Senior Automation and Controls Engineer

Valar Atomics•Orangeville, UT

About The Position

Valar Atomics is seeking a Senior Automation and Controls Engineer to develop, configure, test, and commission control system software for nuclear fuel manufacturing facilities. The role supports capital projects and ongoing plant operations and covers PLC and DCS programming, SCADA and HMI development, ISA-88 batch control, alarm management, safety logic, historian configuration, and ISA-95 enterprise integration. The engineer will join the IC&E Engineering team within the Fuel Manufacturing group, working alongside I&C Hardware, process, and nuclear safety engineers. The team combines traditional control systems with modern software and data integration practices and emphasizes operator-focused design, data integrity, disciplined documentation, and safety. The position also involves software configuration management, OT network architecture and cybersecurity, software testing and commissioning, troubleshooting, engineering documentation, coordination with hardware engineers, and technical direction and review of contractor and consultant deliverables. Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States as a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Electrical, Electronic, Computer, or Systems Engineering, Computer Science, or a related discipline.
3 to 7 years of controls software, PLC programming, or SCADA development experience in process industries.
Hands-on PLC programming experience with at least one major platform, using IEC 61131-3 languages.
Hands-on experience developing or maintaining SCADA applications on at least one major platform.
Experience designing HMI displays to ISA-101 or High-Performance HMI principles.
Experience developing batch control sequences in accordance with ISA-88.
Experience configuring alarm management systems and working knowledge of ISA-18.2.
Experience configuring plant historian systems and building operational data dashboards.
Familiarity with ISA-95 enterprise-control integration concepts.
Working knowledge of OPC-UA, EtherNet/IP, PROFINET, or Modbus communication protocols.
Ability to read and interpret P&IDs, loop diagrams, and I/O lists sufficiently to develop, test, and commission control logic.
Working knowledge of software version control and change control practices for control system applications.
Working knowledge of safety logic programming and functional testing under IEC 61511.
Must be legally authorized to work in the United States as a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident (green card holder).

Nice To Haves

Ignition Certified Designer, Rockwell Automation Certified Programmer, Siemens TIA Portal certification, or equivalent platform certification.
ISA Certified Automation Professional (CAP) or equivalent credentials.
Experience implementing ISA-88 batch control, including recipe management and material genealogy tracking.
Experience developing safety logic to IEC 61511 under formal software validation and functional test processes.
Experience with OSIsoft PI / AVEVA PI, including PI AF asset framework configuration and PI Web API.
Experience writing SQL queries and stored procedures for operational reporting and historian-to-database data feeds.
Experience with Python scripting for data processing, API integration, or control system test automation.
Experience developing or consuming REST APIs for system integration.
Experience with Git or equivalent version control applied to controller and SCADA application code.
Experience with LIMS integration.
Familiarity with GAMP 5, 21 CFR Part 11, or NQA-1 requirements for control system software validation.
Exposure to IEC 62443 OT cybersecurity standards and secure industrial control system network architecture.
Experience with virtualized or containerized SCADA and historian infrastructure, including server and client redundancy.

Responsibilities

Develop and maintain PLC and DCS applications using platforms such as Rockwell, Siemens, Emerson, or equivalent, and IEC 61131-3 programming languages.
Develop and configure SCADA applications, including tag databases, user-defined types, communication drivers, scripting, templates, and client and redundancy architecture.
Design local-panel and supervisory HMI displays in accordance with ISA-101 and High-Performance HMI principles.
Develop ISA-88 batch control software, including phase logic, equipment modules, unit procedures, recipe management, equipment arbitration, and material tracking; build supervisory batch monitoring and reporting.
Configure and manage alarm systems to ISA-18.2, including alarm settings, shelving and suppression logic, and performance reporting.
Program, configure, and functionally test safety logic on SIS platforms in accordance with IEC 61511.
Configure plant historian systems, including tags, compression and exception settings, and asset framework models; build process data dashboards and operational reports.
Implement ISA-95 integration and data exchange between control systems and MES, ERP, and LIMS; develop and consume REST APIs and database interfaces.
Configure and troubleshoot industrial communication protocols and interfaces among SCADA, PLC, DCS, SIS, historian, and third-party systems.
Write SQL queries, stored procedures, and Python scripts for data processing, transaction handling, reporting, and control system test automation.
Apply software configuration management practices, including version and change control, code review, application backup and restore, and disaster recovery testing.
Define OT network architecture and configure cybersecurity controls in line with IEC 62443 or NIST SP 800-82.
Prepare and execute software FAT, SAT, and commissioning test plans; maintain functional specifications, control narratives, cause-and-effect matrices, tag lists, alarm databases, and as-built software records.
Diagnose control system software faults, perform root cause analysis, and document corrective actions.
Coordinate with I&C Hardware Engineers on I/O assignments, tag naming, signal scaling, and loop commissioning.
Provide technical direction to contractors and consultants and review and redline software deliverables for compliance with project standards and nuclear quality requirements.

Benefits

Competitive base salary
Equity ownership
Comprehensive medical benefits
Unlimited PTO
Free daily lunch
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
Opportunity to help build and scale transformative energy technology