Senior System Engineer

Lead Control Systems Engineer, Power and EnergyLocation: East Bay area, Northern CaliforniaSalary: Up to $130,000 base, with room to go higher for a genuinely senior hire, plus performance bonus and full benefitsSchedule: Full time. Remote while a new local office is stood up, then in office from late October This is the first proper hire into a brand new Northern California office, which means you get to shape it rather than join it. The company is one of the largest independent, employee-owned automation and information solutions integrators in North America, with around a thousand engineers and offices across the US, Asia and Europe. Power and energy makes up more than half of what they do, so the practice being built here is core, not a side bet. Engineers tend to stay long term because the work is steady, the benefits are strong, and people are trusted to get on with their jobs. There has never been a layoff. What you'll do The stack is Rockwell underneath and SCADA on top, and in this vertical the SCADA layer is where the real work sits. You would design SCADA architectures rather than build screens on somebody else's, write and commission ControlLogix and Studio 5000 logic, and take projects from scope through startup. Historian work, SQL and scripting are part of the job. Clients sit across utilities and power generation, water and wastewater, micro grids, hospital central plant and data centre power, and you would run several projects at once. What you'll need 10+ years in control systems, with a track record of owning delivery rather than being handed it. Real Rockwell depth in production, and SCADA architecture you designed rather than inherited, on a named platform. Power, energy, water or campus utility experience, so you understand the process and not just the controllers.SQL, Python or a PI historian alongside the controls is a genuine advantage. If your profile looks a little more IT than the average controls engineer, that is a good sign.You do not need to tick every box. If the SCADA depth and the domain are there, the rest can be discussed. Why this role is worth considering The stability here is not marketing, and the client base is the local biotech cluster, which is useful on a resume in this part of the state. Reasons engineers join include:Employee owned, with no layoff in the company's historyA core practice being planted in a new market, not an experimentPerformance bonus on top of base401(k) with company match, plus medical, dental and visionThree weeks PTOTravel incentives and per diem on field assignmentsOngoing training and certifications The working setup Remote is fine while the office is stood up, provided you have a proven remote working track record. From late October it is in person, so you need to be within a comfortable commute of the East Bay and want to be in an office long term. Relocation support is light, and there is no sponsorship. The kind of person who will do well Somebody who wants to build a practice rather than fill a seat, is comfortable being the only engineer in the room with a client, and can carry several projects at once. If you need permanent remote, prefer one long project to several, or want an established team from day one, this probably will not be the right role. If that sounds like the right shape, it is worth a conversation.