Controls and Data Systems Integration Engineer

SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory; California (MO); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory’s LCLS seeks a Controls and Data Systems Integration Engineer to design, implement, and sustain advanced hardware and software solutions for scientific instrumentation across experimental halls.

You will own the instrument’s controls and data systems architecture, provide technical leadership, and coordinate with scientists and operations to enable high-rate, reproducible measurements in a world-leading XFEL program.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in physics, computer science, engineering or related field with 3+ years in scientific instrumentation or control systems.
• Experience designing, integrating, and sustaining distributed control/data-acquisition systems.
• Ability to learn broad hardware/software systems quickly and apply disciplined engineering practices.

Responsibilities

• Plan, implement, and validate experimental system installations including requirements, commissioning plans and acceptance testing.
• Design and maintain controls architectures across PLCs, fieldbus I/O, embedded controllers, timing systems, and Linux IOCs.
• Develop EPICS-based control/DAQ software, device support, alarms, archiver, and operator interfaces.

Skills

EPICS-based control software

Systems engineering

Root-cause analysis

Education

Bachelor's degree in physics, computer science, or engineering

Tools

Linux-based IOCs

PLC systems

EPICS toolkit

Job description

Job Description

Position overview: The Experiment Control Systems (ECS) division within the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) Directorate at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory is seeking a Controls and Data Systems Integration Engineer to design, implement, and sustain advanced hardware and software solutions for both commercial and highly customized scientific instrumentation in one of several experimental halls.

In this role, you will design, integrate, and operate distributed control and data acquisition systems spanning motion control, vacuum, timing, detectors, laser diagnostics, and scientific instrumentation. These systems support reliable experimental operations and high-performance data collection at kHz-MHz event rates, enabling reproducible measurements and efficient operation for a diverse international user community.

You will report to a Group Lead within the ECS Controls and Data Systems Owners Department and be part of a multidisciplinary engineering team responsible for delivering integrated solutions spanning scientific instruments, laser systems, controls, and data acquisition. As the Controls and Data System Owner (CDSO) for one of LCLS's scientific instruments, you will be responsible for its technical roadmap, operational reliability, controls architecture, and data systems, supporting a world-leading X-ray science program. You will provide technical leadership for the instrument's controls and data systems architecture, ensuring maintainability, scalability, and alignment with evolving scientific requirements. This includes evolving controls infrastructure to support next-generation experiments that push the limits of spatiotemporal resolution, stability, and data throughput at the world's first hard X-ray free-electron laser (XFEL).

LCLS offers unparalleled capability in photon energy range, peak power, and pulse duration, enabling researchers to probe the structure and dynamics of matter at the atomic scale and on ultrafast timescales. The successful candidate will contribute directly to experiments at the forefront of ultrafast science, enabling discoveries in quantum materials, chemistry, biology, and energy sciences. This position plays a critical role in maintaining and advancing these capabilities through disciplined engineering practices, rigorous commissioning, and a strong culture of safety and operational excellence.

See https://lcls.slac.stanford.edu/ for more on LCLS and the unique capabilities of our instrument facilities.

Your specific responsibilities include the following:

• Plan, execute, and validate experimental system installations, including requirements development, ICDs, commissioning plans, and acceptance testing.
• Manage the full lifecycle of controls and data systems, including design, commissioning, operation, maintenance, upgrades, and sustainment.
• Design and maintain controls architectures spanning PLCs, fieldbus I/O, embedded controllers, timing systems, and Linux-based IOCs, ensuring deterministic and fail-safe operation.
• Develop EPICS-based control and data acquisition software, including device support, alarm/archiver integration, and operator interfaces; maintain documentation.
• Integrate and support controls and data systems hardware/software, including detectors, motion systems, vacuum, lasers, and facility infrastructure.
• Collaborate with scientists and data systems engineers to optimize data acquisition, metadata handling, and data flow workflows.
• Lead system reconfiguration and upgrades, including configuration management, version control, and change control.
• Support operations and commissioning, including troubleshooting during maintenance and user operations.
• Participate in subsystem upgrades (e.g., laser and timing systems), including evaluation, selection, and integration of solutions.
• Diagnose and resolve complex cross-domain issues across controls, software, instrumentation, networking, and timing systems using structured troubleshooting and root-cause analysis.
• Translate experimental needs into controls and DAQ specifications, test plans, and operational procedures in collaboration with stakeholders.
• Serve as the primary interface between instrument scientists, engineers, and operations teams for controls and data systems.

Work with unique instrumentation and electronics systems, such as the following:

• Sample delivery systems
• Femtosecond timing systems
• X-ray detectors (e.g., CCDs and related instrumentation)
• Machine protection and personnel safety systems

To be successful in this position, you will bring:

• Bachelor's degree in physics, computer science, engineering, or a related field, and at least three years of relevant experience in scientific instrumentation, control systems, software development, or systems engineering. An advanced degree may be considered in lieu of some experience.
• Ability to quickly learn and apply a broad range of hardware and software systems.
• S