Instrumentation and Controls Engineer - PLC Focus

About the role

This position serves as an Instrumentation & Control Engineer at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), a U.S. Department of Energy National Laboratory managed by Princeton University. The engineer will work closely with engineers, technical staff, and researchers to design, deploy, and operate control and protection systems for plasma experiments, supporting both national and international collaborations. The role involves the design, development, testing, and operational phases of projects, requiring collaboration with scientific and engineering teams to develop novel solutions.

Responsibilities

• Design, maintain, and support instrumentation and control systems (60%).
• Daily operation and maintenance of control and monitoring systems (15%).
• Develop diagrams, drawings, and documentation for systems (10%).
• Apply controls theory to refine and improve the design of legacy and new systems (15%).
• Hands‑on testing of systems, diagnosing failures, and performing repairs as needed.

Qualifications

Education: Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related discipline.

The candidate must have diversified knowledge of engineering instrumentation & control principles, familiarity with common software, design tools, and operating systems (Windows and Linux), and strong communication skills for presenting designs and providing review materials.

Skills

• Hardware interfacing and control, including signal conditioning.
• Experience with PLC device families such as Allen‑Bradley and Siemens in new and legacy systems.
• Creation and interpretation of PLC programs using ladder logic, function block diagram, and sequential function chart.
• Development of operator HMIs, including screens, alarm servers, and data historians.
• Application of controls theory for design and tuning of fast and slow systems.
• Software version control and configuration management.
• Communication protocols such as TCP, UDP, Modbus, and OPC.
• Requirements definition, creation of hardware and software design documents, test design, and system integration.
• Safety systems design, programming, and maintenance per IEC‑61511/61508.
• SCADA programs such as EPICS.
• Deriving novel control solutions from customer requirements or system documentation.
• HMI design per ISA‑101 “Human‑Machine Interfaces.”
• Migrating legacy control systems to modern hardware and software.
• Electrically safe work practices, including establishing lockout/tagout.
• Database management and administration (e.g., SQL, HDF5, MDSplus).

Physical Requirements & Working Conditions

Primarily office work with occasional hands‑on technical tasks.

On‑site at PPPL, Monday – Friday.

Pay

Salary range: $90,600 to $144,600 per year.

Schedule

Standard weekly hours: 40.00. Not eligible for overtime.

Benefits

The University offers a comprehensive benefits program to eligible employees.