Lead Fusion Controls Developer

About the role

The Lead Fusion Controls Developer will design, build, and own parts of the control systems and software that operate Realta's suite of fusion devices, post-processing, and simulation tools. This is a high-impact technical leadership role that influences the full controls stack, from operator interfaces and visualization tools to hardware integration, real-time data acquisition, and automation infrastructure. The ideal candidate brings deep expertise in either front-end controls and human-machine interfaces or back-end controls and hardware integration, along with the curiosity and collaborative instinct to work fluidly across both. You will work shoulder-to-shoulder with physicists, engineers, and technicians to commission and operate first-of-a-kind fusion experiments in a fast-moving environment. This position may be focused on leading efforts in either back-end or front-end controls, or have elements of both.

Responsibilities

• Provide guidance to junior staff.
• Collaborate within controls team and closely with engineering and physics teams to define control system requirements and prioritize development efforts across active programs.
• Participate in design reviews, contributing a controls perspective on new hardware, diagnostics, and infrastructure proposals.
• Champion safe and reliable operation of experimental systems through rigorous controls design, clear alarming, and well-maintained interlock logic.
• Design and develop operator interfaces, control panels, and visualization tools that give the experimental team clear, intuitive command of complex fusion systems.
• Build and maintain dashboards and display tools for real-time monitoring of plasma, magnet, vacuum, and power system parameters.
• Develop graphical and data-driven tools to support experimental operations, shot control workflows, and system diagnostics.
• Collaborate with physicists and device operators to translate experimental needs into clear, functional interface requirements.
• Integrate simulation and digital twin capabilities with live controls displays to support pre-shot planning and post-shot analysis.
• Develop and maintain control system software for integration with hardware including power supplies, magnet systems, diagnostics, and vacuum and gas handling equipment.
• Design and implement data acquisition pipelines, event-driven control logic, and real-time interlock systems.
• Build and maintain device drivers, PLC interfaces, and low-level hardware communication layers.
• Maintain and extend control system frameworks (EPICS, Tango Controls, LabVIEW, or equivalent) across the device fleet.
• Develop control system architectures that are robust, testable