Principal Automation and Controls Engineer

Valar Atomics is seeking Principal Automation and Controls Engineer s to own the technical direction of the controls software discipline across our reactor and nuclear fuel manufacturing facilities. The role spans the full controls software domain : PLC and DCS applications, SCADA and HMI, batch control, alarm management, safety logic, historians and plant data, and enterprise integration , but at the level of architecture, strategy, and design authority rather than routine application development. This is a principal position: you will define the control system and plant data architecture and technology roadmap for a first-of-a-kind nuclear program, hold final technical approval authority within the discipline, direct the resolution of the highest-consequence and most novel control problems, represent the discipline in licensing, cybersecurity, and strategic vendor engagements, and build the engineering capability of the organization around you. Where a Staff engineer owns the discipline's standards and quality, the Principal engineer owns where the discipline is going.

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical, Electronic, Computer, Systems Engineering, Computer Science, or a related discipline.
• 10+ years of controls software, PLC/DCS, or SCADA engineering experience in process industries.
• Demonstrated end-to-end ownership of controls software scope across multiple major capital projects, including at least one taken from functional specification through commissioning, startup, and initial operations.
• Track record of architecture-level technical leadership: defining control system architecture, platform strategy, or software standards and practices that were adopted across an organization or program, not just a single project.
• Recognized technical authority in at least one deep area of the discipline (for example: batch architecture, SCADA and data architecture, safety application software, alarm and HMI engineering, or OT cybersecurity), evidenced by design authority roles, published work, standards participation, or a verifiable internal reputation as the final technical reference.
• Deep, hands-on command of the full controls software domain: PLC/DCS application architecture across IEC 61131-3 languages, SCADA and HMI systems, ISA-88 batch, ISA-18.2 alarm management, historians and data modelling, enterprise integration, and software configuration management.
• Substantial safety application software experience under IEC 61511, including formal validation regimes and approval or independent-review authority over safety logic.
• Working command of OT cybersecurity architecture under IEC 62443 or NIST SP 800-82, sufficient to own the control system security strategy and defend it to assessors.
• Experience directing and developing other engineers, including senior-level engineers, and reviewing and approving their work as a formal checker or design authority.
• Experience representing an engineering discipline to external parties regulators, assessors, certification bodies, major platform vendors, or client design authorities.
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• Professional Engineer (PE) license.
• ISA Certified Automation Professional (CAP), platform certifications, or equivalent credentials.
• Nuclear digital I&C experience, including software qualification under NQA-1 or 10 CFR 50 Appendix B, digital I&C safety case content, or familiarity with IEC 61513 / IEC 60880 / IEEE 7-4.3.2.
• Experience defining control system architecture for first-of-a-kind or prototype plants where no established precedent existed.
• Experience leading or defending cybersecurity assessments of industrial control systems.
• Experience with virtualised or containerised control system infrastructure at an architecture and lifecycle-strategy level.
• Participation in industry standards committees or working groups (ISA, IEEE, IEC, or equivalent).
• Experience with GAMP 5 or 21 CFR Part 11 regulated software validation environments.

• Competitive base salary
• Equity ownership in a rapidly growing advanced energy company
• Comprehensive medical benefits
• Unlimited PTO
• Free daily lunch and dinner provided onsite
• 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
• The opportunity to help build and scale transformative energy technology from the ground up