Senior Instrumentation and Controls Engineer

Founded in 2024 and headquartered in Gardena, California, Karman Industries is at the forefront of revolutionizing industrial thermal energy. Our mission is to electrify global thermal systems across data centers, manufacturing, and energy industries. Karman is developing the revolutionary Heat Processing Unit (HPU) to reinvent thermal handling for giga-scale data centers & AI factories. The HPU is built around a supercritical CO2 chiller system utilizing a high-speed electrically driven turbo machinery core.

Our system aims to reduce energy consumption in data center thermal management by greater than 25% and increase energy density by 10x.

At Karman Industries, we are committed to fostering a dynamic and inclusive work environment where innovation thrives. Our team is composed of passionate professionals dedicated to making a tangible impact on the future of industrial manufacturing. Join us in our mission to transform the industry and contribute to a more sustainable world.

Karman Industries is seeking a highly motivated Senior Instrumentation and Controls Engineer (higher-level roles also open based on candidate experience) to help develop automation and control systems for the next generation of electric turbo machinery for thermal energy systems. The successful candidate will own the design, implementation, and validation of control systems for the Karman HPU and future product lines.

This role requires broad technical ownership spanning software, hardware, process design, instrumentation, and test. This role will be responsible for all aspects of control system design from conception, through to successful product integration and operation in the field. We are a team that values first-principles thinking, hands-on problem solving, and close cross-functional collaboration to deliver cohesive, high-performance systems.

• Ownership of critical hardware, software, components, and responsibility for every aspect of the design. Demonstrate ownership including manufacturing and assembly of early prototypes.
• Collaborate with a multidisciplinary team to understand the intended operation of Karman machinery.
• Develop state machines, cause & effect diagrams, control narratives, and instrument lists.
• Generate control panel wiring and panel layout schematics.
• Size and select instruments for use in high pressure and high temperature turbo machinery systems.
• Program, test, and troubleshoot PLC/IPC software.
• Develop HMI dashboards for internal and customer use.
• Lead Factory Acceptance Testing.
• Design the network architecture required to integrate Karman machinery with customer sites.
• Analyze and implement compliance and certification requirements for industrial deployment.
• Closely partner with internal manufacturing team and external partners to rapidly iterate and ensure efficient build of systems and components.
• Ensure designs meet performance targets, cost objectives, and program schedules.

• Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, computer science, chemical engineering, physics or related discipline.
• 3+ years of experience in the development of complex industrial, manufacturing, or embedded control systems.
• Demonstrated capacity to drive all aspects of control system development covering both software and hardware implementation.
• Experienced with a range of sensors and transmitters including, pressure, temperature, and flow.
• Expertise in one or more control system platforms, including, but not limited to:
  Allen Bradley, Beckhoff, Siemens, ABB, Mitsubishi, etc.
• Highly self-motivated, detail-oriented, and capable of managing multiple priorities with excellent communication skills.

• Ma…