Control Systems Project Lead – Applied Science

Xcimer Energy•Denver, CO

5d•Onsite

About The Position

Xcimer Energy is hiring a Control Systems Project Lead for its Applied Science group. This is a full-time, onsite position at the company’s headquarters in Denver, Colorado. The role owns the controls system for a major development program, beginning with a large, multi-subsystem laser test facility. The controls system includes control, data acquisition, and interlock capabilities that support scientific experimentation. This is a hands-on individual contributor role with coordination responsibility. The Project Lead designs, implements, verifies, and commissions systems while coordinating controls work across engineering teams and with system operators. The role also plans and assigns sprint work, manages software releases, supports test campaigns, and maintains structured requirements, verification, and quality processes. Xcimer Energy develops inertial fusion energy technology and aims to deploy fusion power plants to support global decarbonization. The company describes a comprehensive benefits package that includes health coverage, insurance, paid leave, retirement matching, equity, flexible paid time off, paid sick time, company holidays, and an annual shutdown.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Controls Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field.
At least 5 years of experience in control systems engineering, with emphasis on test and measurement or validation environments.
Demonstrated experience designing and commissioning test stands, automated test equipment, or experimental systems.
Demonstrated experience owning a controls system on a multidisciplinary project, including sprint or release planning, task assignment, and on-time software release delivery.
Strong written and verbal communication skills, including coordinating across engineering teams and presenting status, risks, and design decisions to stakeholders.
Proficiency in LabVIEW, including development of maintainable, version-controlled code.
Strong working knowledge of verification and validation methodologies, including test planning and execution and requirements tracking such as a Requirements Traceability Matrix.
Experience with version control systems such as Git and modern software development workflows.
Working knowledge of unit testing, automated testing, or test-driven development concepts.
Familiarity with industrial and laboratory communication protocols, such as RS-232, TCP/IP, and Ethernet-based protocols.
Must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. permanent resident (current Green Card holder), or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum.

Nice To Haves

Experience in large experimental or test facilities such as laser, accelerator, pulsed power, aerospace, or national laboratory environments.
Experience supporting system operators in production or experimental environments, including triaging bug reports and incorporating user feedback into releases.
Experience with agile or sprint-based planning tools and workflows, such as Jira, for engineering software delivery.
Experience with advanced architectural concepts, such as an Actor framework.
Experience with Python.
Familiarity with instrumentation standards and interfaces such as SCPI, GPIB, and USB instruments.
Experience with DAQ systems, high-speed data capture, or synchronization and timing systems.
Exposure to systems integration best practices used by professional control system integrators, such as lifecycle documentation, change control, and structured testing.
Knowledge of safety-related control concepts, interlocks, or fail-safe system design.
Experience supporting testing in R&D, prototype, or experimental environments.
Familiarity with documentation standards such as test plans, test procedures, verification matrices, and commissioning reports.
Experience collaborating with scientists and developing support plans for scientific experiments and objectives.

Responsibilities

Own the controls system for a major development program, including requirements, architecture, and delivery of control, data acquisition, and interlock systems across multiple subsystems.
Lead sprint planning for controls work; assign and track tasks, review contributions, and ensure software releases are delivered on schedule.
Coordinate controls work with optics, pulsed power, mechanical, software, and operations teams; define interfaces and priorities and schedule system access for development and testing.
Gather feedback from system operators and other users, prioritize improvements, and respond to and resolve bug reports.
Use diagnostic and systems-level troubleshooting methods to identify root causes of system, software, and hardware issues.
Plan and lead controls support for test campaigns, including readiness reviews, functional checkout, system integration testing, and on-the-floor support during experiments.
Design, develop, and commission control systems for test and measurement applications, including laboratory and industrial test stands.
Lead controls verification and validation activities, including test planning, procedure development, execution, and reporting.
Develop control, automation, and data acquisition software using Python, LabVIEW, and related tools.
Integrate test-system hardware and software, including instrumentation, DAQ hardware, off-the-shelf benchtop equipment, and custom hardware.
Implement and maintain automated test frameworks, unit tests, and regression tests.
Integrate communication protocols and interfaces, including RS-232/422/485, TCP/IP, Ethernet-based fieldbuses such as EtherCAT, and instrument control protocols.
Own controls requirements development, interface definition, requirements traceability, and change control to support structured verification, validation, and quality processes.
Design hardware-in-the-loop test systems and collaborate with electrical, mechanical, and software engineers to represent real-world operating conditions accurately.
Support commissioning, acceptance testing, and ongoing lifecycle support for test infrastructure.