Senior Safety Systems Engineer, Machine Protection

SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory; Menlo Park (CA); On-site; USD 135,000 - 165,000; Full time

Job summary

SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory’s SSRL is seeking a Safety Systems Engineer in the Protection Systems Group to maintain and upgrade the Machine Protection System. You will balance operations with engineering, ensuring fast detection of faults and safe beam operation at the Stanford accelerator complex.

Responsibilities include migrating legacy MPS hardware to modern PLC-based interlock systems, developing PLC logic, HMI screens, testing, and documentation.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in electrical or computer engineering or equivalent.
• 2+ years of experience with PLC-based interlock systems.
• Experience trouble-shooting complex systems with mixed-technology environments.
• Experience documenting engineering changes and writing SOPs.

Responsibilities

• Infrastructure Modernization: migrate legacy MPS hardware to PLC-based interlock systems and design bridge interfaces.
• Legacy Facility Support: troubleshoot, repair, and calibrate legacy vacuum gauge controllers and relay logic.
• PLC Logic Development: architect and program interlock logic using Studio 5000; develop AOIs for valves, pumps, gauges.
• HMI & Diagnostics: develop HMI screens and data-logging for fault detection.
• Commissioning & Testing: develop test procedures and lead dry-run testing of interlock chains during shutdowns.
• Engineering Documentation: maintain system docs, adhere to change control and configuration management.
• Operational Support: participate in 24/7 on-call for critical MPS during beam operations.

Skills

Troubleshooting

Interlock systems

PLC programming

SOP documentation

Cross-functional communication

On-call support

Education

Bachelor's degree in electrical or computer engineering

Equivalent practical experience

Master's degree (preferred)

Tools

Allen-Bradley PLCs

HMI development

Studio 5000 (Ladder/Structured Text)

EPICS

Job description

SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory’s SSRL is seeking a Safety Systems Engineer in the Protection Systems Group to maintain and upgrade the Machine Protection System. You will balance operations with engineering, ensuring fast detection of faults and safe beam operation at the Stanford accelerator complex.

Responsibilities include migrating legacy MPS hardware to modern PLC-based interlock systems, developing PLC logic, HMI screens, testing, and documentation.