Senior Controls Engineer

Job Description

Key Responsibilities

About the Role

• We are looking for a hands-on Senior Control Engineer to lead the development and operation of complex microgrid control systems that integrate with our Electric Locomotive charging infrastructure.
• In this role, you will own the full control stack — from field-level device integration through SCADA development to cloud-connected analytics and optimization.
• You will design and implement sophisticated control logic using Ignition by Inductive Automation, integrating diverse energy assets (solar, BESS, grid interconnects, chargers) into a unified, reliable control plane. Your work will also extend into software engineering — building cloud backends, data pipelines, and internal tools that support our real-time energy management platform.
• Your systems will directly command physical hardware, optimizing energy flows and enabling the next generation of rail transportation. This is a high-impact role requiring deep control systems expertise combined with modern software engineering capabilities.
• We operate with extreme ownership and speed. If you want a 9-to-5 where you wait for tickets, this isn't it. If you want to build the future of rail energy, read on.

What you'll do

• Design, develop, and maintain microgrid SCADA/HMI systems in Ignition (JPython scripting, alarming, reporting, tag architecture, and gateway administration).
• Architect and implement control logic for complex microgrid systems — managing solar inverters, battery energy storage systems (BESS), grid-tie interconnections, and EV/locomotive chargers.
• Integrate diverse industrial hardware using protocols such as Modbus TCP/RTU, OPC-UA, DNP3, and CANbus.
• Implement the bi-directional communication pipeline (Cloud ↔ Edge) via MQTT, ensuring data integrity and handling connectivity edge cases.
• Develop Python-based backend services, converting optimization model outputs into actionable commands for field devices.
• Build internal management dashboards to monitor system health, energy flows, and operational metrics.
• Support cloud infrastructure and data pipelines on AWS (DynamoDB, Lambda, IoT Core) to complement edge control systems
• Travel occasionally for on-site commissioning, integration testing, and troubleshooting at deployment locations

What we're looking For (Requirements)

• 5+ years of hands-on experience with Ignition by Inductive Automation — including project design, scripting (Python/Jython), tag configuration, alarming, transaction groups, and gateway network architecture.
• Expertise in microgrid control systems — you understand power flows, protection schemes, islanding/reconnection logic, and the coordination of DERs (solar, BESS, gensets, loads).
• Strong proficiency in Python — beyond Ignition scripting, you can build standalone services, data processing pipelines, and automation tools.
• Proven track record integrating software with physical hardware. You are comfortable debugging issues where the "bug " might be a loose wire, a protocol mismatch, or a misconfigured register map.
• Fluency in industrial communication protocols: Modbus TCP, OPC-UA, DNP3, or CANbus.
• Demonstrate strong research and learning capabilities with excellent critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
• Experience in defining MVPs, conducting code reviews, mentoring junior engineers, and making architectural decisions that balance speed with reliability.
• Experience or strong willingness to work with AWS services (DynamoDB, Lambda, IoT Core) for cloud-connected control applications.

Bonus

Experience with JavaScript/TypeScript for frontend/dashboard tasks.