Controls and Timing R&D Engineer

Job Overview

At the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE), engineers operate and modernize an 800-MeV proton accelerator complex that supports national security, isotope production, proton radiography, materials research, neutron science, and future accelerator missions.

This position will be filled at either the R&D Engineer 1 or R&D Engineer 2 level. Selected candidates will join the Controls and Timing Systems Team within AOT-IC, the Instrumentation and Controls Group in LANL's Accelerator Operations and Technology Division.

• Design, test, troubleshoot, install, maintain, and upgrade controls, instrumentation, electronics, data acquisition, and timing systems that support safe and reliable beam delivery.
• Support control system upgrades for the LANSCE Modernization Project.
• Work closely with operations to solve problems rapidly and implement reliable solutions in the field.
• Contribute to project leadership and cross-team collaboration.

• Contribute to controls and timing projects under the direction of senior engineers.
• Learn and support complex accelerator systems, including installation and troubleshooting.
• Execute tasks safely in an operational environment and manage changing priorities.

• Work independently, taking ownership of projects from concept through completion.
• Apply systems engineering principles to define requirements, develop architectures, manage interfaces, document designs, verify performance, and support commissioning.
• Lead technical projects, coordinate multidisciplinary teams, and mentor junior staff.

• Experience with one of the following:
  Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs), microcontrollers or embedded systems, analog or digital electronics design and troubleshooting.
• Ability to create, read, and interpret electrical schematics.
• Ability to troubleshoot electronics and controls systems to the component or subsystem level.
• Ability to plan and complete multiple projects with changing priorities, deadlines, and customer needs.
• Willingness to assume rotating 24-hour on-call support of AOT-IC accelerator hardware.
• Proactive approach to safe work practices and ability to work safely in an operational facility environment.
• Clear communication with engineers, technicians, operators, and customers.

• Demonstrated experience independently developing, maintaining, and troubleshooting PLC-based control systems (Allen-Bradley PLC experience preferred).
• Experience applying robust systems engineering principles through the project lifecycle.
• Demonstrated leadership on technical projects with limited direction.
• Operations and maintenance experience at an accelerator, large scientific facility, industrial facility, or high-reliability technical environment.
• Ability to coordinate technical work across multidisciplinary teams and mentor less-experienced staff.

R&D Engineer 1:
Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering (accredited) plus 2 years of related experience, or equivalent education/experience combination.

R&D Engineer 2:
Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering (accredited) plus 4 years of related experience, or equivalent education/experience combination.

• Formal training in Allen-Bradley PLC systems (RSLogix 5000 or Studio 5000).
• Experience with Factory Talk View Studio or related HMI development tools.
• Experience taking a project through the full design lifecycle (requirements, design, implementation, testing, verification, commissioning).
• Experience with EPICS-based control systems.
• Experience with timing and synchronization systems, including event-based timing systems.
• Experience with high-speed data acquisition or scientific instrumentation systems.
• Experience with FPGA and/or DSP programming.
• Experience using software or communication protocols (LabVIEW, Python, SCPI, I2C, SPI, Ethernet/IP, Modbus, OPC).
• Experience with analog or digital electronics design, troubleshooting, or signal conditioning.
• Experience supporting operations at an accelerator, large scientific facility, industrial facility, or other high-reliability…