Controls and Protection Systems Engineer, SSRL

Position Overview

Join the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL) at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory as a controls and protection systems engineer, working at the intersection of hardware, software, and beamline science. You will solve complex technical problems in a collaborative, multidisciplinary environment where engineering decisions directly enable breakthrough research on cutting‑edge experimental instrumentation. This role balances operational support and system engineering: you will join the team that maintains the existing protection systems, keeping this world‑class particle accelerator facility running, while also developing motion control and safety systems for advanced scientific experimental equipment.

Alongside the hardware work, you will build the software, automation, and operator interfaces (HMIs, GUIs, and dashboards) that scientists and operators rely on to run experiments. You will help ensure that personnel, the storage ring, and the advanced scientific instrumentation that depends on it are protected, critical to enabling the high‑impact research performed by SSRL's international research community.

• Operational Support:
  Participate in a shared on‑call responsibility to provide 24/7 support for critical Protection Systems, primarily during beam operations. Work closely with accelerator physics, operations, vacuum, controls, and experimental systems groups to ensure protection systems meet the evolving needs of SSRL's scientific user program.
• Facility Support:
  Troubleshoot, repair, and validate protection system interlocks alongside motion control, data acquisition, and specialized synchrotron radiation instrumentation to minimize downtime for the SSRL scientific user program.
• Commissioning & Testing:
  Assist with the development of test procedures and with testing of interlock chains during maintenance shutdowns to verify that logic correctly inhibits beam operation under fault conditions.
• Systems Design:
  Develop motion control systems and specialized experimental instrumentation, collaboratively with a group of scientists and technical staff. Research and specify components such as stages, motors, drivers, and encoders.
• Project Supervision:
  Follow through on instrumentation development and installation projects from initial concept through design review sessions, culminating with directing electronics and mechanical technicians in the fabrication and installation of novel devices. Schedule fabrication and coordinate activities to ensure project deadlines are met on time.
• Operator Interfaces:
  Develop and maintain production‑level HMIs, GUIs, and operator dashboards for protection systems, motion control, and experimental instrumentation, enabling effective monitoring and control by operators, scientists, and engineering staff.
• Engineering Documentation:
  Produce and maintain system documentation – interlock logic, I/O lists, test procedures, configuration records, and operational notes – keeping it current through upgrade, commissioning, and troubleshooting activities. Apply configuration management, version control, and formal change control to safety‑critical protection systems in accordance with the SLAC Conduct of Engineering.

• Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, computer engineering, or a related engineering discipline, and a minimum of 2 years of experience.
• Demonstrated ability to troubleshoot complex systems, particularly in mixed‑technology environments where state‑of‑the‑art and legacy equipment co‑exist.
• Experience documenting engineering changes and writing standard operating procedures (SOPs) or comparable technical documentation (design docs, runbooks, API references).
• Experience developing operator interfaces (HMIs, GUIs, or dashboards) for engineering or scientific systems, using Python or comparable languages and frameworks.
• Demonstrated ability to design motion control systems.
• Experience in the design of electrical conditioning‑circuits is required, such as for optical switches, incremental and absolute encoders, x‑ray ionization chambers, and PIN diode…