Director, IC&E — Power Conversion & Turbomachinery (Equity)

Blackwing; Torrance, Northern (CA, KY); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 300,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive base salary

Equity ownership

Medical benefits

Unlimited PTO

Free daily lunch and dinner onsite

PPE stipend

Job summary

Valar Atomics seeks a Director of IC&E for Power Conversion to own instrumentation, control, and electrical architecture across the HTGR power conversion system. You will bridge R&D, test facilities, commissioning, and integrated plant operation to deliver reliable, safe power conversion.

You will lead a multidisciplinary IC&E team, define the engineering roadmap, manage vendor relationships, and collaborate with turbomachinery, mechanical, and reactor teams to ensure coherent plant

Qualifications

• 15+ years of engineering experience in instrumentation, control systems, and/or electrical design for rotating machinery, turbomachinery, or high-performance industrial systems.
• Hands-on experience with turbomachinery control systems — speed governing, surge protection, bearing monitoring, trip logic, or equivalent.
• Experience leading IC&E scope on test facilities, development rigs, or capital construction projects.
• Strong foundation in electrical systems design: switchgear, motor drives, protection and controls, and facility power distribution.
• Experience managing IC&E teams and vendor relationships across multiple project phases.

Responsibilities

• Own the IC&E design basis for the primary to secondary coolant loop Brayton cycle power conversion unit (PCU), including compressor, turbine, recuperator, and intercooler control systems.
• Define instrumentation strategy for high-speed rotating machinery — shaft dynamics, vibration monitoring, tip clearance, temperature, pressure, and flow measurement in helium environments.
• Develop control system architecture for turbomachinery startup, shutdown, load following, trip logic, and speed/load governing.
• Lead IC&E design for development generator sets — excitation systems, voltage regulation, synchronization, protection relays, and grid interface or islanded operation schemes.
• Establish electrical power distribution design for the power conversion facility: MV/LV switchgear, variable frequency drives (VFDs), power electronics, and auxiliary systems.

Skills

Turbomachinery control

Rotating machinery

Instrumentation & control

Electrical design

Vendor management

Team leadership

Test facility design

Power conversion

Job description

Valar Atomics seeks a Director of IC&E for Power Conversion to own instrumentation, control, and electrical architecture across the HTGR power conversion system. You will bridge R&D, test facilities, commissioning, and integrated plant operation to deliver reliable, safe power conversion.

You will lead a multidisciplinary IC&E team, define the engineering roadmap, manage vendor relationships, and collaborate with turbomachinery, mechanical, and reactor teams to ensure coherent plant