Controls Engineer

Job Summary
Reporting to the Telescope Controls Group Leader, the Controls Engineer will support the design, development, testing and integration of the various telescope control systems from a dynamic control, analysis and electronic hardware perspective. This may include direct contributions and/or the oversight on the various contracts with industry or our TMT international partners. In early years the focus is more on oversight and contract management but one that requires strong technical skills.

Subsystem relevant to this position include the Mount Control System, the Enclosure Control System, the M1, M2, and M3 Control Systems and the Alignment and Phasing System (AP), the Observatory Safety System (OSS) and Facility Management Control System (FMCS).

The Controls Engineer must have excellent technical, project management, and communication skills, as well as the ability to work in TMT’s multi-cultural environment.

Job Duties
The Controls Engineer will have broad responsibilities, which include:

• Oversee and monitor work packages in terms of performance, schedule, cost, risk, testing, quality, and compliance to standards. Develop and implement mitigation strategies when appropriate.
• Develop and implement work package agreements including plans, budgets, and schedules.
• Provide controls analysis as needed or work with subject matter experts to provide a solution
• Support and guide the design and development of the various Telescope Control hardware systems.
• Manage the development and maintenance of requirements, interfaces, and error budgets for the various Telescope Control systems.
• Interact with other project groups including Systems Engineering, Optics, Structures, Enclosure, Facilities, Instrumentation, Adaptive Optics, and Science staff as needed. The ability to work effectively with groups and teams across disciplines is essential.
• Help lead the TMT review process for the Telescope Control hardware and embedded software.
• Manage the integration of the Telescope Control systems at the Observatory site.
• Specific opportunities exist to lead the OSS and FMCS work, directly contribute to M1CS design, development & testing and to be significantly involved in the M2 and M3 controls design directions.
• Work with the M1CS design team, Project Office staff, and TMT partners to develop a production ready M1CS design.
• Work closely with the Multi-Segment Integration and Test Facility (MSITF) team leader in an effort maximize the risk reduction capability of the MSITF
• Work with the M1CS design team and M1CS production team to insure the successful delivery of M1CS production components.
• Oversee the TMT partner production of the various electronics and cables, planning and participating in end item data package reviews and working with TMT Quality Assurance.

Minimum Qualifications

• A Bachelor's degree in control systems, robotics, electronic engineering or similar
• A minimum of five years’ experience with a combination of engineering, manufacturing and/or product design, and ideally project management responsibilities.
• Familiarity with classical and modern control system analysis and implementation.
• System design, build, integration, and test experience.
• Direct experience working on the design, implementation and integration of large, distributed, control systems.
• Familiarity, and expertise in one or more of the following areas: analog and digital electronics, embedded and high-level control software, control systems, and mechanical systems.
• Experience with precision motion control systems.
• Must be able to read schematics (Electrical and P&ID).
• Proficiency with Matlab, Simulink or similar tools.
• Experience with formal system engineering design processes.
• Experience with large optical telescopes is a positive factor
• The project office is located in Los Angeles and will require frequent visits to our Monrovia Lab.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
The Controls Engineer must have strong interpersonal and communication skills, including:

• Excellent organization skills
• Proven leadership ability
• Ability to write clear and concise technical documents
• A cooperative team-player who strives to make the team successful
• Ability to multi-task a substantial number of parallel activities
• Practical problem-solving skills

The Controls Engineer must have strong technical skills in many of the following areas:

• Must demonstrate a sound knowledge and understanding of basic electrical and electronics concepts (fundamental laws, basic design and analysis techniques)
• Familiarity with analogue electronics including design and troubleshooting.
• Familiarity with commercial (Altium Designer, Eagle) or non-commercial (KiCAD) PCB and schematic CAD packages
• Familiarity with applicable manufacturing standards for high-quality PCB and electronic assembly production
• Ability to design, build and troubleshoot analogue, digital and mixed-signal systems
• Understanding and ability to use electronic test equipment for design and diagnostics
• Experience with embedded systems and development tools, e.g. Microchip Studio
• Experience with MATLAB/Simulink for controls development and modeling of complex control systems.
• Familiarity with codes and standards applicable to Controls/Electrical/Electronic Engineering
• Working knowledge and programming experience with PLC based systems.
• Working knowledge of control/servo systems including operation and maintenance.
• Experience with vibration analysis and mitigation.
• Familiarity with friction modeling and the effect on control system performance
• Experience with one or more of the following PLC systems: Allen Bradley standard control and safety controller systems, Beckhoff.
• Knowledge and experience in control design and complex analog and digital control systems, including servo optimization and tuning.
• Knowledge of and experience with Delta Tau motion control hardware, and/or PI controller hardware.
• Experience in use of CAD package software (AutoCAD, Altium Designer)
• Experience in the planning and execution of maintenance for complex electrical/electronic/instrument/cryogenic systems.
• The Controls Engineer should have strong project management skills covering schedule, budget, earned value, risk management, technical contract management and Quality Assurance/Quality Control