Principal Control Systems Engineer

Location: Darmstadt, Germany

Company

hirify.global is an early-stage clean-energy company developing commercial-scale laser-driven inertial fusion, backed by a $240M Series A and operating across Germany and the US.

What you will do

• Design system-level control architectures across facilities and make platform and technology choices with program and system owners.
• Direct real-time and embedded control implementation across PLC, FPGA and other platforms while balancing performance, reliability, safety and cost.
• Specify, design, review, test, install and commission control cabinet hardware and field devices with integrators, electrical engineers, cabinet builders and technicians.
• Architect integrated SCADA, HMI and data systems for alarms, logging, historians, analytics, data reduction and dashboards.
• Orchestrate integration across complex subsystems, define observability and diagnostics, and lead root-cause investigations and post-mortems.
• Shape requirements, documentation, validation and test strategies; coach engineers and promote software engineering, testing and quality practices.

Requirements

• Degree in Electrical/Electronic Engineering, Control/Automation, Mechatronics/Robotics, Physics or a related field; PhD or equivalent experience preferred.
• 10+ years of experience in control or embedded systems, factory or plant automation, automated test systems or complex scientific experimental work, including architectural ownership across multiple projects or products.
• Deep experience in at least one relevant domain such as high-energy lasers, nuclear, robotics, power/energy, automotive, aerospace or industrial automation, including domain standards, regulations and supplier ecosystems.
• Experience specifying control cabinet hardware, defining house standards, ensuring regulatory compliance, working with system integrators, and creating test plans and quality-control processes.
• Experience specifying control software, SCADA or data-acquisition systems, defining interfaces and coding standards, and guiding technology trade-offs.
• Extensive experience with embedded and real-time platforms, including PLCs, FPGAs, RTOS-based systems or robotics, platform selection and architecture scaling.
• Knowledge of version control, branching, design for test, CI/CD, automated testing and defensive programming, plus experience improving these practices and organizing or delivering training.
• Excellent English communication skills, with the ability to influence technical direction, resolve ambiguity and align hardware, software, product and operations teams in hybrid, cross-site environments.
• Hands-on experience leading large-scale hardware/software integration, debugging and fault-finding on real systems.

Nice to have

• PLC programming in Structured Text under IEC 61131-3, Beckhoff PLCs, TwinCAT and multi-PLC distributed control.
• SCADA design and deployment, especially Ignition, and cross-site HMI standards for large-scale systems.
• Embedded or real-time systems involving FPGAs, RTOS, microcontrollers or robotics, including long-term maintainability strategies.
• LabVIEW architect-level certification or experience, especially with FPGA and embedded targets.
• Complex scientific equipment or large-scale facilities, including diagnostics, vacuum systems, motion platforms and safety interlocks.
• Image processing, machine vision, motion control, robotics, high-precision stepper or piezo systems, and encoders.

Culture & Benefits

• Work on clean-energy research and scientific discovery in an international, collaborative environment.
• Join an early, growing company with career development opportunities and ownership from day one.
• Receive a competitive salary, stock options, 30 vacation days per year and a private pension contribution of 20% plus loyalty incentives.
• Use company-provided Windows or Apple equipment, including laptop accessories.
• Access office snacks and drinks, a Darmstadt canteen, company events, NAVIT mobility support and Wellhub fitness and wellness services across Europe.