Senior Controls Engineer

Why you should join Heirloom

We are solving the challenge of our generation. Climate change is an existential threat, and we need as many of the world’s motivated minds as possible to help. There is no greater challenge or opportunity than fighting climate change.

We are a world-class team. We are engineers, scientists, and concerned humans from a variety of backgrounds and experiences who are pooling our knowledge and skills to collectively build a more equitable, prosperous future for all.

We remain united, resilient, and optimistic. We recognize the magnitude of the challenge ahead of us, yet believe that we can contribute to mitigating the worst effects of climate change. It won’t be easy, but we won’t quit.

The Role

As a Senior Controls Engineer at Heirloom, you’ll be responsible for developing industrial automation solutions that support our research, engineering, and scaled commercial deployments. We’re looking for someone with a strong background across the full range of controls engineering – PLC programming, SCADA, control panel design, electrical knowledge, field wiring, networking and communications, etc – who can take their knowledge and independently drive projects, develop libraries and architectures, and help bring our core technologies to life.

You’ll be expected to lead projects, take an active role in steering design practices, and improve the controls team’s ability to swiftly and effectively deliver custom automation solutions at scale.

What You’ll Do

Own the design, deployment, and commissioning of a wide range of automation projects, from lab-scale test equipment to large-scale commercial deployments

Drive and execute controls projects, including developing PLC and HMI/SCADA programming, interfacing with vendors and contractors, and electrical design.

Be an automation subject matter expert, guiding decision-making around discrete and continuous process automation systems at scale.

Develop standards and specifications for controls equipment, both built in-house and purchased from outside vendors.

Work with the mechanical team to develop controls and guide instrumentation and component selection for custom in-house equipment and novel processes.

Interface with the software team to develop and maintain the data collection and management layer of our projects.

Collaborate with IT on industrial networking strategies and architecture design

Work closely with panel shop technicians, production managers, operators, and engineering leads to help close gaps, provide training, and deliver improvements.

Produce engineering deliverables, such as detailed electrical schematics, code documentation, loop diagrams, and panel layouts.

Use, maintain, and contribute to a PLC/HMI controls library

Act as a technical leader within the team by mentoring peers, driving best practices, and raising the bar for engineering quality

What You’ll Bring

7+ years of experience designing and deploying industrial automation systems

Strong background in PLC programming, especially in developing applications from scratch. Allen-Bradley and/or Beckhoff experience preferred.

Experience with distributed HMI/SCADA applications, including graphical design, data collection, alarm management, server infrastructure, etc. Experience with Ignition, especially Perspective, preferred.

Experience with controls electrical engineering, including UL 508A control panel design and fabrication, field wiring, NEC/NFPA 70E, and NFPA 79.

Experience producing electrical drawings for controls projects with electrical CAD programs. AutoCAD, AutoCAD Electrical, and/or SkyCAD preferred.

Strong background in safety-related controls systems engineering, including designing and validating safety controls to IEC 62061, IEC 61511, and/or ISO 13849-1

Proven track record of working cross-functionally to balance competing requirements and constraints

Strong sense of ownership, accountability, and follow-through—delivering high-quality work on schedule

Bonus Points

Experience developing and deploying custom library code

Experience with high temperature (>500°C) continuous process equipment

Experience with custom machine motion and vision applications

Experience creating data collection interfaces with higher-level software via SQL and/or MQTT

Comfort operating both in fast-paced R&D/commissioning and highly-detailed project and architectural design environments

Experience using Git-based version control for industrial controls code

You don’t have to have every listed requirement and skill to be a great fit - you may even teach us something about what we should be looking for! If you are passionate about this opportunity and think you have the skills to succeed, please apply!

You don’t have to have every listed requirement and skill to be a great fit. If you are passionate about this opportunity and think you have the skills to succeed, please apply!

Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

We encourage you to apply if you identify as Black, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, American Indian or Alaskan Native, Hispanic or Latino, LGBTQ+ – or with any other underrepresented group – even if you don’t tick all the boxes in the description below.

Perks and Benefits for Eligible Employees

Excellent health, dental and vision insurance covered up to 100% by Heirloom. FSA option

16 weeks paid parental leave for all Heirloom employees

Generous stock options

Flexible PTO for exempt (salaried) employees & 120 hours for full time non-exempt (hourly) employees

401(k)

Monthly health and wellness reimbursement

Annual education and conference budget

Our Principles

Radical Honesty. We strive to foster an inclusive environment premised on transparency and respect. We push for excellence, yet always remain thoughtful when challenging each other.

Persistent Optimism. We show up to work with optimism and don’t shy away from a challenge. We recognize that the ambitious nature of our mission requires hopefulness, dedication, and persistence.

Maximize Learning. Compounding knowledge is our key to victory - we continuously hone our crafts, seek the fastest paths to improve, and are quick to absorb and apply new insights.