Senior Instrumentation Engineer

Talus Renewables; United States; Remote; USD 130,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Talus Renewables is seeking a Senior Instrumentation Engineer to own instrument hardware for talusOne/talusTen product lines, from datasheets to procurement, with responsibility for loop checkout and reliability in service. The role is fully remote and open to candidates worldwide with strong English skills.

You will lead instrument specifications, select technologies, manage panels to UL/IEC standards, and coordinate with vendors and the control-system owner to ensure quality and safety across

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical, Chemical, Mechanical, Instrumentation or Controls Engineering, or equivalent.
• 10+ years in process instrumentation engineering, hydrogen/ammonia or chemical plant service.
• Experience taking at least two plants through full instrumentation lifecycle.
• Knowledge of control narrative and instrument specification sets.
• Familiar with ISA 5.1, ISA 20, API 551, IEC 60534/ISA 75, NEC 500/505, IEC 60079 with ATEX/IECEx.
• Ability to specify instruments/panels to UL/NEC or IEC/ATEX and CE marking where applicable.
• Understanding of IEC 61511/ISA 84 and SIL impact on device selection and testing.
• Experience with FAT, loop checks, SAT and integration with control system owners.

Responsibilities

• Write and maintain instrument specifications for each product line and manage panel interconnection standards.
• Own control valves, regulators and local controllers from specification to procurement.
• Translate process duty into defendable datasheets and manage instrument index through as-built.
• Select measurement technology for each process service and conditions.
• Set panel design standards to UL 508A/698A or IEC 61439 and manage area classification inputs.
• Define hardware content for controls design basis and align with SIL targets.
• Lead RFQ packages, technical bid tabulation and final contract documents.
• Define panel FAT, instrument inspection, loop check sheets and commissioning support.
• Support field reliability, root-cause analysis and safety reviews (HAZOP/LOPA).

Skills

Instrumentation engineering

SIL / LOPA

Project leadership

ISA 5.1

ISA 20

IEC 61511 / ISA 84

UL/NEC knowledge

Vendor management

Technical writing

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical/Mechanical/Instrumentation Engineering

Tools

SmartPlant Instrumentation

Valve sizing tools

AutoCAD

Job description

About Talus

Talus' mission is to realize humanity's sustainable future by improving access to food and fuel for all. We do this by producing green ammonia -- the building block for all synthetic fertilizers -- from renewable electricity, water, and air.

Today, we're building a distributed network of modular green ammonia systems across the world. We produce reliable, carbon-free anhydrous ammonia under long-term contracts, primarily for fertilizer and increasingly for mining and fuel, at a fraction of the current market price. We offer fertilizer on tap, on farm, at half the price. Our first system is in Kenya. In the future, our platform will improve access to locally produced renewable energy and alternative fuels in communities around the world.

Senior Instrumentation Engineer

We are seeking a Senior Instrumentation Engineer to own the instrument hardware on our talusOne and talusTen product lines: field instruments, control valves, control panels and their interconnection, from datasheets through procurement, factory testing, loop checkout and reliability in service. You will report to our VP Engineering.

Talus is an owner-operator that builds repeatable plants and sells their ammonia under long-term contracts. Because each specification is reused across the fleet, consistency matters. Engineering, integration and vendor partners provide the application software, panels and hardware; you own the requirements, guide the work and approve the final deliverables. This fully remote role is open to candidates worldwide who have strong English skills.

Key Responsibilities

• Specifications and standards: Write and maintain the Talus instrument specifications for each product line: specifications, datasheets, hook-up and installation details, and the panel and interconnection standard. Own control valves, regulators and local controllers from Process's specification through procurement.
• Datasheets and instrument index: Translate process duty into datasheets you can defend line by line. Own the instrument index from preliminary through as-built and mark up P&IDs for instrumentation content.
• Technology selection: Select and justify measurement technology for each process service and its conditions.
• Panels and hazardous area: Set panel design standards to UL 508A/698A or IEC 61439 as the site requires. Own area classification inputs and the protection concept per location to NEC 500/505 or IEC 60079 / ATEX.
• Design basis contribution: Own the hardware content of the controls design basis (instrument index, measurement ranges, device trip and alarm capability, panel requirements) and feed hardware constraints into the control narrative, cause and effect tables and alarm lists held by our control system owner. Where a LOPA assigns a SIL target, select the SIL-rated devices, support SIL verification and write the field proof-test procedures.
• Procurement technical support: Carry the technical side of every instrument, valve and panel package: RFQ package, technical bid tabulation and award recommendation, RFIs and clarifications resolved and reflected in the final documents, and the package issued as the contract basis.
• FAT, loop checkout and commissioning quality: Define and witness panel FAT and instrument inspection against the issued design. Support Deployment in building the instrument portion of the commissioning package (loop check sheets, calibration records, loop folders), assure its quality, and witness loop checkout and SAT.
• Field reliability and process safety: Close out instrument problems on running plants at root cause, keep the bad-actor list and set calibration intervals with our reliability engineer. Represent instrumentation in HAZOP, LOPA, MOC and incident investigations, and fold what each site teaches into the specification set.

Required Qualifications

We expect most of the below (if you don't have all, we still encourage you to reach out).

• Strong commitment to the Talus mission and the ability to thrive in a fast-paced, mission-driven startup environment.
• Bachelor's degree in Electrical, Chemical, Mechanical, Instrumentation or Controls Engineering, or equivalent.
• 10+ years in process instrumentation engineering, most of it in hydrogen, ammonia, chemical or gas processing plant service.
• You have taken at least two plants or major units through the full instrumentation lifecycle yourself, from datasheets and RFQ through bid evaluation, FAT, loop checkout and SAT, and into steady operation.
• You have owned the control narrative for at least one unit, written it or directed the engineer or integrator who did, and signed off the result.
• You have built an instrument specification set from nothing, or taken one over from an EPC and made it the company's.
• Working command of ISA 5.1 and ISA 20, API 551, IEC 60534 / ISA 75, NEC 500/505 and IEC 60079 with ATEX/IECEx, and the judgment to say which governs.
• Able to specify instruments and panels to either code basis: UL/NEC for North America, IEC/ATEX with CE marking elsewhere.
• Working understanding of IEC 61511 / ISA 84 and how SIL rating affects device selection and proof testing.
• You have witnessed panel FAT, checked loops and troubleshot instruments that were already installed and already lying.
• Able to hold integrators, panel shops and vendors you do not manage to scope, schedule and quality, across time zones and cultures.
• Clear technical writer who can direct junior and contracted engineers; the specification set is the product.

Preferred Qualifications

• Ammonia synthesis, hydrogen electrolysis, air separation or refinery hydrogen unit instrumentation.
• Functional safety training (ISA SIS certificate, exida CFSP or TÜV FS) and experience specifying SIL-rated devices.
• Able to lead the purchase of analyzer and fire-and-gas packages with a third-party analyzer engineer.
• Time on the supply side, at an instrument OEM, panel shop or system integrator.
• Instrumentation on skid-mounted or modular plant, where routing and access are hard constraints.
• SmartPlant Instrumentation or equivalent, and valve and flow element sizing tools.
• PE, CEng or ISA CAP / CCST, and experience within an ISO 9001 quality system.
• Hands-on experience at project or plant sites in emerging markets.

Job Working Conditions

• Fully remote, open to candidates in any location with strong written and spoken English.
• Up to 50% travel, including international travel to operating and project sites in the US Midwest, Europe and East and southern Africa, and to vendor and fabricator facilities in the US and China.
• Site work at operating ammonia plants: outdoor, variable weather, noise and hazardous materials (ammonia, hydrogen), with appropriate PPE.