Senior Controls Engineer

Lazarus Energy; El Segundo (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 220,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical benefits

Dental benefits

Vision benefits

401k plan

Paid holidays & PTO

Equity ownership

Fully stocked kitchen

Job summary

Lazarus Energy in El Segundo, CA, is seeking a self-driven Control Systems Engineer to own the MW-class machine control system, safety architecture, and DAQ from ground up. You will work closely with the founding team to architect and implement controller, trip logic, and real-time software, with hands-on commissioning on aggressive timelines.

You will design closed-loop control sequences, oversee protection logic, and ensure safe, reliable operation across startup to shutdown.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or higher in controls, electrical, mechanical, aerospace, software, or similar engineering.
• Experience designing and implementing real-time control systems for physical hardware.

Responsibilities

• Own the control system for the MW machine, including controller/PLC, safety-system architecture, I/O list, and software.
• Design and implement closed-loop control of the machine including start-up, steady state, and shutdown sequencing.
• Own the trip and protection logic for overspeed, surge, loss of load, etc.
• Write and test real-time safety-critical control software using bench and HIL testing against a simulated machine.
• Own the machine’s DAQ and instrumentation, coordinating with Test Engineer for test-stand DAQ.
• Support bring-up, commissioning, and test campaigns with hands-on tuning and debugging.

Skills

Real-time control systems

Closed-loop control

Safety/trip logic

Programming (Python/C/C++)

Instrumentation concept

Leadership communication

Education

Bachelor's degree or higher in controls, electrical, mechanical, aerospace, software, or similar engineering.

Tools

LabVIEW

CAN/EtherCAT/Modbus

Job description

This role owns the controls, software, and data acquisition for our MW-class machine. You will be building the brain that runs our system and proves it out. Working directly with the founding team, you’ll architect and write the control system, the trip and protection logic, and the DAQ from the ground up. This will encompass how the machine starts, runs, stays safe, and gets shut down. The role blends real-time controls and software with hands-on commissioning on aggressive timelines.

Responsibilities

• Own the control system for the MW machine, including the controller / PLC, safety-system architecture, the I/O list, and the software that runs on it
• Design and implement closed-loop control of the machine including start-up, steady state, and shutdown sequencing
• Own the trip and protection logic for overspeed, surge, loss of load, etc.
• Write and test the real-time, safety-critical control software, using bench and hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) testing to prove out the control and trip logic against a simulated machine before it ever runs the real one.
• Own the machine’s DAQ and operational instrumentation, including sensor selection, signal chains, sample rates, logging, etc. You will do this while coordinating with the Test Engineer who owns the test-stand DAQ and test infrastructure
• Support bring-up, commissioning, and test campaigns with hands on tuning, debugging, and anything else required to get the machine up and running

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or higher in controls, electrical, mechanical, aerospace, software, or similar engineering.
• Experience designing and implementing real-time control systems for physical hardware (PLC, cRIO/PXI, or equivalent).
• Strong controls fundamentals including closed-loop control, sequencing, and machine protection / trip logic.
• Ability to write and debug the control and safety software yourself (e.g., LabVIEW, Python, C/C++, or equivalent real-time environments).
• DAQ and instrumentation fundamentals like sensor selection, signal conditioning, and logging.
• Working understanding of the physical systems being controlled (thermal-fluid behavior or rotating machinery)
• Excellent communication and leadership skills and a willingness to learn / teach

Preferred Qualifications

• Controls for rotating machinery, turbomachinery, or energetic / high-pressure systems.
• Knowledge of industrial and real-time communication protocols (CAN, EtherCAT, Modbus, or similar) for interfacing drives, sensors, and actuators.
• Safety-critical / functional-safety software practices.
• Standing up DAQ for a new test stand.
• Early stage or start-up experience
• US salary range: $150,000 - $220,000
• Meaningful equity ownership
• Company wide medical, dental, and vision insurance
• 401k plan and paid holidays & PTO
• Fully stocked kitchen with snacks, coffee, and lunch