Michigan State University(MSU) Hiring for Controls Engineer III / Engineering/Physicist Accelerator III at East Lansing, Michigan Full Time

Working/Functional Title

Controls Engineer III

Position Summary

Michigan State University operates FRIB as a user facility for the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science (DOE-SC), supporting the mission of the DOE-SC Office of Nuclear Physics.

As one of 28 DOE-SC user facilities, FRIB provides researchers with one of the most advanced tools of modern science to study rare isotopes, or short-lived nuclei not normally found on Earth. FRIB hosts what is designed to be the most powerful heavy-ion accelerator, enabling scientists to make discoveries about the properties of rare isotopes, nuclear astrophysics, fundamental interactions, and applications for society, including in medicine, homeland security, and industry.

The establishment of FRIB was funded by the DOE-SC, Michigan State University (MSU), and the State of Michigan, and user facility operation is supported by the DOE-SC Office of Nuclear Physics. Since 2010, MSU’s nuclear physics graduate program is ranked No. 1 in the nation, according to U.S. News and World Report’s rankings of graduate programs.

This position affords an exciting opportunity to become part of the world-class FRIB Laboratory that enables unique discovery opportunities in nuclear science.

*Purpose: *

The Control Engineer III will lead the design, development, documentation, deployment and support of the FRIB EPICS/PLC-based control system, as well as required instrumentation and motor controls, supporting commissioning and operation.                                                                                                                  

Major Duties/Responsibilities:

• Lead the design, documentation, programming, and installation of EPICS/PLC-based control systems.
• Interface with operations and commissioning teams to provide prompt support. 
• Collaborate with EPICS/PLC community to keep FRIB control system up to date. 
• Manage the preventive maintenance, repair and parts management for assigned equipment, keeping records of maintenance tasks and results. 
• Determine ways to optimize logic or systems balanced against system maintainability.
• Foresee any potential problem areas and notify line manager.
• Performs other duties as required or assigned which are reasonably within the scope of the duties in this job classification. 

*Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: *

• Thorough knowledge of PLC-based controls system, associated hardware/software, and implementation guidelines
• Ability and skill to program, test, and troubleshoot complex PLC programs for Allen Bradley ControlLogix, GuardLogix, CompactLogix, and/or CompactGuardLogix including the ones for specialty controls (i.e., motion controls, robotic controls, safety controls, HMI programing)
• Skill to develop and maintain electrical drawing with AutoCAD to current electrical code requirements
• Ability to lead engineers or technicians to fabricate, install, test, and troubleshoot electronic systemA
• Ability to communicate with stakeholders to understand and document requirements
• Ability to develop a large-scale PLC-based controls system from end-to-end (from design to test) leading a team of engineers and/or technicians
• Excellent communication skills to communicate effectively and credibly, both verbally and in writing with all audiences.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suites.

Unit Specific Education/Experience/Skills

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or Physics; five to eight years of related and progressively more responsible or expansive work experience in physics, electronics, mechanical and/or electrical drafting, fabrication techniques, heat transfer, cryogenics and computer systems; and may require experience in the use of CAD and/or related en