Director Instrumentation, Control, and Electrical – Power Conversion

About the role

The Director of Instrumentation, Controls, and Electrical (IC&E) for Power Conversion at Valar Atomics will own the full instrumentation, control, and electrical architecture for the HTGR power conversion system. This includes the Brayton cycle power conversion unit (PCU), development generator sets, and a purpose-built test facility program.

Key Responsibilities

• Technical Leadership — Turbomachinery & Power Conversion

• Own the IC&E design basis for the primary to secondary coolant loop Brayton cycle power conversion unit (PCU), including compressor, turbine, recuperator, and intercooler control systems
• Define instrumentation strategy for high-speed rotating machinery — shaft dynamics, vibration monitoring, tip clearance, temperature, pressure, and flow measurement in helium environments
• Develop control system architecture for turbomachinery startup, shutdown, load following, trip logic, and speed/load governing
• Lead IC&E design for development generator sets — excitation systems, voltage regulation, synchronization, protection relays, and grid interface or islanded operation schemes
• Establish electrical power distribution design for the power conversion facility: MV/LV switchgear, variable frequency drives (VFDs), power electronics, and auxiliary systems

• Test Facility Design, Construction & Commissioning

• Lead IC&E scope for the design and construction of turbomachinery development and test facilities — from instrumentation layout and data acquisition architecture through facility electrical design
• Own IC&E commissioning planning and execution
• Establish instrumentation calibration programs, measurement uncertainty budgets, and data quality standards for development testing

• Program & Team Leadership

• Build, lead, and mentor the power conversion IC&E engineering team across disciplines, controls, instrumentation, electrical, and data systems
• Define team structure, staffing plans, and competency roadmap as the program scales from R&D through construction and commissioning phases
• Manage IC&E scope, schedule, and budget within the broader power conversion program
• Select and manage IC&E vendors, system integrators, and instrumentation suppliers; define qualification, calibration, and acceptance requirements
• Collaborate closely with turbomachinery, mechanical, thermal-hydraulics, systems engineering, and the reactor IC&E team to ensure integrated plant control architecture is coherent across the PCU–reactor interface

• Phase Continuity

• Carry IC&E ownership across all power conversion program phases: conceptual design → detailed engineering → test facility procurement and construction → commissioning and integrated testing → reactor plant integration

Basic Qualifications

• 15+ years of engineering experience in instrumentation, control systems, and/or electrical design for rotating machinery, turbomachinery, or high-performance industrial systems
• Demonstrated hands-on experience with turbomachinery control systems — speed governing, surge protection, bearing monitoring, trip logic, or equivalent
• Experience leading IC&E scope on test facilities, development rigs, or capital construction projects
• Strong foundation in electrical systems design: switchgear, motor drives, protection and controls, and facility power distribution
• Experience managing IC&E teams and vendor relationships across multiple project phases

Preferred Skills and Experience

• Experience with high-speed generators, excitation systems, and power conversion electronics
• Background in Brayton cycle, gas turbine, or compressor-expander systems
• Familiarity with helium or other working fluid systems and associated instrumentation challenges (low viscosity, high thermal conductivity, leak detection)
• Experience with high-bandwidth data acquisition systems and dynamic measurement in rotating machinery applications
• Nuclear industry experience, commercial, defense, or national laboratory particularly in power conversion or balance-of-plant systems
• Knowledge of relevant standards: API 670 (machinery protection), IEEE 1023 (nuclear BOP control), IEC 61511 (functional safety), NFPA 70/79
• PE license (Instrumentation, Control, or Electrical) a plus