Senior Staff Controls Software Engineer

Mainspring Energy•Menlo Park, CA

1d•$189,371 - $222,789•Onsite

About The Position

Mainspring Energy is seeking a highly skilled Senior Staff Controls Software Engineer to architect, develop, and deploy industrial-grade Human-Machine Interfaces (HMI) and SCADA systems for its Linear Generator sites. As a senior individual contributor and technical lead, this role defines the architecture for modernizing operator interfaces using Ignition, building scalable, site-agnostic UI frameworks, and implementing robust industrial communication pipelines using OPC UA, Modbus, and related protocols. The role bridges hardware controls, site telemetry, and operator visualization to deliver intuitive, reliable, and secure control interfaces across commercial, microgrid, and utility-scale deployments. This position is onsite at Mainspring Energy’s Menlo Park headquarters. The listed annual salary range is $189,371–$222,789, adjusted for local market conditions and employee experience. The company also offers pre-IPO equity through Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) and benefits.

Requirements

12 or more years of hands-on experience in commercial power generation, industrial automation, manufacturing, or utility-scale energy projects.
Deep hands-on experience building complex industrial HMI/SCADA systems and demonstrated mastery of the Ignition platform, including Perspective/Vision modules, UDTs, and Tag Historian.
Experience with industrial communication protocols, specifically OPC UA, Modbus TCP/RTU, and SunSpec, as well as relational database integration such as PostgreSQL.
Proven experience defining industrial software architecture, leading technical decisions, and delivering reusable, site-agnostic HMI/SCADA platforms from design through deployment.
Experience with grid interconnection standards such as IEEE 1547 and UL 1741.
Knowledge of industrial control system cybersecurity frameworks such as NERC CIP.
Ability to create clear technical documentation and system diagrams that connect industrial hardware and modern software.

Responsibilities

Lead the design, architecture, and deployment of commercial-grade operator interfaces standardized on the Ignition SCADA platform.
Build dynamic, site-agnostic HMI screens and tag structures that scale across different power plant configurations, skids, and generator counts.
Implement communication interfaces and telemetry pipelines using OPC UA, Modbus, and SunSpec for real-time SCADA data exposure and third-party integration.
Develop alarm management, system event logging, and diagnostic dashboards to provide visibility into site hardware and network status.
Own the testing lifecycle for new features, including unit testing, integration testing, and hardware-in-the-loop validation, to ensure site safety logic and grid compliance.
Implement strategies to integrate Mainspring technology into Distributed Energy Resource Management Systems (DERMS) and complex microgrid environments.
Collaborate with Product, Controls, and Hardware teams to translate utility requirements and interconnection standards into functional software specifications.