Head of Ground Automation Software

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Responsible for the software architecture for Beckhoff and Phoenix contact PLCs.
• Ability to integrate a variety of off the shelf control systems with our in-house systems (e.g., compressors, chillers, high speed DAQ systems).
• Responsible for developing the HITL systems that allow you to test your software to its full extent to minimize issues when deploying to our launch or test sites.
• Gather requirements from stakeholders that will be the basis for the ground software architecture.
• Develop flexible and configurable software that is scalable.
• Develop software for our engine test stands that will allow test engineers to do rapid development and test all engines that are used on our rockets. 
• Provide technical mentorship and subject matter expertise throughout architecting the ground software systems. 

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, mechanical engineering or applicable engineering field.
• +10 years of experience designing and integration controls software (or a master's degree with a minimum of 8 years of experience). 

PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

• Experience programming PLCs/Safety PLCs. Twinsafe/PLCnext.
• Demonstrated successful large scale projects coding in C#, C++ and IEC61131-3 languages.
• Ability to lead a team of software engineers as we grow and scale.
• Experience with electromechanical systems.
• Experience with MQTT, OPCUA and other publish/subscribe protocols.
• Ability to work independently, identify areas of opportunity, present a solution and execute on it.
• Experience designing scale-able distributed architectures
• Experience integration a variety of different communication protocols, ethercat, ethernet/ip, profinet, modbus to a single/multiple controller(s)
• Maintain excellent version control, configuration management (GIT)
• Ability to break down and present complex architectures/issues to non-subject matter experts.
• Interface with hardware design teams to optimize component selection based on software requirements.
• Experience controlling DAQ hardware.
• Experience with network debugging.
• Experience with redundant control system design. 

WHAT WE LOOK FOR:

• Critical thinking: ABL engineers understand the “why” behind all design decisions, operational events and test outcomes.
• Ability to deal with ambiguity: ABL engineers must be comfortable defining their own pathway to an objective.
• End-to end ownership: projects are delivered fully complete and ready for flight.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS/WORK ENVIRONMENTS:

• Ability to sit or stand for extended periods of time
• Ability to use a computer to complete assignments
• Ability to communicate with individuals and groups in person, by phone and telepresence
• While performing the duties of this job, the employee will typically work in an office environment.
• This role requires occasional travel to our launch and test sites