Principal Automation and Controls Engineer

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.

You will be joining Valar Atomics' Automation and Controls team within the Instrumentation, Control & Electrical (IC&E) organization. Automation and Controls Engineers own the logic and data layer , PLC and DCS application code, ISA-88 batch sequences, SCADA and HMI applications, historian infrastructure, and enterprise integration — across the reactor program and fuel manufacturing operations. You will work alongside I&C Hardware, electrical, process, and nuclear safety engineers in an environment that blends traditional control systems with modern software and data integration practice. 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 operator-focused design, data integrity, disciplined documentation, and a safety-first culture.

Valar Atomics is seeking Principal Automation and Controls Engineers to own the technical direction of the controls software discipline across our reactor and nuclear fuel manufacturing facilities. The role spans the full controls software domain: PLC and DCS applications, SCADA and HMI, batch control, alarm management, safety logic, historians and plant data, and enterprise integration, but at the level of architecture, strategy, and design authority rather than routine application development. This is a principal position: you will define the control system and plant data 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 control problems, represent the discipline in licensing, cybersecurity, and strategic vendor engagements, 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. 

• Competitive base salary 
• Equity ownership in a rapidly growing advanced energy company 
• Comprehensive medical benefits 
• Unlimited PTO
• Free daily lunch and dinner provided onsite 
• 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

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).