Staff Controls & Automation Engineer

You will design, build, and own the controls architecture for pilot, demonstration, and commercial plants. You will develop PLC and safety-PLC logic, implement state-based and advanced controls, create soft sensors and diagnostics, support commissioning, and collaborate on simulation, analysis, version control, documentation, and change-management practices.

Responsibilities

• Architect the full control stack for pilot, demonstration, and commercial plants
• Define the hierarchy linking base, supervisory, and advanced control
• Develop modular control logic in PLCs and safety PLCs
• Own interlocks, permissives, fail-safe behavior, alarm logic, and safety instrumented functions
• Implement state-based control and state estimators
• Build soft sensors, diagnostics, and anomaly and fault detection
• Validate and tune advanced controllers through simulation, staged deployment, and field commissioning
• Identify and implement model predictive control or other model-based controllers
• Develop simulation or digital-twin models for new control strategies
• Collaborate with process, mechanical, electrical, and operations teams
• Support commissioning, plant bring-up, troubleshooting, and continuous optimization
• Drive version control, documentation, and management-of-change practices

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree with 10+ years of experience designing and owning automation systems for continuous chemical or energy processes
• Strong foundation in control theory, process dynamics, multivariable interactions, and constraint management
• Practical experience with state estimation and inferential sensing
• Hands-on deployment of model predictive control or other model-based controllers on real industrial systems
• Expertise with PLC platforms and SCADA/HMI systems
• Deep experience with interlocks, permissives, safety logic, shutdowns, and high-temperature, high-pressure, and flammable-gas systems
• Experience with thermochemical systems, especially catalytic systems
• Experience integrating advanced control with DCS platforms
• Familiarity with Python or similar tools for prototyping estimation and control algorithms
• Experience in FOAK hardware or fast-moving industrial startup environments

Benefits

• Equity compensation
• Generous paid time off
• Health insurance with 100% of healthcare, vision, and dental premiums covered
• 401(k) with company match