Control Systems Architect - IFE

About the role

Xcimer Energy leverages decades of research on Inertial Fusion Energy (IFE) combined with groundbreaking new laser architecture. Our mission is to deploy fusion power plants to meet global decarbonization goals as fast as possible. Xcimer has assembled a team of leaders in tough tech, fusion science, and manufacturing with a track record of rapid execution. Supported by leading investors, Xcimer is uniquely positioned to deliver limitless, clean, fusion power to combat climate change. Join us in powering a better world with inertial fusion!

This is a full-time, onsite role based at our headquarters in Denver, CO.

As a Control Systems Architect on our Inertial Fusion Energy (IFE) program, you will define the control system architecture for Xcimer's fusion power plant and carry it from concept through detailed design. You will work directly with the program's control systems director as the hands-on engineering counterpart, turning plant-level control philosophy into architecture, interface definitions, and design baselines.

You will also contribute as a working controls engineer within the plant's other major systems such as laser, fusion chamber, fuel processing, and power conversion, as their control and instrumentation designs mature. Working within the Electrical & Control Systems Engineering department, you will exercise independent judgment on complex, first-of-a-kind problems, with work reviewed against program objectives.

We are looking for our engineers to apply their technical expertise, problem solving skills, and dedication to quality to positively impact the future of energy!

Responsibilities

• Define and maintain the plant control system architecture: safety, real-time, and supervisory control layers, network segmentation, precision timing and triggering, and plant data capture, documented in architecture descriptions and control narratives.
• Develop control system requirements and interface definitions between the plant control system and the plant's major systems, and carry them through gated design reviews and change control.
• Contribute hands-on controls and instrumentation design within other plant systems: I/O and signal definitions, control sequences, interlocks, and operating modes.
• Evaluate and select control platforms, protocols, and standards, and build prototype or testbed implementations to retire architecture risk early.
• Support the program's control systems director with trade studies, technical analyses, design review material, and staffing and schedule inputs for the control system scope.

Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related STEM field; an advanced degree is a plus.
• Experience: Typically 10+ years of relevant experience in control systems engineering for large, multi-subsystem facilities such as power plants, process plants, accelerators, or large laser or research facilities, including ownership of system-level or architecture design.
• Working knowledge of industrial control architectures: PLC or DCS and safety instrumented systems, SCADA/HMI, industrial networks, and plant historians.
• Experience developing control requirements, interface control documents, control narratives, and architecture descriptions through formal design reviews.
• Ability to work independently on complex, loosely defined problems and to communicate architecture decisions clearly to engineers, scientists, and leadership.
• Willingness to travel 10 to 20% of the time between Xcimer's Denver headquarters and the program's future plant site.
• Must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. permanent resident (current Green Card holder), or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee of granted asylum.

Desired

• Experience with nuclear or other licensed facilities, including safety classification, defense in depth, and instrumentation and control qualification.
• Experience with functional safety lifecycle work (IEC 61508/61511), SIL allocation, and cause and effect design.
• Experience with precision timing and triggering, high-speed data acquisition, or pulsed power controls.
• Experience with OT cybersecurity (IEC 62443) and segregated control network design.
• Hands-on experience with Beckhoff TwinCAT, Siemens, Rockwell, or EPICS-class control platforms, and with Python or LabVIEW for test automation.

Benefits

Xcimer offers a comprehensive benefits package designed to support employee health, well-being, and long-term success. Benefits include medical, dental, and vision coverage; basic and supplemental life insurance; short- and long-term disability; paid parental leave for employees at the time of birth or adoption; and a 401(k) with a company match of up to 6%. Eligible employees also receive equity, allowing them to share in the company's long-term success.

• Xcimer operates under a flexible Paid Time Off (ATO) approach.
• Rather than a fixed number of vacation days, employees are trusted to take the time they need to rest and recharge while meeting the expectations of their role and team.
• In addition, employees receive paid sick time, 13 company-paid holidays, and an annual paid company shutdown.
• Benefits are available to regular employees, including part-time and fixed-term roles, as well as interns, with eligibility varying by benefit.