,000 - $211,000 USD

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