Beamline Controls & Safety Systems Engineer

SLAC; Menlo Park (CA); On-site; USD 135,000 - 165,000; Full time

Job summary

SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory’s SSRL seeks a controls and protection systems engineer to bridge hardware, software, and beamline science. You will help ensure safety and reliability of protection systems while developing motion control and safety electronics for advanced instruments.

You will build production-level HMIs, GUIs, and dashboards, document changes, and collaborate with accelerator scientists, engineers, and operations staff to enable world-class experiments and safe beam

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering or related field.
• Experience troubleshooting complex systems in mixed-technology environments.
• Experience documenting engineering changes and SOPs/runbooks.
• Experience developing operator interfaces (HMIs, GUIs, dashboards) using Python or similar.
• Ability to design motion control systems.
• Experience in electrical conditioning-circuits (optical switches, encoders, detectors).
• Comfortable with Linux CLI and scientific computing tools.
• Strong cross-team communication.

Responsibilities

• Provide 24/7 on-call support for protection systems during beam operations.
• Troubleshoot and validate protection system interlocks alongside motion control and instrumentation.
• Assist with test procedures and interlock chain testing during shutdowns.
• Develop motion control systems and experimental instrumentation with scientists and technicians.
• Lead projects from concept to installation, coordinating fabrication and schedules.
• Create and maintain HMIs, GUIs, and dashboards for protection systems and instrumentation.
• Maintain system documentation and apply change control to safety-critical systems.

Skills

Python

Motion control

HMIs/GUIs

Interlocks

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering or related field

Tools

EPICS

Galil motion controllers

FPGA (VHDL)

Job description

SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory’s SSRL seeks a controls and protection systems engineer to bridge hardware, software, and beamline science. You will help ensure safety and reliability of protection systems while developing motion control and safety electronics for advanced instruments.

You will build production-level HMIs, GUIs, and dashboards, document changes, and collaborate with accelerator scientists, engineers, and operations staff to enable world-class experiments and safe beam