Staff Process Instrumentation and Controls Engineer

About Commonwealth Fusion Systems:

Commonwealth Fusion Systems is on a mission to deliver the urgent transition to fusion energy.

Combining decades of research, top talent, and new technologies, we’re designing and building commercially viable fusion power plants. And we're working with policymakers and suppliers to build the energy industry of the future.

We’re in the best position to make it happen. Since 2018, we’ve raised nearly $3 billion in capital, making us the largest and leading private fusion company in the world.

Now we’re looking for more thinkers, doers, builders, and makers to join us. People who’ll bring new perspectives, solve tough problems, and thrive as part of a team.

If that’s you and this role fits, we want to hear from you.

Join the power movement as Staff Instrumentation and Controls Engineer

The Plant Instrumentation and Control (PIC) team is seeking a Staff Engineer to prepare the team for moving to the ARC era. At least partially due to the “progress over perfection" mantra of early SPARC development and the lack of standards and norms when starting SPARC development, there is a lack of consistency in the SPARC PIC designs and equipment. To build ARCs remotely and to work with established utility customers we must: establish design, development, and construction standards; create a standard control signal processing platform; develop standard and norms that limit the variety of sensors, control devices, and communication protocols utilized; and in general create ARC I&C design, development, procurement, installation, and commissioning approaches, that are consistent and can be recreated using multiple different supply and construction partners in various locations in the world.

What you'll do::
• Work both within the team and with other engineering groups to establish and/or improve existing standards, norms and processes for tasks such as selecting components, labeling components and cables, cable and wire color codes, issuing documents to vendors and installers, etc.

• Work with the software team and the electronics team to develop a standard I&C architecture platform for a majority of the control systems in ARC

• Develop standard control cabinet designs to improve consistency for cabinet build, cabinet installation and wiring, and cabinet modifications and maintenance

• Develop guidance documents for issues such as when to use individual cables versus multicore cables, selecting among various types of cable entry into cabinets, determine where and how to ground cable shields, etc.

• Develop guidance and processes to limit the variety of communication protocols, sensor and control devices types, sensor and control device vendors, etc. to provide more consistency to the I&C designs

• Review lessons learned from the SPARC era and determine how to incorporate them into the various standards and guidance documents to minimize repeating any adverse lessons learned and to promote any advantageous lessons learned

• Work with other teams to determine the best path for creating better integration between AVEVA, Team Center, NX, Odoo, and other various CFS design, development, and documentation systems

• Work with IT/OT teams to define boundaries, roles, and responsibilities for interactions between I&C / SCADA equipment and connected plant services

• Develop metrology standards for ARC era & manage SPARC operational metrology framework

• Monitor performance of PIC installed systems post SPARC commissioning, develop reliability insights

• Develop standards framework I&C continuous work processes in ARC era, including system definition & governance, long term lifecycle planning, management of change, verification, & audit

• Engineer and qualify instrumentation for high-risk or extreme environments, such as cryogenic services, high-voltage systems, or molten salt transfer

• Oversee the design & integration of DCS/PLC hardware and industrial systems platforms to create a cohesive, scalable, unified automation network

• Provide technical guidance to cross-functional system owners and lead multi-disciplinary teams to foster an environment of innovation and high-quality results

• Design and deliver training programs for technicians and junior engineers on control systems & instrumentation to prepare regional teams for plant handovers

• Act as a technical advisor to system owners, ensuring that reliability and safety standards are integrated into hardware designs from the earliest R&D phases

• Serve as the I&C subject matter expert (SME) during HAZOP (Hazard and Operability) and LOPA (Layer of Protection Analysis) studies

What we’re looking for::
• Bachelor’s degree an Engineering, Process, Electrical or related field

• 10+ years' experience in process, chemical, electronic and/or instrumentation and control engineering

•
Designed, built, installed, commissioned, and operated industrial control systems with interlocks and protection functions from concept to completion under a QA program

•
Selected, specified, procured, installed, commissioned, and calibrated instrumentation and control components

•
Experience translating R&D projects into standardized, repeatable engineering processes for global expansion

• Familiarity with and ability to interpret industry standards and adapt/apply them to CFS’ needs

• Knowledge of current state of the art options for industrial automation and control systems

• Skills in developing various diagrams and documentation to document the controls design

• Skill in calculating data throughput needs, cabinet power and heat loads, and other similar calculations needed to ensure system design capabilities and limitations

• Skill in developing cost estimates and schedules

Bonus points for: :
• Understanding of the safety risks of the several various high energy systems in the ARC design, and how to mitigate these risks in the design of the I&C systems

• Familiarity with Siemens SIMATIC S7 and Beckhoff product ranges and the in-house CFS designed (e.g. Fast controller) designs for incorporation into the I&C base architecture design

• Familiarity with AVEVA, Team Center, NX, Odoo, and other various CFS systems

• Experience in I&C project management, through new plant development, build, start-up, commissioning, operations, & decommissioning

• Experience in I&C engineering in the power generation sector

• Experience in I&C system auditing practices & procedures

• Experience in I&C system design planning at regional/global engineering level

• Knowledge of how to perform a FMECA

• Knowledge of industry standards for project planning, management, and execution

Must-have Requirements: :
• Perform activities such as typing or sitting for extended periods of time

• Dedication to safety to mitigate hazards that may include heat, cold, noise, fumes, strong magnets, lead, high voltage, and cryogenics

#LI-Onsite

At CFS, we excel in fast-paced environments, driven by our values of integrity, execution, impact, and self-critique. As we grow, we’re eager to bring on mission-driven folks who offer diverse perspectives and fresh ways to tackle challenges.

We value diversity deeply and are proud to be an equal opportunity employer by choice. We consider all qualified applicants equally, regardless of race, color, national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, protected veteran status, religion, physical or mental disability, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, or any other basis protected by law.

This role requires compliance with U.S. laws concerning the export of controlled or protected technologies or information (collectively, “Export Control Laws"). Any offer of employment will be contingent on the need for compliance with such Export Control Laws.