Staff Automation and Controls Engineer (Nuclear)

Location: Torrance, California, United States; onsite work is required, including onsite meals and plant-related collaboration. Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States as a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident.

Salary: $173,000–$211,000 USD annually.

Company

hirify.global is an advanced energy startup developing scalable high-temperature nuclear power, reactor systems, nuclear fuel fabrication, and next-generation manufacturing applications.

What you will do

• Serve as the technical authority for controls software across reactor and nuclear fuel manufacturing facilities, reviewing and approving PLC/DCS code, SCADA applications, safety logic, tests, and contractor deliverables.
• Set and enforce coding, template, UDT, HMI, alarm, testing, configuration-management, and change-control standards across projects and sites.
• Lead control strategy, software architecture, trade studies, prototyping, validation planning, interdisciplinary design reviews, HAZOPs, licensing support, and resolution of cross-discipline technical conflicts.
• Own PLC/DCS, SCADA/HMI, ISA-88 batch, ISA-18.2 alarm, SIS safety, historian, ISA-95 integration, and OT network architectures.
• Develop and approve FAT, SAT, commissioning, functional, and safety-validation test plans; lead testing, commissioning, root-cause analysis, and software turnover.
• Mentor engineers, direct integrators and contractors, run code reviews, contribute to hiring and technical interviews, and maintain traceable nuclear-quality engineering records.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical, Electronic, Computer, Systems Engineering, Computer Science, or a related discipline.
• 8+ years of controls software, PLC programming, or SCADA development experience in process industries.
• End-to-end ownership of controls software on at least one major capital project, from functional specification through commissioning and startup.
• Technical leadership experience including structured code reviews, approval of engineers’ or integrators’ work, and development of software standards, template libraries, or configuration-management practices.
• Expert-level PLC programming and architecture on Rockwell, Siemens, Emerson, or an equivalent platform across IEC 61131-3 languages, including library design.
• Expert-level SCADA development and architecture on Ignition, FactoryTalk, AVEVA, WinCC, or an equivalent platform, including tag structures, templates, and redundancy.
• Experience developing and validating safety logic under IEC 61511; leading alarm rationalization or owning ISA-18.2 alarm systems; and designing HMI systems to ISA-101 or HPHMI principles.
• Architecture-level ISA-88 batch software experience, including equipment models and recipe strategy; historian configuration and asset-framework or equivalent data-model experience.
• Working knowledge of OT network architecture and cybersecurity under IEC 62443 or NIST SP 800-82.
• Experience mentoring, directing, or supervising other engineers or integrators.

Nice to have

• Ignition Certified Designer, Rockwell Automation Certified Programmer, Siemens TIA Portal certification, ISA Certified Automation Professional, or equivalent credentials.
• Professional Engineer license.
• Experience with first-of-a-kind processes or plants, OSIsoft PI/AVEVA PI, PI AF, PI Web API, SQL, Python, REST APIs, LIMS integrations, or framework-level test automation.
• Familiarity with GAMP 5, 21 CFR Part 11, or NQA-1 requirements.
• Experience with virtualized or containerized SCADA and historian infrastructure, including server and client redundancy.

Culture & Benefits

• High-impact startup environment with significant ownership, autonomy, and rapid career growth opportunities.
• Comprehensive medical benefits, unlimited PTO, equity ownership, and competitive base salary.
• Free daily lunch and dinner provided onsite, plus a generous PPE stipend.
• Direct collaboration with operators, engineers, and industry leaders while building advanced energy technology.