Instrumentation and Control Architect

Protingent; Oak Brook (IL); On-site; USD 145,000 - 215,000; Full time

Job summary

Protingent seeks an Instrumentation and Control Architect to define and maintain the top-level I&C architecture for reactor and supporting plant systems. The role requires deep expertise in safety-critical control, system-level design, and regulatory alignment.

You will lead architectural decisions, govern platforms and communication frameworks, and provide leadership across cross-disciplinary teams to support licensing, long-term roadmap, and risk mitigation.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Control Systems Engineering, Nuclear Engineering, or a related field.
• 10+ years of experience in system-level I&C architecture design in nuclear, energy, or aerospace.
• Experience with safety-critical or highly regulated control systems.
• Strong knowledge of industry codes and standards (IEEE, ISA, NRC).
• Deep technical expertise in control logic design, networks, and cybersecurity for safety-critical I&C.
• Demonstrated technical leadership and decision-making.

Responsibilities

• Define and maintain the top-level I&C architecture for reactor and supporting plant systems.
• Establish architectural principles for independence, redundancy, diversity, and defense-in-depth.
• Select and govern I&C platforms, technologies, and communication frameworks.
• Establish and maintain the I&C design basis and system requirements aligned with safety and licensing needs.
• Maintain requirements traceability and architectural consistency across systems and components.
• Lead system-level safety and reliability evaluations (FMEA, common-cause, independence, single-failure).
• Provide architectural and technical leadership in the design, resolution of cross-disciplinary architectural issues, management of technical risks, and support licensing and long-term roadmap development and implementation.

Skills

System-level I&C architecture

Technical leadership

Risk assessment

Nuclear safety culture

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Control Systems Engineering, Nuclear Engineering, or related field

Tools

IEEE standards

ISA standards

NRC regulations

FPGA-based protection/control

Job description

Job Description

Position Title:

Instrumentation and Control Architect

Job Responsibilities

• Define and maintain the top?level I&C architecture for reactor and supporting plant systems.
• Establish architectural principles for independence, redundancy, diversity, and defense?in?depth.
• Select and govern I&C platforms, technologies, and communication frameworks.
• Establish and maintain the I&C design basis and system requirements aligned with safety and licensing needs.
• Maintain requirements traceability and architectural consistency across systems and components.
• Lead system?level safety and reliability evaluations (FMEA, common?cause, independence, single?failure).
• Provide architectural and technical leadership in the design, resolution of cross?disciplinary architectural issues, management of technical risks, and support licensing and long?term roadmap development and implementation.

Job Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Control Systems Engineering, Nuclear Engineering, or a related field.
• 10+ years (or M.Sc. and 8+ years) of experience in system-level I&C architecture design, preferably in nuclear, energy, or aerospace.
• Experience with safety-critical or highly regulated control systems.
• Strong knowledge of industry codes and standards related to I&C systems (e.g., IEEE, ISA, NRC) and engineering practices.
• Deep technical expertise in control logic design, network protocols, and cybersecurity practices for nuclear or safety-critical I&C.
• Demonstrated technical leadership and decision-making capability.

Preferred Qualifications

• 12+ years of experience.
• Experience with nuclear safety-related digital I&C.
• Advanced reactor experience.
• FPGA-based protection/control systems.

Job Details

• Job Type: Full-time
• Salary Range: $145,000 - $215,000
• Location: Oak Brook, IL (Onsite) or Remote.

About Protingent

Protingent is a niche provider of top Engineering and IT talent to Software, Electronics, Medical Device, Telecom, and Aerospace companies nationwide. Protingent exists to make a positive impact and contribution to the lives of others as well as our community by providing relevant, rewarding, and exciting work opportunities for our candidates.