Staff Engineer 2: Safety Systems & PLC Interlocks

Abundance Network; Menlo Park (CA); On-site; USD 135,000 - 165,000; Full time

Job summary

SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in Menlo Park, CA is seeking a Safety Systems Engineer for the Protection Systems Group to advance interlock modernization, support legacy systems, and develop safety-critical PLC logic. The role requires collaboration with accelerator physics and operations teams to ensure beam protection during operations.

Qualifications include a Bachelor’s degree in electrical or computer engineering (or related field), 2+ years with PLC interlocks, and experience

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, computer engineering, or a related field.
• Minimum 2 years of experience with PLC-based interlock systems.
• Demonstrated ability to troubleshoot complex systems in mixed-technology environments.
• Experience documenting engineering changes and writing SOPs.
• Effective communication across multidisciplinary teams including physics, engineering and operations.
• Willingness to provide occasional 24/7 support for the assigned systems.

Responsibilities

• Infrastructure Modernization: migrate legacy MPS hardware to PLC-based interlock systems and design bridge interfaces for new PLC racks.
• Legacy Facility Support: troubleshoot, repair and calibrate legacy vacuum gauge controllers and relay-based logic.
• PLC Logic Development: program interlock logic using Studio 5000; develop AOIs for vacuum valves, pumps, gauges.
• HMI & Diagnostics: create HMI screens and data-logging for First-Out fault detection.
• Commissioning & Testing: develop test procedures and lead Dry Run testing of interlock chains during maintenance shutdowns.
• Engineering Documentation: maintain interlock descriptions, I/O lists, test procedures; apply CM and change control per SLAC guidelines.
• Operational Support: participate in 24/7 on-call support for Machine Protection Systems.

Skills

Effective Decisions

Self-Development

Dependability

Initiative

Adaptability

Communication

Relationships

Education

Bachelor's degree in electrical/computer engineering or related field

Master's degree in electrical/computer engineering preferred

Job description

SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in Menlo Park, CA is seeking a Safety Systems Engineer for the Protection Systems Group to advance interlock modernization, support legacy systems, and develop safety-critical PLC logic. The role requires collaboration with accelerator physics and operations teams to ensure beam protection during operations.

Qualifications include a Bachelor’s degree in electrical or computer engineering (or related field), 2+ years with PLC interlocks, and experience