Controls and Automation Engineer, EN-CV

Big Science Sweden; Genf; Hybrid; CHF 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

CERN in Switzerland is seeking a Controls Engineer to contribute to the EN-CV group. You will work on PLCs, SCADA, and UNICOS-based control solutions across accelerator facilities. This role covers requirements gathering, design, and implementation of control systems.

You will collaborate with physicists and engineers to ensure reliability and maintainability of critical infrastructure, applying industrial automation best practices and rigorous validation.

Qualifications

• Experience with the full lifecycle of control systems.
• Familiarity with PLCs, SCADA and industrial automation.
• Ability to define requirements and specifications.

Responsibilities

• Define requirements and technical specifications for control solutions.
• Design, implement, test, and maintain industrial automation systems.
• Support operation and maintenance across EN-CV installations.

Skills

PLC programming

SCADA systems

Industrial control systems

Requirements analysis

System integration

Tools

UNICOS framework

Job description

The Engineering Department (EN) pushes the boundaries of technology to enable physicists to carry out world-class scientific research. Within the EN Department, the Cooling and Ventilation Group ( EN-CV ) is responsible for the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of the cooling and ventilation installations that support CERN’s accelerators, experimental facilities, and technical infrastructure.

Within EN-CV, the Controls Section (EN-CV-CL) is responsible for the specification, development, commissioning, operation, and maintenance of the industrial control systems used across all EN-CV installations.

The EN-CV control systems are based on industrial technologies, including Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs), Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems, the UNICOS framework developed at CERN, automated code generation tools, and virtual commissioning methodologies. More than 650 PLCs are currently deployed and operated across EN-CV facilities, requiring a very high level of reliability, availability, and maintainability.

As a Controls Engineer, you will be involved in the full lifecycle of industrial control systems, from defining requirements and technical specifications to designing and implementing control solutions.