Senior Controls Engineer

AURA/NSO is hiring for a Senior Controls Engineer (Sr CE) to provide senior technical leadership and end‑to‑end controls engineering expertise for the ngGONG telescope design project. This role is responsible for the ngGONG‑wide controls and electronics architecture, spanning facility and rack‑level power distribution and electrical/electronic/control systems for telescopes, instruments, safety, and observatory electronics.

The Sr CE leads and contributes to the design of complex electronics control systems; manages assigned controls/electronic design work packages; and collaborates closely with multidisciplinary engineering teams, scientists, site/facility stakeholders, and external partners. The position solves complex controls and coordination challenges and supports project cost, schedule, risk, safety, and technical performance objectives throughout the design lifecycle.

This position supports the currently funded design phase of ngGONG and is expected to continue into subsequent construction phases pending standard NSF project approvals.

This position is based in Boulder, Colorado, on the University of Colorado campus.

• Develop and maintain a thorough understanding of ngGONG scientific requirements, system specifications, design standards, and interface requirements, and translate them into appropriate controls and electronic system architectures.
• Lead control and electronic engineering design activities for major ngGONG systems from concept development through final design, including rack and electronics power distribution, telescope/light feed controls systems, instrumentation, detector electronics, safety, and observatory support systems.
• Define and maintain ngGONG’s control and electronic system architecture, covering electronics power distribution, grounding and bonding, rack distribution, and observatory subsystems.
• Develop system architectures for electronics power distribution, UPS and backup power, power conditioning and quality control, telescope and instrumentation control systems and electronics consistent with performance, reliability, safety, and availability requirements.
• Define UPS, power conditioning, and power quality strategies for telescopes, instruments, critical IT/electronics, and infrastructure, including ride‑through, redundancy, and monitoring requirements.
• Lead the design of control, servo, and PLC‑based systems, including definition of control strategies, drive and I/O architectures, and interfaces to motion control, telescope, and instrument subsystems.
• Lead the design and standardization of electronic racks and enclosures for ngGONG, including power distribution, safety interlocks, grounding and shielding practices, cable management, environmental monitoring, and serviceability.
• Perform and oversee engineering analyses and simulations to verify control system performance, reliability, and compliance with requirements and applicable codes/standards.
• Identify technical risks, design tradeoffs, and opportunities for innovation to improve performance, constructability, maintainability, and lifecycle cost of control and electronics systems.
• Initiate and guide engineering studies, simulations, and technology evaluations (e.g., UPS topologies, drive/control platforms, detector electronics options) to support major design decisions.
• Solve complex controls and electronic engineering problems that may extend beyond established practices or prior observatory designs, including multi‑site and international constraints.
• Manage assigned controls/electronic design work packages, including scope definition, schedule coordination, cost and resource input, and delivery of technical documentation and design artifacts.
• Coordinate controls and electronic interfaces with mechanical, optical, thermal, software, civil, and facilities engineering disciplines.
• Define controls and electronics requirements for buildings, site utilities, and SBF (Site–Buildings–Fitout) work packages, and provide technical oversight and review of deliverables related to controls and low‑voltage systems.
• Participate in and support formal design reviews at system and subsystem levels, providing clear,…