Senior Instrumentation and Controls Design Engineer

Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory•Princeton, NJ

11d•$152,900 - $244,300

About The Position

The Senior Instrumentation & Controls Engineer works closely with researchers, engineers, and technical staff to design, deploy, and operate systems for control, protection, and diagnostics for plasma experiments at PPPL and for national and international collaborations. The role defines and drives the design, development, testing, and operation of instrumentation and controls projects, including efforts that are novel and important to PPPL. It interfaces with system leads, engineers, and project leads across disciplines in support of experimental operations. The position includes hands-on testing of electronics, diagnosing failures, and making repairs when needed. Duties include designing, maintaining, and supporting instrumentation and control systems (60%); daily operation and maintenance of control and monitoring systems (15%); developing diagrams, drawings, and system documentation (10%); and leading data archiving and serving strategy and deployment for fusion experiments (15%). PPPL is a U.S. Department of Energy National Laboratory managed by Princeton University. Its work includes fusion-energy science and engineering, as well as research in microelectronics, quantum sensors and devices, and sustainability sciences. The posted salary range is $152,900 to $244,300. The position has 40 standard weekly hours, is not eligible for overtime, and is benefits eligible.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree or above in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related discipline.
15 or more years of professional experience.
Demonstrated experience designing, building, and delivering complex automation and control systems in an industrial or experimental facility.
Demonstrated experience designing, deploying, and maintaining data archiving and serving infrastructure for complex systems with multiple customers.
Demonstrated experience leading and managing technical teams on complex scientific or engineering projects.
Diversified knowledge of engineering instrumentation and control system principles and practices.
Familiarity with common instrumentation and control technologies.
Ability to initiate and maintain extensive contacts throughout an organization.
Ability to communicate ideas effectively to people with varying levels of technical skills and to work as a team player.
Experience defining scope, organizing multidisciplinary teams, and implementing instrumentation and controls solutions.
Experience working across a broad network to implement novel designs.
Experience with SCADA programs such as EPICS and distributed control architectures.
Experience with database management and administration, such as SQL, HDF5, or MDSplus.
Experience with hardware interfacing and control, including triggering, sampling, and signal conditioning.
Experience with communication protocols such as TCP, UDP, Modbus, and OPC.
Experience with software languages such as Python, C++, and LabVIEW.
Experience with software version control and configuration management.
Experience defining requirements and creating hardware and software design documents, test designs, user guides, and system integration.
Experience applying software quality assurance, design control, and configuration management best practices.
Full technical responsibility for interpreting, organizing, executing, and coordinating assignments, and for planning and developing projects.

Nice To Haves

Project management experience.
Linux system administration experience.
Experience with software CI/CD tools and techniques.

Responsibilities

Design, maintain, and support instrumentation and control systems.
Operate and maintain control and monitoring systems on a daily basis.
Develop diagrams, drawings, and documentation for systems.
Lead data archiving and serving strategy and deployment for fusion experiments.
Test electronics, diagnose failures, and perform repairs when needed.
Define, plan, and lead the design, development, testing, and operational phases of instrumentation and controls projects.
Define scope, organize multidisciplinary teams, and implement instrumentation and controls solutions.
Work with management and technical leadership to define work scope and establish project schedules.
Develop requirements and hardware and software design documents, test plans, user guides, and system integration.
Apply software quality assurance, design control, and configuration management practices.
Mentor team members, provide technical guidance, and conduct code reviews to promote software engineering best practices.
Coordinate with researchers, engineers, technical staff, system leads, and project leads in support of experimental operations.