Staff Controls and Automation Engineer

Who we are

We change the landscape of what is possible with batteries. Our technology is a new chemistry that increases the energy density of Li-Ion batteries, which enables more features and design options for consumer devices and longer range, higher performance, and greater affordability for electric vehicles. Our product works today, drops into existing battery manufacturing processes, and is manufacturable economically at scale.

We believe how we work together is as important as the great things we accomplish. Foundational to this belief is building an inclusive and distinctive culture – one that is collectively shaped and owned by all Silazens. Learn more about our values here.

Who you are

You are a highly motivated, creative, detailed technical contributor with an aptitude for learning new things and developing big, complex machines. In your work at Sila, you will architect, specify, design, and deploy industrial machine control software and electronics that are reliable, expandable, deterministic, and exceptionally well-documented. You have excellent communication skills to harmoniously collaborate with a wide range of skill sets: from scientists conducting research to technicians and engineers who interact with the machines daily.

Job responsibilities

• Working collaboratively with other teams, design robust, modular, well documented machine control code and electrical subsystems for production-scale synthesis tools.
• Turn these designs into hardware and deployable code, either in-house or with outside vendors.
• Engage successfully with a range of different outside vendors for both componentry and electrical/instrumentation subsystems.
• Assist in bringing online hardware and code.
• Develop meaningful, robust unit tests for machines and document them rigorously.
• Improve and debug hardware and equipment-driving software throughout the company.
• Gather feedback from end-users of your work and distill into meaningful modifications. Iterate.

Knowledge and skills requirements

• Experience writing Structured Text and familiarity with other IEC 61131-3 languages.
• Experience designing HMIs and writing the underlying code.
• Knowledge of best practices for safety systems and controls.
• Electronics and wiring knowledge (analog signals, AC and DC power fundamentals, control wiring, and diagnostic tools).
• Experience generating electrical schematics, including wiring diagrams, network architecture, control panel design, and power distribution.  As well as documentation for both hardware and software.
• Demonstrated the ability to generate and deploy code and hardware for complex, mission-critical capital equipment that is both robust and reliable.
• Experience with industrial Fieldbus communication protocols (EtherCAT, Profinet, EthernetIP, Modbus, etc.) and equipment validation documents (FAT, SAT, etc.)
• Familiar with manufacturing software, SCADA (Ignition preferred) and MES software, is a plus.
• Experience in fields with meaningful technical risk and scientific depth (e.g., extreme temperatures, extreme pressures, unforgiving chemistry, critical flows and fields, high uptime requirements) would be nice.

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