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Valar Atomics is building scalable, factory-made advanced nuclear power systems for industrial heat, hydrogen production, and next-generation manufacturing. The company is constructing its first pilot plant in Orangeville, Utah.
You will join the Instrumentation, Control & Electrical (IC&E) organization as the discipline's most senior technical voice. This principal-level role owns the technical direction of instrumentation and control hardware across the reactor and fuel manufacturing facilities. You will define measurement and control hardware architecture, establish technology roadmaps, hold final technical approval authority within the discipline, and direct resolution of the highest-consequence engineering problems.
Key responsibilities include:
**Architecture and Technical Strategy:** Define I&C hardware architecture and technology roadmap across reactor and fuel facilities, including instrument platforms, protocols, panel/I/O architecture, safety instrumented system (SIS) philosophy, and OT network infrastructure. Author discipline design philosophy and basis documents covering measurement strategy, redundancy, hazardous area design, grounding/shielding, and calibration practices. Direct measurement technology strategy for first-of-a-kind and severe-service conditions where no proven commercial solution exists. Own the discipline's standards program, setting framework and priorities while delegating authorship. Evaluate emerging instrumentation and OT technology, deciding what enters the toolkit, what is piloted, and what is excluded.
**Design Authority and Technical Governance:** Serve as discipline design authority with final technical approval for architecture decisions, safety-significant designs, deviations, and concessions. Own technical integrity of SIS hardware across the fleet, including architecture selection, redundancy philosophy, and SIL verification per IEC 61511 and IEC 61508. Lead the discipline's engagement in highest-consequence program reviews (preliminary/critical design reviews, safety case reviews, HAZOP/LOPA, readiness reviews). Direct root cause investigations for significant failures and events. Personally execute or lead engineering on problems warranting the discipline's most senior engineer.
**External Representation and Licensing:** Support nuclear licensing as the senior instrumentation hardware voice, contributing to and defending instrumentation and SIS content of the safety case. Support regulatory interactions and audits. Represent Valar Atomics to strategic vendors at senior technical level. Represent the company in industry and standards forums (ISA, IEEE, IEC, advanced reactor groups).
**Organizational Capability:** Build the discipline's engineering capability by defining technical competencies, shaping role definitions and career ladder, setting hiring bar, and leading technical interviews. Mentor staff and senior engineers toward independent technical authority. Advise IC&E leadership on technical risk, resourcing, and sequencing. Maintain disciplined engineering records consistent with nuclear quality requirements.
**Requirements:**
- Bachelor's degree in Electrical, Electronic, Mechanical, Chemical, or Systems Engineering or 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 from concept/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 adopted across an organization or program
- Recognized technical authority in at least one deep area (severe-service measurement, SIS engineering, hazardous area design, or large-scale instrumentation infrastructure), evidenced by design authority roles, published work, standards participation, or verifiable internal reputation
- Deep, hands-on command of full instrumentation hardware domain: instrument and valve selection/sizing, panel and I/O architecture, hazardous area classification (NEC 500/505 or IEC 60079), field wiring, grounding/shielding, calibration, and loop commissioning
- Substantial SIS experience across IEC 61511 lifecycle, including architecture selection, SIL verification, and approval/checking authority over SIS deliverables
- Experience directing and developing other engineers, including senior-level engineers, and reviewing/approving their work as formal checker or design authority
- Experience representing an engineering discipline to external parties (regulators, certification bodies, major vendors, client design authorities)
**Preferred:**
- Professional Engineer (PE) license
- ISA Certified Automation Professional (CAP) or ISA84 Safety Instrumented Systems expert credential
- Nuclear industry experience (10 CFR 50 Appendix B / NQA-1 quality programs, nuclear-qualified instrumentation, radiation/criticality monitoring, instrumentation in nuclear safety case)
- Experience selecting, developing, or qualifying instrumentation for novel/severe service (high-temperature, high-pressure gas, corrosive, high-purity, 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 (ISA, IEEE, IEC)
- Experience with OT network and cybersecurity architecture at physical layer (IEC 62443, NIST SP 800-82)
- Experience with instrument asset management systems, sizing software, and electrical/instrumentation CAD platforms
