Controls Engineer – Fuel Handling System

Aalo Atomics•Austin, TX

4d•Onsite

About The Position

As the Controls Engineer integrated in the Fuel Handling System (FHS) team, you will own the controls, instrumentation, and automation for a remotely-operated, encoder-positioned machine that handles nuclear fuel assemblies in a sodium environment. The FHS will be operated entirely from outside the reactor building during normal operations, which means controls reliability is central to whether the system works at all. This is a hardware-leaning controls role. You will spend significant time with a multimeter, crimping tool, and wire spool—building cabinets, wiring up sensors and actuators, integrating motion controllers, and standing up test benches—in addition to writing the code that runs them. We are looking for someone who is energized by getting hardware to actually move, not someone who wants to live in a software IDE. We are open to two candidate profiles: an experienced controls engineer who prefers hardware and is comfortable writing the automation scripts to support testing, OR a senior technician with deep wiring and instrumentation experience who is hungry to grow into the engineering and coding side of the role. Either way, you will be a core member of a small, in-person team in Austin and will work day-to-day with mechanical and test engineers.

Requirements

5+ years of hands-on experience in controls, instrumentation, or electro-mechanical systems, OR equivalent technician/tech-lead experience with demonstrated growth into coding and engineering work
Strong hands-on skills with cable routing, panel layout, and electrical troubleshooting
Experience integrating sensors and actuators with at least one of: PLCs, motion controllers, microcontrollers, or industrial PCs
Ability to write simple automation and data acquisition scripts (Structured text, ladder logic, structured text, Python or similar)
Comfortable reading and producing electrical schematics, P&IDs, and cable schedules
Comfortable owning a system from blank cabinet to commissioned hardware

Nice To Haves

Motion control experience (servo drives, stepper drives, multi-axis coordination, encoder feedback)
Experience with safety interlocks, E-stop circuits, and fail-safe control design
Exposure to high-temperature, sodium, vacuum, or inert gas systems
Familiarity with industrial communication protocols (EtherCAT, Modbus, EtherNet/IP, CANopen)
Background in nuclear, aerospace, semiconductor, or other high-reliability industries
Experience working in a flat, fast-iterating team where the controls engineer is also the cabinet builder

Responsibilities

Build and wire control cabinets, junction boxes, and test bench panels from schematic through commissioning
Select, install, and integrate instrumentation: encoders, load cells, pressure and temperature sensors, limit switches, gas composition sensors, cameras
Integrate motors, actuators, solenoid valves, and pneumatic/hydraulic systems with controllers (PLC, motion controller, or embedded)
Write the automation, sequencing, and data logging code needed to run component test benches and the full-system prototype (Python, PLC ladder/structured text, or similar)
Develop motion control strategies for the gantry/trolley/hoist system, including encoder-based positioning over fuel plug locations
Implement interlocks, fault detection, and safe-state behaviors for sodium and inert gas operations
Coordinate with other controls engineers on operator HMI, panel build support, and component sourcing
Diagnose electrical and control system faults at the test bench; own the wrench-and-debugger side of integration
Document wiring, cable schedules, control logic, and operating procedures clearly enough that any team member can follow them
Support on-site installation and commissioning at the reactor facility in Idaho with occasional travel