Director - Control, Instrumentation, and Diagnostics (CID) Systems

Job description

**About Thea Energy:** Thea Energy is leveraging recent breakthroughs in stellarator physics and engineering to create a faster and simpler approach to commercializing fusion energy. The company is reinventing the stellarator using computer-controlled arrays of planar coils thereby replacing the intricate, complex modular magnets required in all other stellarator architectures. Thea Energy is on a mission to create a limitless source of zero emission energy for a sustainable future. ### Key Responsibility Areas: - Lead and mentor a multi-disciplinary organization spanning control systems, instrumentation, diagnostics acquisition, embedded software, and real time integration, including hiring, performance management, career development, and team structure. - Establish engineering operating rhythm: planning, prioritization, technical reviews, staffing plans, and decision-making processes. - Set technical direction and ensure consistent engineering quality across requirements, architecture, implementation, verification, and documentation. - Own the Eos CID architecture, including functional, physical, communications, timing, and data flow boundaries across fast DAQ, supervisory control, PLC automation, safety interlocks, and diagnostics acquisition. - Lead technology selection for real time control, SCADA, networking, timing, and data management, and ensure consistency across integration protocols and data interfaces. - Own the technical interface to external vendors and collaborators providing controls hardware, diagnostics hardware, and instrumentation deliverables, including technical specifications, design reviews, and acceptance participation. - Oversee development and integration of the Eos control system across major subsystems, ensuring deterministic behavior, fault handling, and operational sequencing. - Own Safety and Interlock System philosophy, including safety class logic where required, participation in hazard analyses, and alignment to functional safety practices and standards. - Own instrumentation architecture across the facility: sensor selection, signal types, isolation strategy, signal conditioning, grounding, shielding, and segregation practices for noisy, high power environments. - Oversee diagnostic acquisition architecture end to end, from front end sensors and conditioning through digitizers, FPGA processing, data streaming, and archiving in support of plasma operations and feedback control. - Partner with systems engineering to translate device requirements into CID requirements, interface definitions, and verification plans. - Run evidence based technical gates and design reviews, with clear entry and exit criteria and configuration control. - Own delivery artifacts such as requirements, interface control documents, design packages, test plans, and acceptance evidence to support procurement, installation, and commissioning. - Maintain a strong safety culture including machine protection thinking, hazard analysis inputs, and design choices that support safe installation and operations. - Provide hands on leadership in lab and field environments, coordinating with technicians and test teams for build, wiring, installation support, and debug. ### Ideal Experience & Skillsets: - Bachelor’s degree or higher in Electrical Engineering, Controls, Computer Science, Physics, or equivalent. - 10 or more years of relevant experience spanning two or more of the following: integrated control systems, industrial automation, fast data acquisition, instrumentation systems engineering, diagnostics acquisition, real time embedded software. - 5 or more years of engineering management experience leading multi team organizations, including hiring and performance leadership. - Demonstrated experience owning complex system development from architecture through prototype validation and integration. - Strong foundation in safety and high reliability engineering practices, including interlocks, alarms, fail safe design, and disciplined documentation. - Strong cross functional communication skills and experience driving technical decisions across physics, mechanical, electrical, safety, and program teams. - Exceptional work ethic and communication skills. - Experience delivering CID systems for fusion devices, accelerators, advanced nuclear, or other large scientific facilities with tight timing and data fidelity requirements. - Experience with EPICS or TANGO, and industrial integration protocols such as OPC UA, DDS, Modbus, and deterministic timing networks. - Experience with functional safety workflows and standards driven PLC systems engineering. - Experience with FPGA based acquisition and low latency streaming pipelines for real time feedback and machine protection. - Familiarity integrating AI and digital twin capabilities into supervisory control and operations workflows. - Control frameworks and integration: LabView, EPICS, TANGO, OPC UA, DDS, Modbus, TCP IP. - PLC platforms: Siemens TIA Portal, Beckhoff TwinCAT, Allen Bradley, Codesys, IEC 61131 3 practices. - Timing and synchronization: White Rabbit, IEEE 1588 PTP. - Data acquisition and diagnostics: PXIe digitizers, FPGA platforms, event and timestamping frameworks, data streaming infrastructure. - Embedded and middleware software: real time embedded Linux and real time operating systems, C and C++, distributed orchestration tooling. - Instrumentation design and documentation: AutoCAD Electrical, EPLAN, tag databases, input and output lists, cable schedules and loop diagrams. ### Requirements: - Ability to occasionally lift up to 50 lbs. - Ability to perform activities such as typing, standing, or sitting for extended periods of time. - Willingness to occasionally travel or work required nights/weekends/on-call. - Ability to work in a facility that contains industrial hazards including heat, cold, noise, fumes, strong magnets, high voltage, high current, pressure systems, and cryogenics. #LI-RD1 ### Company Benefits: - Salary range $185,000-$280,000 - Comprehensive health benefits (e.g. medical/dental/vision) - Employee equity stock options - 20 days PTO