Principal Instrumentation & Controls Engineer – Hardware
Valar Atomics · Orangeville
About Valar Atomics
At Valar Atomics, we're redefining what's possible in energy. Our mission is to make clean, high-temperature nuclear power scalable—unlocking abundant energy for industry, hydrogen, and next-generation manufacturing. We are a team of builders, engineers, and operators who believe nuclear energy should be fast to deploy, factory-made, and built for the real world. Our first pilot plant in Orangeville, Utah will demonstrate how advanced nuclear systems and fuel fabrication can power the future. Joining Valar Atomics means becoming part of a company where autonomy, ownership, and impact exist at every level.
The Team
You will be joining Valar Atomics' Instrumentation, Control & Electrical (IC&E) organization. I&C Hardware Engineers own the physical measurement and control layer field instrumentation and final elements, control panels and I/O architecture, field wiring and network infrastructure, and safety instrumented system hardware, along with the calibration and commissioning practices that keep those systems trustworthy. You will work alongside I&C software, process, electrical, mechanical, and nuclear safety engineers in a hands-on environment where measurement quality and installation integrity directly support production reliability and nuclear safety. As the principal engineer, you will be the discipline's most senior technical voice: the architect of its systems, the final checker of its highest-consequence work, and a standard-setter for the engineers who will build their careers here. The team values technical depth, disciplined documentation, and a safety-first culture.
The Role
Valar Atomics is seeking Principal Instrumentation & Controls Hardware Engineers to own the technical direction of the instrumentation and control hardware discipline across our reactor and nuclear fuel manufacturing facilities. The role spans the full instrumentation hardware domain: field instruments and final elements, control panel and I/O architecture, hazardous area design, safety instrumented system hardware, field wiring and OT network infrastructure, and calibration and commissioning practice, but at the level of architecture, strategy, and design authority rather than routine execution.
This is a principal position: you will define the measurement and control hardware architecture and technology roadmap for a first-of-a-kind nuclear program, hold final technical approval authority within the discipline, direct the resolution of the highest-consequence and most novel engineering problems, represent the discipline to regulators, standards bodies, and strategic vendors, and build the engineering capability of the organization around you.
Where a Staff engineer owns the discipline's standards and quality, the Principal engineer owns where the discipline is going.
Key Responsibilities
Architecture and Technical Strategy
- Define and own the I&C hardware architecture and technology roadmap across the reactor program and fuel manufacturing facilities, including instrument platform and protocol strategy, panel and I/O architecture philosophy, safety instrumented system architecture philosophy, and OT network physical infrastructure strategy.
- Author and own the discipline's design philosophy and basis documents, measurement strategy, redundancy and segregation philosophy, hazardous area design approach, grounding and shielding philosophy, and calibration and maintenance philosophy that constrain and guide all downstream project engineering.
- Direct measurement technology strategy for first-of-a-kind and severe-service conditions where no proven commercial solution exists, including sponsoring technology trade studies, vendor development programs, prototype and qualification campaigns, and make-or-buy decisions with long-term consequences.
- Own the discipline's standards program: set the framework and priorities for engineering standards, delegate authorship to staff and senior engineers, and approve standards for release; drive convergence and standardization across projects and sites.
- Evaluate emerging instrumentation, diagnostics, and OT infrastructure technology; decide what enters the toolkit, what is piloted, and what is excluded, balancing innovation against nuclear quality and long-term supportability.
Design Authority and Technical Governance
- Serve as the discipline design authority: hold final technical approval within I&C hardware for architecture decisions, safety-significant designs, deviations from standards, and concessions; adjudicate technical disputes within the discipline and represent its position in cross-discipline conflicts at program level.
- Own the technical integrity of safety instrumented system hardware across the fleet, including SIS architecture selection, redundancy and voting philosophy, SIL verification methodology, and approval of safety-significant SIS design changes in accordance with IEC 61511 and IEC 61508.
- Lead the discipline's engagement in the highest-consequence program reviews: preliminary and critical design reviews, safety case and licensing reviews, HAZOP/LOPA at program level, and readiness reviews for major commissioning and startup milestones.
- Direct root cause investigations for the most significant failures and events touching instrumentation hardware; approve corrective action strategy and ensure findings are institutionalized in architecture, standards, and training.
- Personally execute or lead engineering on the small set of problems where the consequence of error or the degree of novelty warrants the discipline's most senior engineer and know which problems those are.
External Representation and Licensing
- Support the nuclear licensing effort as the senior instrumentation hardware voice: contribute to and defend the instrumentation and SIS content of the safety case, support regulatory interactions and audits, and shape the licensing basis so it remains buildable and operable.
- Represent Valar Atomics to strategic instrumentation vendors and technology partners at a senior technical level; own long-term vendor technical relationships, qualification expectations, and escalation of systemic vendor quality issues.
- Represent the company in industry and standards forums as appropriate (ISA, IEEE, IEC, advanced reactor industry groups); bring emerging regulatory and standards developments back into company strategy before they become constraints.
Organizational Capability
- Build the discipline's engineering capability: define the technical competencies the organization needs, shape role definitions and the technical career ladder with the Director, set the hiring bar, and lead technical interviews for senior positions.
- Mentor staff and senior engineers toward independent technical authority; sponsor their development through delegation of ownership with oversight rather than retention of scope.
- Advise IC&E leadership on technical risk, resourcing, and sequencing for the program; provide independent technical judgment on schedule and cost pressure where it intersects engineering integrity.
- Maintain disciplined engineering records consistent with nuclear quality requirements, ensuring traceability of design decisions, analyses, and test results, and setting the example for the discipline's documentation culture.
Basic Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Electrical, Electronic, Mechanical, Chemical, or Systems Engineering, or a related discipline.
- 10+ years of instrumentation or I&C engineering experience in process industries.
- Demonstrated end-to-end ownership of instrumentation hardware scope across multiple major capital projects, including at least one taken from concept or front-end design through commissioning, startup, and initial operations.
- Track record of architecture-level technical leadership: defining instrumentation or SIS architecture, design philosophy, or engineering standards that were adopted across an organization or program, not just a single project.
- Recognized technical authority in at least one deep area of the discipline (for example: severe-service measurement, SIS engineering, hazardous area design, or large-scale instrumentation infrastructure), evidenced by design authority roles, published work, standards participation, or a verifiable internal reputation as the final technical reference.
- Deep, hands-on command of the full instrumentation hardware domain: instrument and valve selection and sizing, panel and I/O architecture, hazardous area classification (NEC 500/505 or IEC 60079), field wiring, grounding and shielding practice, calibration, and loop commissioning.
- Substantial safety instrumented system experience across the IEC 61511 lifecycle, including architecture selection, SIL verification, and approval or checking authority over SIS deliverables.
- Experience directing and developing other engineers, including senior-level engineers, and reviewing and approving their work as a formal checker or design authority.
- Experience representing an engineering discipline to external parties — regulators, certification bodies, major vendors, or client design authorities.
Preferred Skills and Experience
- Professional Engineer (PE) license.
- ISA Certified Automation Professional (CAP) or ISA84 Safety Instrumented Systems expert credential, or equivalent.
- Nuclear industry experience, including 10 CFR 50 Appendix B / NQA-1 quality programs, nuclear-qualified instrumentation, radiation and criticality monitoring, or instrumentation content of a nuclear safety case.
- Experience selecting, developing, or qualifying instrumentation for novel or severe service high-temperature, high-pressure gas, corrosive, high-purity, or molten salt, including first-of-a-kind qualification programs.
- Experience on first-of-a-kind or prototype plants where instrumentation strategy had to be developed without established precedent.
- Participation in industry standards committees or working groups (ISA, IEEE, IEC, or equivalent).
- Experience with OT network and cybersecurity architecture at the physical layer, including IEC 62443 or NIST SP 800-82 as applied to instrumentation infrastructure.
- Experience with instrument asset management systems, sizing software suites, and electrical/instrumentation CAD platforms sufficient to set organizational tooling direction.
What We Offer
- Competitive base salary
- Equity ownership in a rapidly growing advanced energy company
- Comprehensive medical benefits
- Unlimited PTO
- Free daily lunch
- Generous PPE stipend
- High-impact startup environment with significant ownership and autonomy
- Opportunities for rapid career growth and internal advancement
- Direct collaboration with experienced operators, engineers, and industry leaders
- The opportunity to help build and scale transformative energy technology from the ground up
Equal Employment Opportunity Statement
Valar Atomics is an equal opportunity employer. We consider all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other protected status under applicable law.
We are committed to providing a workplace free of discrimination and harassment and will provide reasonable accommodation as required by law.
Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States as a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident (green card holder).
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